Live Review: Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Sleepmakeswaves

It feels strange to be catching an opening band while the sun is still up, but sleepmakeswaves manage to grab the attention of the early crowd. The band are tighter than ever, twin guitar lines weaving around each other on top of the complex drums, and a new track promises good things for their forthcoming album. It's easy for instrumental bands to seem dwarfed on large stages, but these guys look at home now, bodies thrashing around, immersed in their own creations. Unfortunately there's almost no audible bass for the entire set, and while Alex Wilson certainly looks impressive, it may as well be pantomime. They sound good, even down an instrument, but without the bass the tracks lack the intensity they normally hold.

The sun begins to drop as Dead Letter Circus take to the stage and the crowd swells over the course of opening track, The Space On The Wall. The set draws fairly evenly from both their albums, and Luke Williams is a particular stand-out on drums and backing vocals, juggling difficult fills and harmonies adroitly. Kim Benzie is a still but magnetic figure up front on vocals, and when he turns the mic to the audience for a chorus, their volume rivals that of the band. The cheering between songs seems even louder, and it's clear that Brisbane is happy to embrace the hometown heroes. Unfortunately the bass is still almost entirely absent, and Benzie's vocals are muddied and indistinct in the tent.

The Marquee is a fairly new addition to the Brisbane scene, but something needs to change for it to be considered a particularly useful one. A semi-permanent tent, it presents all the negative aspects of a music festival – asphalt floor, poor acoustics, long lines, $5 water and early curfews – without any significant benefits.

The bass is finally audible for Karnivool (sort of), and it makes them easily the heaviest act of the night, but the mix is still foggy and so there's less to distinguish between the tracks than there should be. Ian Kenny's voice cuts through nicely and is the highlight of the set, but overall it's a performance unlikely to win over any new fans, and the night belongs to Dead Letter Circus.

In the end, this is music as spectacle. A giant stage, an extravagant light show, emotional triggers ramped high by the volume and the large and enthusiastic crowd. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that the musicality is lost. The bands are skilled, tight and experienced, but there's a sense that it doesn't matter, provided the songs are loud and familiar. It's heartening to see heavy Australian artists getting such a big reception, but both the fans and the bands deserve better than they got tonight.