‘F**k, the world turned up’: Fed Square Amyl and the Sniffers gig cancelled amid wild scenes
Victoria’s top cop has said the force will investigate how fans stormed a free Amyl and the Sniffers show at Federation Square, forcing the gig to be cancelled as questions are raised over the future of shows at the site.
Police and the Allan government are waiting for a full report of the chaos at Friday night’s Amyl and the Sniffers concert at Federation Square.
The free concert descended into chaos on Friday night and was cancelled after scores of fans, who were denied entry, stormed the venue.
The Grammy-nominated Melbourne band — which just this week opened for legendary rock band AC/DC — was scheduled to take the stage at 8.30pm.
But by 7.45pm, the Federation Square venue in the city’s CBD had reached capacity and hundreds of devoted punk rock fans were locked out.
Frustrations reached fever pitch among the crowd — both inside and out — when the show was then stopped for “safety reasons”.
As a person on stage announced the interruption, patrons broke through the barriers and stormed into the concert.
Shortly afterwards, a message appeared on the screen reading: “Event Cancelled”.
Booing and angry chants from the crowd followed, with security guards seemingly at a loss as to know how to respond.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said the force wanted to know the results of a review before taking a position on future shows.
“It was a concern. There was a risk to public safety,” Mr Bush said.
Mr Carbines said there was no excuse for what had happened.
He said Federation Square management had put public safety first when they abandoned the event but would not be drawn on what impact it would have into the future.
“It’s a great space, we all love it. We don’t want to lose that,” Mr Carbines said.
In a story posted to Instagram, Amyl and the Sniffers blamed the event’s organisers for not hiring “the proper security” while attributing the cancellation to the “barriers being broken”.
The band later said it was upset by the shock cancellation but wanted people “to be safe.”
It quipped that instead of putting on a show, band members were “gonna go get blackout drunk or something” instead.
However, it boasted that while Robbie Williams and Kneecap “couldn’t shut (Federation Square) down” its fans clearly could.
“Hello Fed Square and everybody who came to show up. We are so f---ing sorry that we couldn’t play,” lead singer Amy Taylor said on Instagram shortly after the show was canned.
“We genuinely feel really bad, like from the gut, from everything.
“It sucks to not be able to play in our hometown, for free.
“We are not dogging ya. It’s because a bunch of people rushed the f---ing stage and the barriers so it wasn’t safe and especially because it was all ages.
“We just can’t have that. We don’t want anyone having a shit time.
“So what we’re doing is using our fee to go back to some local venues. So have a drink on us, in AC/DC fashion. Five K at the bar at Last Chance, the Tote, Labor in Vein, Hell’s Kitchen, The Curtin, Cherry Bar and Old Bar.
“So there’s a $5000 tab on each of those venues at the bar, so have a drink on us.
“We’re so sorry. We really wanted to play. I was chucking a tantrum like no tomorrow, you can’t imagine it!
“So sorry, just have some fun tonight.
“And I’m glad you got to see public figures.
“F--k the world turned up!”
Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation chief executive Katrina Sedgwick, who had drinks thrown at her when she took to the stage to announce the show’s cancellation, said Amyl was “incredibly disappointed”.
“It is very, very disappointing … tonight we’ve had a whole lot of breaches so that means, unfortunately, we cannot go on,” she said.
No injuries were reported as a result of the crowd crush.
Ms Sedgwick fronted the media on Saturday morning, apologising for the cancellation but not backing down on the decision.
“We are so sorry that so many fans are so disappointed, and we sincerely apologise to the fans who were devastated. But as I say, Fed Square will always put safety first,” she said.
“I’m really relieved we’re here today talking about the cancellation of the concert and not about people being hurt.
“The important thing when you’re making a decision like this is not to wait until people are getting crushed. As soon as you understand that there are people coming through gaps in the fence which have literally been smashed through, that’s the time to act.”
Ms Sedgwick said there were “dozens” of appropriately trained security guards working at the event, in line with other recent events including Robbie Williams and Kneecap, and maintained the incident was not caused by the genre of band playing.
“I don’t think this is about a particular demographic. There were people of all ages, young and old ... It’s about some people in that crowd having a sense of entitlement, that, because it’s free, that they should be overbearing,” she said.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of reviewing and making sure we are so proud of presenting these fantastic free concerts that people love ... We are committed to being able to keep on doing this. We’re not going to let last night spoil that, but we are going to have to review how we do it, and there will be changes.
“What we understand now is that when we have a really popular band, we can’t trust that people can behave necessarily, in a way that is appropriate ... and we’ll need to deal with that accordingly.”
“We aren’t making any decisions on that basis at the moment, (but we will) work this through methodically and appropriately with the experts.”
She said while there were no plans currently to reschedule the concert, Amyl and the Sniffers would be welcomed back to the venue.
“We would certainly be willing to have that same band back for a free show ... We love them, they’re incredible,” she said.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece said he was “gutted” the show was cancelled.
“There were so many passionate fans waiting patiently to see their idols,” Cr Reece said, adding that “unfortunately due to concerns about crowd crushes following breaches of the perimeter fences, a decision was made by the safety team to cancel the event”.
Many Victorians took to social media to air their frustrations.
One called the show a “total failure by (the) City of Melbourne and Fed Square” before concluding that Melbourne was the “city that doesn’t rock”.
Another remarked, “the City of Melbourne cannot plan anything properly”, while yet another said it was “the biggest let-down”.
Federation Square had pumped up the concert on its website beforehand.
“Fresh off the road with AC/DC on their POWER UP tour and recently nominated for Best Rock Performance at the Grammys, Amyl and The Sniffers are hitting Fed Square for a free, one-night-only blowout — a raw, sweat-soaked celebration of Aussie rock at its loudest and most alive,” it said on its website.
“Led by the unstoppable Amy Taylor, the band will rip through the heart of the city with their signature blend of punk grit and unfiltered energy — breakneck riffs, sweat-drenched anthems and that unmistakeable Amyl snarl that’s conquered Glastonbury, Coachella and just about every stage in between.
“Before Amyl turn it up to eleven, Melbourne’s own Public Figures will set the scene — the powerhouse project of Evie Vlah and Gigi Argiro joined by Mary-Lou Hylands and Lakota Vella. Expect a high-voltage mix of AC/DC covers, soaring harmonies and punk with purpose originals — a love letter to the city’s vibrant live music scene and a perfect spark to light the fuse.
“There will be official Amyl and the Sniffers and AC/DC exclusive tour merch available to purchase at the gig, so make sure you arrive early!
“One band. One night. One city.”
Originally published as ‘F**k, the world turned up’: Fed Square Amyl and the Sniffers gig cancelled amid wild scenes
Police carry out new targeted search for Dezi — this one for his body
