Ten years after the release of Let the Ocean Take Me, The Amity Affliction decided to celebrate this life-changing record with a full album play on their current tour. The band brought Dying Wish and Currents on the road with them and packed out a very excited crowd at Arizona’s Marquee Theatre this week.
The lights went down for Dying Wish’s set and the audience was hanging over the barricade, already dripping in sweat from the Phoenix summer heat and ready to hurl themselves at the stage. Vocalist Emma Boster had the kids hurtling over the barricade as the middle of the floor churned with the force of the circle pit that opened like a whirlpool. Between high kicks and high screams, Boster had the audience under the heels of her boots and the room was even sweatier and steamier when the final notes of “Innate Thirst” faded out.
East Coast metalcore group Currents provided the direct support for the tour and their set chugged along at a pace that let the audience really space out their moshing. Even with fewer crowd surfers aimed at the front of the room, Currents gave the audience a powerful 11 song set that included “The Death We Seek” and “Remember Me”. Their time onstage invoked a feeling of controlled chaos and let the fans catch their breath just a little before the main event.
Sometimes the impact of an album isn’t felt for years but The Amity Affliction has known how Let the Ocean Take Me changed their lives when it burned through the hardcore scene 10 years ago. Now, the fans have a chance to give that love back to the Aussie band and they turned out in full strength for what had to be one of the wildest shows of their tour so far. The album play kicked off a lengthy set, as The Amity Affliction was determined to leave everything behind on Marquee’s stage.
After shouting the words to every song and sending wave after wave of people over the barricade, the band launched into part two of the evening that put “Drag the Lake” and “Open Letter” into the setlist. The fans never let their energy wane despite the crush of the crowd and the oppressive heat and summoned the band back for an encore of “It’s Hell Down Here” and “Soak Me in Bleach”.
Anniversary tours have cropped up in huge numbers- especially since the return from the pandemic shutdown- and can often feel disingenuous or cheesy but this was not the case with The Amity Affliction. Let the Ocean Take Me influenced not only the band’s career trajectory but also clearly had a massive impact on so many fans and they were more than willing to show up and show out in person. The Amity Affliction put on such an aggressively stellar set that international fans can only hope that we see them roll through our country again very soon.
