Sleep Token @ The Tivoli
It’s impossible to ignore the intense energy at a Sleep Token show, It’s Like some form of magic.
Review and photos by Dayna West Gilmore
British alt-rock band, Sleep Token arrived on Australian shores this week for their headline tour. I popped down to Brisbane’s The Tivoli on Friday night, to get to know some fans who had been loyally queuing since 8am.
Emma, Brody, Oscar, Madonna and Pixie were the first to queue up, alongside other fans from Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne who are following the entire tour circuit.
Emma arrived at 8am with no ticket and refreshed Tixel non-stop for 3 hours until she snapped up her golden pass. She said there were 980 people on the waitlist the day of the Brisbane show – and taking in the large sum of people who were already snuggling into The Tivoli around us – I am certain a third venue upgrade would have been easily achievable. The band previously upgraded from The Triffid, showing just how much their reach has exploded via social media platforms like TikTok. A quick look at Spotify shows monthly listeners have jumped from 280,000 to approximately 2.5 million in mere weeks. The spike is thanks to the success of hit song The Summoning.
Emma said she was prepared to ‘“spend hundreds” for a ticket – and the passion radiating along the barrier from all the eager fans was completely contagious. Hearing the excitement of fans reached me in a special way. Oscar, another member of the Sleep Token family, handmade their outfit for the show, including a breakdown of Sleep Token codes - the band’s elusively dropped hidden messages. Oscar cracked the “Eden code” – a series of rune-like characters that signified the title names of singles Chokehold and The Summoning. I was mindblown to learn the band communicate with their fans through cryptic runes, an off-the-charts Reddit discord, and the world-building that surrounds the band.
Jacinta, who was right of the barrier, told me she had contacted the band and venue, pleading for the Sydney show to be upgraded to a bigger venue for the thousands of fans who would be missing out on this tour. The dedicated fan base in front of me described their excitement in the form of “butterflies” and “raw emotion you can feel in your bones”. The music hadn’t even begun! Another fan, Rachel said Sleep Token’s “anonymity adds so much depth. They just shine for people who don’t talk.” I am beginning to understand why the large group took premeditated “tactical” bathroom breaks and sacrificed a day on the sidewalk for this show …
I admit, I went into this show knowing little about Sleep Token lore – only being aware of their ‘secret identities’, performing in masks and functioning on the premise of being anonymous. There are forums where people attempt to ‘crack the code’ and decipher the band’s identity – one forum claimed the lead singer was Corey Taylor from Slipknot – which I can confirm is wildly off-target. No offence to Corey at all, but after conversing with some security working that night, I learnt they’d been given instruction to “destroy” all set lists from the night and any photos must be deleted. Fans Oscar and Aksel filled me in on some of the lore, but I was genuinely puzzled and impressed with how much authenticity has been hung on the band’s anonymity. Before I could get any more information, the stage lights went down, and it was showtime.
Moving out ever so moodily, backlighting and robes in tow with a hint of stage fog, Sleep Token broke into Chokehold and the crowd erupted. Vocals beamed out of vocalist Vessel as the room was captivated by atmospheric tones and bass. Vessel’s unreal vocals on show in this song – were gently enhanced by the backing vocals provided by the three hooded figures standing to the back left of the stage. The opening was incredibly strong, spreading goosebumps over my skin. Likening their performances to “rituals” is not just a gimmick to play into their mystery, but a legitimate descriptor for the elevation I felt during this performance. Aptly named Chokehold – Sleep Token had an instant grip on me.
Following that up instantly with TikTok hit The Summoning was almost too much to handle. The stage dynamic between each member was electric; they moved around the stage with such character, almost like court jesters with their limbs flying about like the straw man from The Wizard of Oz. The falsetto of vocalist Vessel carries over the top of the heavy, prog rock instrumentation and the ambience between each section of the song creates this illuminating aura on stage and an ethereal and ascendant presence. It was truly hard to photograph and not be completely swept up in the moment.
One of the many stand-out moments for me was Granite – The three hooded backing vocalists had stunning vocalisations that fan Brody described aptly before the show as like an “adult lullaby”. This encapsulates the dreamy first section of the song before it drops into its post-metal style. It’s hard to exactly pinpoint the sound of this genre–bending band, but the diversity within their discography is impressive and what truly sets them aside from others in this space. Their uniqueness is founded in technical and engaging songwriting that has me questioning what kind of magic they have soaked their soundwaves in.
The Love You Want was a similarly charming and aching performance, with syncopated synth nodules oscillating fascinatingly alongside the emotional ballad from Vessel. The full house clapping along to the rhythmic 82 bpm love song was uniting. Watching the warm, white stage lighting cover the crowd like a warm blanket while they were singing and clapping along was a dreamy sight to behold, and one I’m sure Sleep Token don’t take for granted.
Ending the night on The Offering and completing the overarching ritualistic performance. I’m still unsure if Sleep Token is just incredibly gifted musicians who have perfected their craft, or if they are truly vessels who channel magic from above and possess the ability to convey these siren-like musings of another unearthly being … or perhaps both. The Offering conveys underlying themes of the Garden of Eden, an almost forbidden passion and perhaps giving into the ultimate sin, therefore becoming the utmost offering.
The best offerings, or most common, are often those acquired through unconventional and dark means, according to folklore, enveloped in a yearning and mystery. Their devoted fans are the perfect subjects for The Offering. The concept is a deep and mystifying lore, one I’m still trying to place. It’s impossible to ignore the intense energy and atmosphere at a Sleep Token show, and it almost immediately clocks as some form of magic – whether it be the power of music at play, or something larger that we can only feel and not see – power channelling through Sleep Token is an undeniable feat of mastery and perfection. I walked into this show as one person and left as a different one. Entering this world was a majestic affair, and one I would gladly see again.
Thank you Destroy All Lines.
Dayna.
