The Butterfly Effect - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 7th Oct @ Eatons Hill Hotel, Bris QLD
The Butterfly Effect
Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane QLD
October 7, 2022
Supports: Thornhill and Caligula's Horse
Take a trip back through time momentarily - the year was 2005/2006 and our circle jerk of mates on the Gold Coast were slowly starting the transition from digging pop punk/rock bands into heavier territory and a particular local band from up the road in Brisbane transcended all genres and brought us together with their riff-heavy drops and alluring vocal performances... that band was The Butterfly Effect - who we would then proceed to see countless times at venues like the Southport RSL (alongside Chevelle), Griffith Uni Bar, Big Day Out (we bailed on seeing the Arctic Monkeys for the boys), Sounds of Spring Festival and, well, we could be here all day.
The reason for that anecdote is, in our opinion, that was the heyday of the band's upcoming! They had three releases between 2001-2006 with a plethora of bangers that still, to this day, hold up when you chuck them on. And tonight, we got to relive those glory days - with a touch of maturity and new belters - at the band's hometown show in Brisbane on their IV Aussie Tour alongside Thorny and C-Horse.
Because we're terrible humans, we arrived at the venue just as Caligula's Horse were belting out their final song and the fellow local prog-act had already drawn in a huge crowd of punters in early to catch them. You'd be a fool for thinking they were just another opening act, nope, this band and their precise performance showcased why they're such a big household name in Australian prog and are certainly worth getting down early for if you're thinking about hitting up these shows. Sorry lads, but the one song I did, 'Dream the Dead', was brilliant as I lined up at the bar for a pink gin.
Following quite possibly the quickest changeover in human history, the crowd got only slightly Horny for Thorny as the former metalcore act from Melbourne hit the stage with their alluring set featuring a vast array of tracks from their latest album Heroine. Frontman Jacob Charlton owned the stage from the second his lips parted, while guitarist Ethan McCann slicked back his hair between songs and put his incredible display of plucking and tapping on for the crowd. Having seen the boys make the transition from playing metalcore slappers to now, a more contemporary "rock show" akin to that of the iconic INXS way back in the day, you got a better understanding of the sound on their new album and how it works well with the theatrics at a venue like Eatons Hill Hotel. Honourable mentions for 'Hollywood', 'Lily & the Moon' and 'Arkangel' are needed, but it was the groovy rendition of 'Casanova' that really had the crowd in the palm of their hands with its riffs, basslines, highs and lows of Jacob's vocal range and Benny boy on the drums.
A couple of blokes next to me persisted in calling for 'Reptile' to be played and I agreed with them, I missed the sexy tones of that song's opening, but, I know that Thornhill won over a stack of new fans by focusing on their newer material - most of which may not have even come across them before this tour took place.
Prior to the tour commencing, Butters asked fans across their social media which songs needed to be played and I got all up in that by essentially requesting the best deep cuts from the early years we used to bounce around to on the Gold Coast and the hard hitters from the new album IV (our review here) - and guess what, the setlist The Butterfly Effect produced tonight was absolutely, positively perfection. As the lights dimmed and the band walked out on stage while their new album's opening title-track played over the PA (would have been incredible if they played this live though), you could tell we had been waiting for this moment for way too long. Clint, Kurt, Glenn and Ben eased into proceedings like a lubed-up index finger in a proctologist's clinic and did not stop for chit-chat throughout - bashing through sing-a-long classics like 'Window and the Watcher', 'A Slow Descent' and 'Always' in succession before tapping into newer singles such as 'So Tired' and 'Nil by Mouth'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhBZs5LlpFU
Frontman Clint Boge's smile shone throughout his on-stage persona with his red flanno and infamous haircut that started a trend for us all back in the day, while Glenn Esmond played away on his bass, keeping his eye constantly on the fans looking his way and lapping up every second. Drummer Ben Hall was hidden from my view for most of the night, but his playing was second to none. Never missed a beat and gave us all the energy to mosh and jump around like we used to... before old age kicked us in the dick. As for Kurt Goedhart, well, he played and played the shit out of his guitar and it was awe-inspiring watching him give 110% and loving every moment of it on stage in his singlet - like a true Queenslander!
I don't want to give too much away, because whether you're a long term Butterfly Effect fan, or new to the mix, you're going to love this setlist. There were plenty of moments for us all to catch our breath, stacks of heavy moments to mosh/jump about and most of all, the bloody sing-a-longs were deafening. Everyone at tonight's show came across like they were fans from way back in the day and still knew all the words like muscle memory.
Hearing tracks I haven't heard in a hot minute like 'One Second of Insanity' and 'Reach' were biblical, and to finally witness 'Visiting Hours' in all of its spectacular glory in a live setting is honestly the best high you can get in life without touching any illegal substances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEtV8QKjh7I&feature=youtu.be
The last time I saw this band in concert was their initial comeback with the OG lineup in 2018 and in comparison, this was like a completely new beast. The Butterfly Effect are back and keen to take on the world again, reminding us why they were one of the most underrated rock acts of the early 2000s, and how far they've come from the shows mentioned at the start of this piece...
Gig Review by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown
Insta: @brownypaul
Setlist
IV (via playback)
Dark Light
Window and the Watcher
A Slow Descent
Always
So Tired
Room Without a View
Nil by Mouth
Gone
Before They Knew
Everybody Runs
One Second of Insanity
Worlds on Fire
Encore
Visiting Hours
Reach
Photo Gallery by Charlyn Cameron. Insta: @chuck_stuff
Please Credit & Tag Wall of Sound and Charlyn Cameron if you repost photos.
Caligula's Horse
Thornhill
The Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect - IV Tour 2022
with Thornhill and Caligula's Horse
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