Floating Me, Sleep Parade,Epidemic...Over @ Club 299(24/04/2011)

Wed 27th Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The headline tour of Floating Me at Club 299 in Brisbane tonight has a somewhat small crowd abuzz with anticipation following the release of their self-titled debut album only a week prior. The Aussie hard rock/prog superband are about to play their first headline show for the Brisbane scene and if their recent support for Dead Letter Circus is anything to go by, the crowd is in for an auditory treat. The band’s rich lineage has brought out a wide variety of individuals, ranging in age and styles, with the crowd no doubt expecting a mixture of the anthemic performances of Cog, the progressional mayhem of Karnivool and the slick grooves of Scarymother.

Epidemic…Over opens the night with an explosive thirty minutes. The Queensland four piece engage the arriving crowd in an exciting performance with highlights including new tracks Better Than You and Shapes to Fall. Energetic front man Nathan Bedford ’s soaring vocals work well over a strong, versatile guitar and rhythm section to start the night off with a bang.

Melbourne hard rock/prog favourites Sleep Parade are tonight’s main support. Having played alongside Cog, The Butterfly Effect and Karnivool they are no strangers to the stage and deliver a spectacle nothing short of stunning. The dynamic quartet boast a set filled with distorted guitars, ethereal synths, intricate drum patterns and tight bass grooves to create an addictive and complex auditory encounter. The set is well constructed with tracks Collision, Home and Everyday creating an almost hypnotic experience and confirming the band’s reputation as a dazzling live act.

As the music over the PA fades and the lights dim to a blue glow from the stage, the crowd cheers and a dramatic introduction sets the mood as dark silhouettes take their places by their instruments. Floating Me launch into the opening track on their album Deathless, a progressive journey increasing in both volume and intensity from start to finish and the result is well received.

The set is highlighted by several crowd favourites including Spirals, Narke, Sugar and Piano. Guitarist Antony Brown paints a sound-scape of high ambient echoes and deep chasms of distortion, while Jon Stockman ’s near sub sonic bass roars and pulses, adding his unique signature and a perfect complimentary darkness to the music.

The set reaches a mind-blowing crescendo with front man Andrew Gillespie describing the event the crowd are about to witness as a “thingy instead of a tune”. He is talking about the track Bezhumous, an ambient build-up to a detonation of aural assault that completely switches the direction of the music in an intensity that is elevated by electronic synths and tribal drumming. Lucius Borich lets fly with an amazing drum solo and Tobias Messiter accompanies with haunting synths. Even the other members of the band seem to be looking on in awe as the former Cog drummer unleashes a volley that confirm his status as Australia’s answer to Tool’s Danny Carey. Club 299’s lighting adds an additional layer to the experience, although Floating Me appears to be almost too powerful for the in-house sound system.

The final curtain for the night is the closing track to the album titled Across the Gulf, which harbours an amazing tension, progression and control, and as the sound finally subsides cheers, screams and whistles from the audience confirm a bright future for the band and their particular brand of expressiveness, creativity and inspiration.