The Butterfly Effect
Date: July 10, 2009
Venue: The Tivoli, Brisbane
Acts: The Butterfly Effect, Dead Letter Circus, Calling All Cars
I sometimes wonder whether stunning art-deco venues in other cities snobbishly shy away from hosting metal and punk-inspired acts because of all the associated stereotypes of the acts — and the crowds they draw.
But, whatever the policy elsewhere, at The Tivoli, if it’s good enough for pop-starlet Katy Perry or Brazillian six-string legend Joao Rabello, it’s good enough for louder acts like Trivium, and tonight, home-town rock-metal favourites The Butterfly Effect.
The Butterfly Effect have brought Melbourne trio Calling All Cars and fellow Brisbanites Dead Letter Circus in tow, and a substantial number of people wedge themselves against the barrier from the get-go as the former take the stage.
If nothing else, Calling All Cars possess verve. Vocalist Haydn Ing flits around the stage erratically — first leaping onto the foldbacks for a thrash at his guitar, then teetering on the kick-drum of brother James Ing. The rocket-fuelled, fuzzing slabs of guitar underpinning their melodic punk never quite match the intensity of Haydyn’s piercing 1,000 watt stare, but tracks Hey You and Animal still deliver hooks in spades, while the Weezer-esque undercurrent in latest single Not Like Anybody offers an intriguing change of direction near the end.