Bands: sleepmakeswaves, Elephant Gym, Meniscus
Venue: Max Watts, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 26th April 2024
Photos by: Mark Hoffmann
Review by: Dave Collopy
Meniscus
Meniscus kicked off an absolute masterful night of music at Max Watts, with an amazingly cinematic experience encompassing heady highs and soft gorgeous lows. They had visuals that flowed from huge celestial galaxies, all the way down through asteroid belts, the deepest ocean and down to the microscopic level of the cloud stream and cellular structures.
Meniscus has a talent for infusing right heavy rhythms with some of the most beautiful clean sections I’ve ever heard. They use heavy funk elements in sections, and are experts in the use of space and ambience in their music. The drumming overall for the whole night was a real big inspiration for myself! With complex patterns that flow over the whole kit, and lulls of intricate cymbal and rim work during the more ambient sections of their music, it was a real treat getting to see such an intricate mastery of the kit.
Bass and guitar wise, the band held it tightly together with huge washes of energetic guitars and incredibly dynamic and solid bass playing, including the stunning visuals, overall creating that sense of oneness through the universe, creating a feeling that we’re all one in the same.
Elephant Gym
Elephant Gym was something I was absolutely not expecting at a post rock gig. Coming all the way from Taiwan this math rock trio came to Australia to celebrate their 10th anniversary with a world tour!
The musicianship of this act was absolutely next level. Starting off their set with some of the most insane sweeping arpeggios I’ve ever heard, ON THE BASS NO LESS! With insanely creative, jazzy chord progressions on guitar and some of the most perfect drum tones and intricate patterns, it was a musicians dream show!
The creativity of the band on a whole could not be any less understated. The pure joy shown by both the band and the crowd was infectious.
The bassist/vocalist was especially interesting to watch, with an incredible talent for combining ridiculously technical rhythms and vocals simultaneously, all while smiling and engaging with the crowd and her two fellow musicians was a feat you rarely see in such technical music.
Their banter between songs was so sweet and appreciative for everybody at the show. With a message of peace and harmony for the world they talked about their heritage in Taiwan, informing us of the type of governmental regime of the country, and the fact that males were forced to be conscripted into the army for at least one year, and how appreciative they were to be here in Australia holding guitars instead of rifles, to rapturous applause, and pure joy radiating from the whole crowd.
If you’re a fan of music and fun in general I’d very strongly suggest checking out Elephant Gym.
sleepmakeswaves
Sleepmakeswaves are back, baby! Being one of the bands that introduced me to post rock, I finally caught them for the first time since I saw them with Dead Letter Circus and Karnivool back in 2014 for their Polymorphism tour.
You could tell the crowd was insanely happy to have them back down in Melbourne. The on-stage energy this band absolutely oozes with is nothing short of magical. For a genre of music that’s usually associated with relaxation, this band really stands out for their massive sound and presence. Their set started out with a pulsating synth, combined with red light pulsing at the same rate, simulating the heartbeat of the band, right before kicking into the biggest wall of sound. With huge uplifting guitar chords, a driving bass line and fast energetic drumming, you could tell you were in for a much heavier set than the previous two bands. Like I said before, the drumming over the whole night was exceptional, and sleepmakeswaves definitely were a highlight in that regard. The drumming was so powerful and much more hard hitting that the other two bands, while still maintaining that sense of control and technicality. The two guitars were always in harmony, combining to make a wall of distortion and clean chords that were much more steady than the previous two bands, with dropped tuning, they got the much louder and more powerful sound of the night. The bassist also switches between bass with a super aggressive distorted yet tight tone and keyboard, using piano and synthesizer to create another level of space in their music.
Playing music from their entire career they brought out some of their older material, which still perfectly fits in with their new material. Which shows that the band’s had their sound figured out, and have just refined it to perfection since their inception in 2006!
Check out their latest album ‘It’s here, but I have no name for it’. It’s a phenomenal listen!
Gig gallery
