The Butterfly Effect, RepeatOffender, This Collison @ TheCoolangatta Hotel, 14/07/06

Sat 15th Jul, 2006 in Gig Reviews

With soundscapes that vary from black metal, ambient rock and alternative industrial to punk and emo, The Butterfly Effect may defy singular categorisation but are certainly notable for the homage they pay to their influences.  Being only the second show on a 40 gig, 4 month, 5 states (+ 1 territory) national tour, expectations are high and few in the Coolangatta, or ”Cooly”, Hotel will go home disappointed.

A virgin Cooly patron, wandering up to what I determine to be the entrance due to the number of burly men in black polo shirts lingering and looking official, the first thing I’m greeted with is a wall of cigarette smoke. The new anti-smoking laws introduced on July 1 have pushed a large percentage of the clientele outside and the realisation that I’m about to attend my first smoke-free gig dawns.  A bit old-school in loving a beer and a cigarette while gyrating to loud live music,  I momentarily reminisce on mornings of cigarette stench hair and worse breath after a big night at the Zoo… very momentarily.  The litres of shampoo and conditioner I am going to save will ensure attendance at more gigs this year.  It’s a win-win.

Climbing the dangerously large number of stairs up to the Balcony Bar, I’m welcomed by the sounds of ThisCollision.  The set ends not long after I arrive so I only catch a couple of tracks. A calibre of hard rock that leans toward a metal influence but with a little more edge, I suspect there is a little Patton sensibility there and am appreciative of where ThisCollision seeks to take it.  With more support slots planned, the prospect of developing a live fan base is very real for these “up and comers”.

During the break the irony of a disabled toilet on a level above all those stairs and the elevated price of a Smirnoff Black becomes abundantly clear. Returning to my chosen position I decide that I’m taking a torch to the next gig I go to because it is the true mantel of power – or you would think that it was, by the way an over-zealous sound engineer / roadie was waving his around in a futile attempt to shoo the nearby punters away from the equipment crates like crows at the council tip.

Repeat Offender take to the stage with little ceremony and equal crowd enthusiasm. Not that these guys don’t try to get some punter participation happening, quite the opposite; the Cooly crowd just aren’t into it in the way you’d expect.  After a couple of tracks demonstrating that this band is not only stylistically but also musically very AFI, there’s an increase in movement on the dancefloor and the set starts heading somewhere. The heightened tempo of their cover of Mr Mister’s ’Broken Wings’ initiates more bobbing of heads throughout the room and wis a good vehicle for proving that the vocal harmonies are what sets Repeat Offender apart. Their current single getting some rotation on Triple J ‘Amphetamine’ is far better live than the produced version and ‘To A Modern Love’ provides a glimpse of what could propel them into the mainstream.  While the spotlit lead singer Ryan Wilson is unequivocably talented, my interest was drawn to the unassuming guitarist / vocalist Steven Childs who seemed to be carrying a number of the tracks while Wilson provided the harmonies. Also, kudos to those band members’ who were happy to take the piss out of themselves when doing 80s covers, it made it even more entertaining, regardless of how much the bass player looked like he was experiencing flashbacks from electric shock therapy.

The venue fills to capacity just before The Butterfly Effect are due to take the stage. The acrid scent of a hurried last cigarette clings to a number of the punters shuffling around and into each other as they pass me. At 10.30pm there’s still no mic check and the Indians are getting restless. Sans a nicotine haze, the smoke machines work overtime to create the gothic ambience synonymous with this genre of dark rock.

Bathed in red neon, silhouettes move across the small Coolangatta stage and the main event begins. Ripples of blue and white light mimics the play of moonlight on water and the crowd roars like the ocean outside. With a much fuller sound than the previous acts, The Butterfly Effect’s distortion resonates but is muffled somewhat by the carpeted floor.

Current single ’A Slow Descent’ draws a surging response from the crowd.   Gnashing, pleading, rasping vocals fill the room while rhythmic bass lines tremor the heart.  Lead singer Clint Boge mounts the foldbacks, a large traditional rectangular mic glistening silver in the strobe light as he holds it horizontally against his lips.  It’s not lighters held aloft anymore but flickering mobile camera phones.

The reverb is up very high on all of the songs, expanding Boge’s vocals and Kurt Goehart’s guitar licks from intricate wanderings to sonic noise. Boge puts his heart, soul, lungs and larynx into every note and is amply rewarded by the adoring audience. There are girls on shoulders, people rubbing their sore necks and drunk guys dancing erractically arm in arm celebrating a moment of shared joy.

Throughout the set there are glimpses of what The Butterfly Effect could be when not only doing justice to reprising the sounds of their musical influences.  I look forward to a moment in time when I can hear one of their songs and confidently say “Wow, that sounds like The Butterfly Effect” rather than referencing Tool, A Perfect Circle, Rage Against the Machine and others that have gone before.  While some may say there are no new sounds or songs, I disagree. A rich array of tracks from “Imago” indicate some development in songwriting and production, however the songs their first album “Begins Here” have a sound endemic to a superb band who give it all in their live shows and are set to do great things… if they dare to be themselves.