It's 7pm, the humid air feels only a little less sticky than an hour before. So as not to encourage sweat, I walk leisurely from my wheels in the direction of Princess Theatre – she made my top five Brisbane live venues within weeks of opening last year.
Tonight (2 February) the majestic structure plays host to Plini's Summer 2023 Australian tour. Plini and his band of exceptional musicians will be supported by Canada's Protest The Hero and homegrown, I Built The Sky.Aside from Plini, I am super stoked to be catching my second live set from I Built The Sky – the first one took my breath away. The Melbourne four-piece are opening the evening.
IBTS brains and magic maestro Rohan 'Ro' Stevensen takes the stage with the rest of the band to get on with the business of riffing into 'Ascendant', the first metal flavoured ingredient of their delicious cocktail of complex guitar work and surreal and atmospheric sounds.
Adding to the metal flavour is 'Stars And Darkness' and 'The Zenith Rise', which are smashing around our ears. The punters are definitely quenching their thirst with this set already. I for one am feeling tipsy drinking in their musical ambience.
I Built The Sky - image © Clea-marie Thorne
There is even a dash of comedy in the mix as between songs an AI voice crashes the speaker party and interjects a little humour into their set.
With a change in tone and tempo, IBTS add a more acoustic sound with 'This Is Astral Travel'. I'm telling you, the track title is exactly how it makes you feel. And there are no shamanic drugs required!
With a blast back into the heavy, IBTS are filling our glass with 'Wormhole Traveller', 'Stellar Evolution' and we are immersed in the evocative 'Ascendant'. Whether you are a fan of their sound or not, it's sure to be an intense and memorable experience.
I Built The Sky - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Ending their set featuring intricate guitar work that has created an ethereal atmosphere in the room is an obvious fan favourite, 'Up Into The Ether'. However, the real ending is us chuckling at the IBTS AI voice stealing the finale by having a bout of Tourette's! What a crack-up.
We are indulging in a short break where I am privy to an extreme act of kindness. A gent from the Gold Coast has brought his first edition copy of IBTS's 'The Zenith Rise' album to give to Stevensen. Apparently he found out Stevensen failed to set aside a first edition press of the album for himself before they were all gone and regretted this. The gent thought the artist should have that in his collection and decided to gift him his copy. I'm in awe. How freaking thoughtful is this human being?
My mood has been elevated by the first act and I make my way to the front for PTH who are one of Plini's favourite bands. Plini even bought a meet and greet ticket to see PTH at a Soundwave festival (Plini actually tells us this later).
Protest The Hero - image © Clea-marie Thorne
I am told by a friend to hang on to my hair as PTH are going to blow me away. I deliberately did not research their music, so I could get the full appreciation of their live vibe first. And here goes.
Well the sound is sheer quality from the get-go as the five-piece lead us into their set with 'The Migrant Mother'. Loud with the vibrations of all things heavy, but not in a way that is leaving my ears haemorrhaging.
The lighting is a captivating spectacle behind the band. There is a lot of backlight-only sequencing, but we are loving the intermittent front lighting so we can see our musos' expressions – nice work!
Radiating a feverish energy on the stage is vocalist Rody Walker. His energy is closely matched by touring bass player Henry 'Hank' Selva who stops often to execute a wide-spread stance and some low-head banging – it seems to add a dimension to their song 'Limb For Limb' as I watch him. Ha!
Protest The Hero - image © Clea-marie Thorne
At times Walker gets in a frenzied state that elicits a heightened enthusiasm from fans and other punters. He lays claim to any vacant space on the stage during his chaotic bursts of movement while throttling his vocal chords.
Our eyes are kept darting around the stage as we follow him during these bursts. As he is bending forward while growling into his mic, so low and close to the edge of the stage, he is engulfed in near blackness. He looks like a cut-out silhouette against a wall of streaming coloured light from behind. I hold my breath willing him not to fall.
The energy in the room has been electrified. Punters are nodding heads and bouncing on the spot and many fully head-banging to the beats of the ferocious rhythm section. The drummer is hitting the skins like a machine while Selva lays down his deep, thundering groove that keeps the crowd moving.
Protest The Hero - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'Bloodmeat' has the guy beside me getting absolutely bonkers – he knows all the twists and turns this one takes and I am getting more excited sharing his euphoria.
As I mentioned, this is my first-time hearing and experiencing PTH and I am absolutely floored at the complex guitar riffs and wacky time signatures – oh the drumming and that voice, so powerful! PTH just have to come back soon. Walker is giving good crowd banter during his set, including teasing a very vocal male with "smelly dreads".
The incoherent ramblings of this punter led him to remind us of Alanis Morrisette's unique voice followed by giving us his best Mr Woodchuck (chipmunk puppet) impersonation, which we give him a solid 10/10 for effort and execution.
Protest The Hero - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Closing out with 'Skies' and 'All Hands' with excitable fans cheering or singing along, PTH definitely have a fan base in Brisbane and they can add me to that list now.
Plini has drawn a motza of fans to the venue and they're now stacked from the barrier at front of stage all the way back to the bar. The atmosphere contains an electric vibe as fan excitement builds in anticipation of the main act.
I hear the start of 'Roxanne' by The Police. However, when the lyrics start, all we hear is "Rox" then only instrumentation continues and punters untrained voices left hanging – someone is having fun with us. Then again "Rox"; this continues for the whole song and I gather it is emphasising "Rocks". Ha!
And with that the band enters the stage in a wash of foggy blue with Plini standing front row and centre. 'The Glass Bead Game' is our first taste of the main course. It pours out a thick syrup that ebbs and flows in the air around us and the tone gets a bit spicy in parts.
Plini - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Plini is chill; how he even recalls how to play the intricate and what seems to me very complex masterpieces is beyond me. 'Papelillo' and 'I'll Tell You Someday' come before the more jazz flavoured 'Flâneur', which I find utterly captivating.
As always Plini introduces his four band members and has the audience acknowledge their great talent and contribution to his performances, and has them perform a solo piece that's nothing less than spectacular.
Tonight he's asking us especially to give big welcome to Chris Allison (drums) as he thinks Allison's ego is too small. We follow his instructions, chanting "Chris! Chris!" We are also told that Dave McCain (keys) from the UK doesn't understand joy – well he looks happy enough up there onstage to me.
Plini - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Other favourites 'Away', 'Kind', 'Handmade Cities', 'Perfume' and 'Impulse' are picked, tapped and played with finesse, and what appears to be with great ease. Punters go berserk for all of them.
There's one punter with a mass of long blonde hair that has not stopped head-banging all night and there's no slowing the momentous effort of his neck snapping to any of the tracks as they move in out of a slow or fast tempo.
A punter yells out: "You make me want to buy a headless guitar!" Plini responds with a smirk and states to the "dude" he'd prefer that he come back next time and say: "You made me buy a headless guitar!" We all laugh.
I am getting lost in the dreamy soundscapes of the slower tempos and let myself ride the wild currents on my imaginary magic carpet on the faster progressive and experimental vibes.
As we experience 'Voices' and 'Heart' there is a punter connection with Plini and with each other in the intimacy of the Princess tonight. Before we get the tour de solo from the band members on stage, Plini responds to a punter's cry for him to get political – with a call for Labor to the left and Liberals to the right and a circle of death (did he mean wall of death?) in the middle.
Plini - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Like any other performance Plini has headlined or been a part of, the virgin punters, fans and inquisitive music lovers cannot rave enough about his technical proficiency and virtuosic musicality.
Me? I agree with them, but I find myself raving like a madwoman when trying to explain the mental and emotional journeying I do when listening to his creations. They are so otherworldly and I treasure the indulgence of escapism I experience listening to his art.
I also love his sense of humour and crowd banter. He made a joke about how he imagined that Allison had peed himself tonight – a bottle of water had fallen over and made a tiny stream from the drum riser to the front of the stage. Poor Allison.
Plini's performance ended with another four well-known tracks but I was so lost in the moment I failed to note the order or names. With the water issue and banter they were cutting it fine with time and, therefore the encore, was not your usual exit, wait for the crowd calling and re-entry.
Plini - image © Clea-marie Thorne
However punters are still gifted with the brilliant masterful pieces 'Pan' and 'Electric Sunrise' that has Plini unleashing a flurry of notes that is making my skin shiver despite the body heat we have generated in the room. The guitar sounds are huge, filling the room with a massive wall of sound that is powerful and beautiful.
Just when I feel it cannot get any more intense, Plini unleashes a mind-bending solo that sends us into a frenzy. The deep tones sweeping to piercing high notes raised the dopamine levels so much I'll be buzzing for a week.
This was yet another energetic and engaging Plini set and there is no escaping being captivated by his guitar skills and musical prowess. We were held in a moving rapture that has left us breathless. My ears ringing and I can feel my body pulsing with the aftershocks of the performance.
Plini - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The crowd gave Plini and the band a thunderous cheer for the incredible experience and the amazing musicianship they just witnessed. Truly another must-see event for fans and those who should be fans – Plini is the definition of a maestro of progressive and instrumental music.
I know if Plini comes to town again, I'm there. In fact if any of tonight's artists return it is a sure bet that I'll be in the crowd with y'all!
More photos from the show.
