Review: Billy Geary
After what in the end was a rather messy departure from The Butterfly Effect, Clint Boge hasn’t missed a beat moving straight into solo mode for a national tour. Friday night’s stop was at the rustic Evelyn Hotel in Melbourne.

Opening for the night was local heavy rock band Bellusira, swapping out their normal distortion in favour of acoustic guitars for their set. Vocalist Crystal Ignite’s powerful voice was on full display, standing out even more without the full band behind her. Their short set furthered her case for being Melbourne’s best female vocalist and was a great way to start the night.

Next up was solo artist Dan England, another to add to the list of people chewed up and spat out by the Australian Idol machine. Despite that, England put on a great set, his voice unsurprisingly the most impressive part of that. Incorporating a very folk/roots sound to his music, England’s set was slightly different to Bellusira’s set in terms of sound but no less enjoyable.

It was always going to be interesting to see Boge in a venue as small as The Evelyn, especially given he’d played a sold out show at the gargantuan Palace Theatre only months ago. Straight away, one could tell the intimate atmosphere suited Boge to the tee, despite the vast difference in the style of music punters are used to hearing associated with him. Notably, the majority of the set was made of tracks from Boge’s former pop-rock side project in Final Days of Autumn. Songs such as ‘Ghost,’ ‘The Sadness’ and ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ were definite highlights and a pleasure to hear again, after not seeing the light of day for a few years. ‘Avenue’ was without a doubt the best song of the night, with Boge’s vocals clearly inducing chills throughout the room.

Amid a host of requests for renditions of Butterfly Effect tracks, Boge eventually gave the punters what they wanted, inviting Bellusira guitarists James Mileto and Vinny Mancuso to help play a haunting version of ‘Gone.’ Surprisingly, this was the only Butterfly Effect song played for the night, to the dismay of many in attendance. Boge’s voice was pitch perfect throughout his set, with ‘Believe’ being particularly beautiful. The perpetual smile on Boge’s face between songs suggested he was in a much happier headspace having left The Butterfly Effect, seemingly losing a huge weight off his shoulders. Rounding out his set with a track from his other current band Thousand Needles in Red in ‘Darkness Meets the Day,’ Boge was given a huge applause of approval at the song’s conclusion. The song remains one of the best things Boge has put his voice to, emulating the song’s sadness throughout The Evelyn’s band room and a perfect way to end the set.

Rounding out the night, Boge, England and Mileto returned to the stage for a covers/jam session. With rendition of classics such as Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’, Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ and Tom Petty’s ‘Free Fallin,’ it was a ridiculously fun way to end the night, with plenty in the audience singing along. Seeing Clint Boge in a smaller venue and decidedly less serious than his time in The Butterfly Effect was more than refreshing, showing a completely different side of the singer. It was a great gig, suggesting Boge’s solo career is definitely full of promise.

Review: Billy Geary

Show details:
What: Clint Boge (The Butterfly Effect) single launch w/ Dan England, Crystal (Bellusira)
Where: The Evelyn, Melbourne VIC
When: Fri 24 August, 2012

[Archive photo of Clint Boge – Photo credit: Stuart Blythe]
The Butterfly Effect | Photo Gallery
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