Overhead lights flicker to darkness as the first chord crashes through the silence. The sound is met with a passionate roar from the audience. The lead singer waves his finger and before long, the crowd is a moshing whirlpool of hair, fists, and pool floaties. A scene that has held its collective breath for over two decades is finally free to exhale.

Amniotics, a locally-rooted punk band that spawned in the early 2000s, reunited at Live at Leona’s on Saturday, May 31 to officially release their 20-year-old record, The Incomplete Amniography. The show marked the group’s first-ever performance of their full album.

The concert was opened by Father Chuck Carter and featured Minneapolis band Constant Insult (whose performance also marked the band's first Eau Claire show).

The Saturday night crowd was a blend of longtime fans and Amniotics newcomers looking to get an earful of the sound that helped define a generation of Eau Claire natives. From the moment Amniotics took the stage, the band and the audience erupted in synergistic energy.

“I deeply love this record (The inComplete amniography). It is like a time capsule of childhood."

Chris maierhofer

amniotics drummer

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY. Amniotics, an Eau Claire punk band formed in the early 2000s, reunited on Saturday, May 31 at LIVE at LEONA's to release their 20-year-old record, The Incomplete Amniography. The show marked the group’s first-ever performance of the full album.

For many who grew up in this area in the early 2000s, The Incomplete Amniography is more than just a record – it’s a repository of childhood memories from the 2000s punk scene of Eau Claire. 

“It’s just a testament to the good trouble that you can get up to, and like, being creative with your friends,” Amniotics’s drummer, Chris Maierhofer, said.

Prior to the show, events organizer Jordan Duroe imagined it would be as much a reunion for the audience as for the band. “I think it will be a fun celebration of a particular era of Eau Claire music,” Duroe said.

As Maierhofer described, there was a major punk-rock movement among high schoolers in Eau Claire between 2000 and 2006. Dozens of teenagers and old-school punks would flock regularly to basements and venues around town for performances. 

The kids themselves were the driving force behind these shows. At times, Maierhofer said, there would be 50-70 high schoolers working together to book and organize the events.

The epicenter of this movement was a little-known venue called Nate’s Dungeon. According to Maierhofer, Nate’s Dungeon was the place to be on a Saturday night.

“It was very all-inclusive,” Maierhofer said. “Even people who didn’t necessarily like that kind of music would come out and have a good time. Everybody was there.”

THEN AND NOW. Colin Sinz, lead vocalist for Amniotics, shares the stage with his high school friends and bandmates.

Crowd surfing Amniotics fans back in the day at Nate's Dungeon. (Submitted photo)

Concertgoers at the Amniotics reunion show leapt up into the air, or supported their friends and fellow punk fans, with the ultimate goal to move above everyone's heads as they surf over the crowd.

It’s quite likely that, without Nate’s Dungeon, then-high school freshmen Chris Maierhofer, Sean Murray, Ryan Sinz, and Colin Sinz would never have formed Amniotics.

“I don’t remember exactly how we decided to start, but I know we really wanted to play at Nate’s Dungeon,” Maierhofer said. “Ryan and Colin – they’re brothers, and they are both, like, infinitely creative. They would just come up with a lot of song concepts.”

With Maierhofer on drums, Murray on bass, Ryan Sinz on guitar, and Colin Sinz on vocals, the band took off and began performing somewhere between 2002 and 2003.

The Amniotics bandmates, pictured above, back in the day with the original knife prop used during live performances. (Submitted photo)

Over time, local teens became familiar with their original songs, including works like “Dip it In Ranch,” “Pirate Jam,” and “Big F***ing Knife.” To commemorate the last of those titles, the Leona’s crowd brought back the time-honored tradition of hoisting a giant prop knife over the crowd as the song was playing.

According to Maierhofer, Amniotics drew inspiration from punk and metal bands they were listening to at the time. The group incorporated a lot of sampling in their music, extracting from movies, music videos, and on one occasion, an angry voicemail from their next door neighbor.

“Samples are very important,” Maierhofer said. “It was like a constant search, looking for things to sample. If we watched a bad movie that had, like, a perfect sample, we would stop and record it and save it for one of our songs.”

Much like the collaborative punk shows of old, the 2025 release of The Incomplete Amniography was very much a joint effort between the band and members of their original Eau Claire crew.

The cover art was designed by Jeremy Baker of St. Louis – a tattoo artist and friend of the band. The album was released through Maierhofer’s own label, Riff Merchant Records, and the insert art, which features many of the individuals who attended shows in the 2000s, was designed by Ryan Sinz. Even the venue, Leona’s, is owned by Jakob and Brittany Paulsrud – close friends of the band members.

While Duroe emphasized Leona's is aiming to be an eclectic venue for all genres, he notes there has not been a consistent home for punk and metal music in Eau Claire since House of Rock closed in 2017.  "We'd like to fill that void here, and the Amniotics show plays into that well," Duroe said.

A limited vinyl pressing of The Incomplete Amniography, pictured above, was available for sale at the reunion show at LIVE at LEONA's.

Duroe predicted that there would be something for everyone to enjoy at the event. This sentiment proved true on Saturday, when close to 70 audience members of all ages filed in. Many of them sported dyed hair and early grunge-style clothing in honor of the event.

The Amniotics performance was embraced with open, swinging arms. Audience members allowed themselves to be fully consumed by the music, and it was not long after the first song began that the moshing and crowd-surfing commenced.

While Duroe emphasized Leona’s is aiming to be an eclectic venue for all genres, he noted there has not been a consistent home for punk and metal music in Eau Claire since House of Rock closed in 2017.

“We’d like to fill that void here, and the Amniotics show plays into that well,” Duroe said.

"FOR NOW, THIS IS JUST FOR THE OLDHEADS."

CHRIS MAIERHOFER

AMNIOTICS DRUMMER, ON THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW AMNIOTICS MUSIC

The performance on Saturday concluded with lots of hugs and catching up with old friends. Maierhofer emphasized the personal regard they hold for The Incomplete Amniography.

“I deeply love this record,” Maierhofer said. “It is like a time capsule of childhood, that I also think is incredibly hilarious, and, like, advanced for what we were doing.”

Maierhoffer added that they can still pick out the individual voices of their friends throughout the record. 

“It jogs memories in a way that other things don’t,” they reflected. While no new music is currently in the works, Maierhofer did not dismiss the possibility of fresh Amniotics releases in the future. “For now, this is just for the oldheads,” Maierhofer said.

All in all, the musicians and fans of the band recognized the performance as a full-circle moment for everyone involved.

“As important as the songs themselves was the whole experience we made for ourselves with our friends,” Maierhofer said.

The Incomplete Amniography is available for download online via Band Camp. For more information regarding LIVE at LEONA’s (406 Galloway St., Eau Claire), visit leonaspizzeria.com/shows.