The Butterfly Effect @ EnmoreTheatre, Sydney (11/07/09)

Tue 14th Jul, 2009 in Gig Reviews

The black-clad masses filed into the venue, all there to see one of the country’s most popular rock bands, The Butterfly Effect. As displayed by the tour shirts on some, this was just one of many nights spent with the band over the years. Tonight was slightly different, however, in terms of the surrounds. We found the Brisbane quartet not in the local pub or a dingy stage, but in the glorious Enmore Theatre. Whilst the vibe (thanks, Dennis Denuto) was strong going in, the inner critic could not help itself: would this really be a risk worth taking for a band usually found nowhere near these surrounds?

The evening commenced with a short but satisfying appearance from power trio Calling All Cars. No strangers to hard rock crowds, having just come off the tour with Cog, the band ripped through an energetic set of tight, radio-ready rock numbers. Naturally, this didn’t sit well with a few of the TBE faithful, with a few middle fingers seen thrown in the band’s direction.

Even with this slightly distracting side-note, vocalist/guitarist Hayden Ing simply took it all in his stride…and leap, and dive, and jump-onto-the-bass-drum, etc. At times, Ing’s enthusiasm and excitability was contagious. While we’re on the topic of things that are catchy, don’t act too surprised when tracks such as Animal and Not Like Everybody take over the airwaves. This band has garnered a world of potential, and is quite close to seeing it fulfilled. At this stage, all we can do is watch this space – and see if their debut album can fill it.

Dead Letter Circus took to the stage next, performing their own soundcheck (always the sign of the real rock stars!) and readying themselves for their biggest Sydney show yet. Despite some noticeable flaws in the mix through various stages of the set, the quartet powered through tracks old and new with plenty of precision and a confidence that grew as more of the crowd got into it.

Extended intros to EP songs such as This Life Awake and The Mile added a progressive sound to the band’s live repertoire, with some impressive guitar work from Rob Maric, coming across as a hybrid of The Edge and Karnivool’s Drew Goddard. Meanwhile, a preview of the band’s upcoming debut record left many anticipating the release even further. However, the talking point of the performance was vocalist Kim Benzie – and just how truly exceptional his singing is. As one punter nearby succinctly put it, eyes wide and jaw gaping: “He’s not human!” In-between some impassioned vocal deliveries, Benzie mentioned that the band have an upcoming show at the Annandale Hotel this September. Given the roar of approval from the crowd present, perhaps they might need a bigger room.

With DLC threatening to disturb the headline balance and upstage the Butterfly Effect entirely, things initially looked bleak. The fear also lingered that perhaps the band had bitten off more than they could chew. Indeed, from the beginning of the set, things looked a little shaky. Opening with obvious single choices such as Window and the Watcher and A Slow Descent, it felt as if the songs were being booted out of the way early with little energy – singer Clint Boge spent half of his time getting the crowd to sing the words. It was around the time that bassist Glenn Esmond signalled the introduction of Imago cut In A Memory with a distinctive high-end bassline, however, that things slowly began to get on track. The six-minute opus was the turning point, allowing the gig to climb from a fairly average start to a very good, occasionally great, performance.

The imagery and video footage in the background of the stage became more and more apparent; recalling artwork from previous records as well as conveying the message of the songs. The performers themselves got more involved with the songs, and certainly more boisterous. Guitarist Kurt Goedhart, usually subdued on stage, thrashed around and even leapt off his amp in true rock star fashion for Begins Here single One Second of Insanity. Cameramen popped up at various spots around the stage, revealed to be filming for a live DVD – as if the punters needed another excuse to mosh like crazy.

All the regular crowd favourites were present, but it was the inclusion of two musical curveballs that made the night. The first of these was a piano-led rendition of one of the band’s best songs, Beautiful Mine. The track took on a whole new level of dark beauty with Clint performing centre stage, weeping the lyrics in an almost Jeff Buckley-esque style. Bringing back the entire band for the final bridge and chorus truly packed a punch, proving that going from fragile and quiet to fierce and strident was an easy feat for these boys.

The second was a cover – as Boge ambiguously introduced, “by a great Australian band in the eighties”. The track was revealed to be Australian Crawl’s Reckless. Whilst an odd choice, the band pulled it off impressively, mixing the rhythm and anthemic qualities of the original with hints of their own musical style added in for good measure.

The Butterfly Effect still have some major setlist-related issues to iron out – encoring with Aisles of White and In These Hands after the bombast of Worlds on Fire was a terrible choice – and the set could have easily been cut a few tracks short. With this in mind, they are closer to being a great live band now more than ever – even if it took a light show with video footage to get them there.