It’s a Sunday night and The Baso Canberra is rocking already. A good-sized crowd is here just as I get there as the doors open. The temperature is sizzling 34 degrees Celsius outside and is at least 5 degrees hotter inside, due to a sold-out gig. The Butterfly Effect are playing back to their roots, it’s the twentieth anniversary of their amazing debut album, “Begins Here”.
Melbourne band Wayside are tasked with warning up the crowd and do a great job playing a mix of proggy rock and some bangers as well. In the half hour they are on stage, the swelling crowd start off in a reserved mode, but as the set goes on, they are won over and appreciative of a strong performance by the young band.
The Butterfly Effect hit the stage at 8.45, and as the lights go dark, the noise of the crowd increases. Begins Here, their debut album is now 20 years old and as Kurt Goedhart (guitar), Glenn Esmond (bass), and Ben Hall (drums) hit the stage, the anticipation is overwhelming. Kurt hits the first discordant notes of the Intro kicks off into the darkness, the crowd roar their approval. This album is an absolute classic and as Clint Boge hits the stage for the first vocals of the night on Perception Twin, it gets louder and hotter. The band thrives off the energy of the crowd and continue to give just as much back.
The first few songs are over in a blink of an eye while I am photographing the band and before I know it as the strains of “One Second of Insanity” fades away, I am jumping over the barrier to head back through the pulsing crowd.
Moving around the venue is difficult because everyone wants to be down near the front, and the crowd stretches on all the way to the back. It’s a bumper “sold out” crowd that have come to see a band that gets better with age.
The whole album played live, is a roller coaster ride, with amazing highs, powerful surges and moments of beauty as they add a more acoustic flavour to songs “Beautiful Mine”, “Without Wings” and “Overwhelmed”. The band play their hearts out and the crowd is swaying all the way to the ending with “Outro”. Exit stage left for a short break before coming back out to play some more.
Did I mention it was hot? Clint comments on how bloody hot it is in here, citing his Queensland heritage and it’s still feeling hotter than there, telling the crowd he’s had to go back and dry his balls in the break. But as the banter ends, he reflects on how amazing it is to be able to play this album that was recorded 20 years ago. In those 20 years, though, they have lost some dear people, so the next song is for those – “Gone” from Imago.
Another quick chat and Clint makes us aware it is a very special day, it’s Glenn’s birthday and he encourages the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to him, which they happily oblige. As “Window and the Watcher”, “Take It Away” and “Reach” round out the set, I can’t but reflect on not seeing a better gig with so much energy going back and forth between a band and crowd for such a long time. That’s really the benefit of the intimate venues. Over 600 people are going home very happy, as is the band. As I leave the venue about 20 minutes after the last song, the whole band is at the merch desk signing items with a line up of at least 75 people left in line. It is magic to see, the whole night has been.
Review & Photos by Hold Still Photography
The Butterfly Effect:
Wayside:
