The Butterfly Effect @ HQ,Adelaide (09/11/08)

Thu 13th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

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The word on the street about The Butterfly Effect is that the lads from Brisbane put on one of the best live shows going around. Add to that reputation a cracking new long player, Final Conversation Of Kings, and it’s little wonder that a sell out crowd packed themselves into Adelaide’s HQ for a blistering Sunday night of over the top rock.

Melbourne three-piece Sleep Parade kicked things off with an impressive slab of epic prog-metal. Out to grab attention for their debut record, Things Can Always Change, the lads turned in a solid opening set built on a foundation of phenomenal drumming from Dan Teng. Things got a bit retro-silly when Leigh Davies started playing his guitar with his teeth, but aside from that and his Paddle Pop Lion haircut, Sleep Parade gave a good account of themselves to an already reasonably sized crowd.

Next were Trial Kennedy, announcing their blend of genres with some indie alternative looking cowboy shirts and an old school punk rock microphone stance. Not to be left out of the retro rock pose tomfoolery, guitarist Stacey Gray had a stab at playing his guitar with a microphone stand. Meanwhile, everyone else was preoccupied with helping out the drummer. Despite giving it a decent crack, Trial Kennedy struggled to win over an audience bracing itself for something promising a more dynamic range.

The Butterfly Effect arrived on stage to the ominous strains of the Theme From Jaws and a roar of approval from the tightly packed crowd. The boys lit a long fuse, getting things underway with the slow burning build up of new album opener Worlds On Fire. Singer Clint Boge brought a degree of nautical majesty with his long gold-buttoned coat and the band seem to have ventured comfortably into Muse and Queen territory with all the pomp and grandeur that suggests.

Clearly confident in the strength of their new material, the band fired off one of their big shots early, unleashing A Slow Descent a mere four songs into the set. The crowd duly responded, lapping up Boge’s frequent offers to take over the singing duties.

Despite revelling in a bona fide rock and roll swagger, The Butterfly Effect gain huge respect from their willingness to take the piss out of themselves. Unable to keep straight faces after Boge described rock and roll as a ‘religion’, the lads also grinned their way through Glenn Esmond’s impromptu Iron Man bass solo.

As the band climbed all over the sound booth and exploded off the stage, ending the set with a rampaging Gone before returning for a three song encore, it was hard to imagine them spending much more time in smaller venues. The Butterfly Effect are putting on shows and building up audiences in a way that will soon demand a much bigger platform. Catch ‘em while you can still get close enough to get a good look.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE