[Review] Sam Smith @ Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 31/10/2023
All Hallows Eve is always a magical night in Melbourne, and tonight sees Sam Smith play night one of two capacity shows of their Gloria World Tour at Rod Laver Arena. The walk to our entertainment precinct along the mighty Yarra river was one peppered with spooky revellers, many dressed to impress on the night where even the most diverse could feel right at home. As I drew closer to Rod Laver the sights became much more impressive, many taking advantage of seeing Sam Smith on Halloween to indulge in their wildest fantasies. Knowing they could safely be who or what they wanted without fear or judgement was so refreshing, the vibe was one of unity and joy and was like a breath of fresh air.
As I joined the rapidly expanding floor Meg Mac was taking to the stage. What a lovely performance to watch, Meg’s voice had so many layers and her music was engaging from start to finish. Her soulful tunes resonated with all, having her sister Hannah on backing vocals and her friend Danielle complete the stella line up. When Meg sang Letter she was solo with just her keyboardist for company, it was a standout track and showcased her stunning voice, a real showstopper! While the set was only 30 minutes she packed in plenty and I will gladly go and see her again in the future.
After a brief break the stage came to life with a stunning giant gold statuette laying across the entire length. The drums and piano elevated behind the mass of gold with a staircase just under the butt to facilitate easy access to all areas of the stage. Glowing devil horns dotted every corner of Rod Laver, the perfect Halloween adornment which set a stunning view from every angle. As the lights went down Rod Laver came to life, the screams of excitement and joy bounced from the roof as Sam Smith made their way across the statue complete with flowing gold cape and corset. Their confidence from the first moment on stage as they strutted was joyous to watch and I could not wait to see what the night delivered. Broken into four sections beginning with Prelude we were taken on a Sam Smith journey through time, Stay With Me, I’m Not The Only One and Like I Can perfect additions to the opening set. Sam adorned in gold from head to feet as were their musicians and backing vocalists.
Part l: Love was up next, and the hits kept coming with Perfect, Diamonds, How Do You Sleep and Dancing With A Stranger which Sam made sure had everyone on their feet dancing. The enjoyment radiating from the fans was overwhelming with glowing fans waving in the air, people swaying with arms aloft, the unity was incredible, and Rod Laver felt awash with inclusion. There was never a doubt of Sam’s love for Australia and the support they have been shown here, they were overwhelmed with affection and quite emotional at times.
Part ll: Beauty Sam appeared in the most spectacular of frocks to which they called ‘How do you like my dress? It’s really fucking heavy’ this was met with peals of laughter as they made their way into I’m Kissing You and Lay Me Down which had phone torches on maximum setting a stunning accompaniment for this beautiful song. It was now that lightness met darkness and the show took on a mind of its own as pulsing lights surrounded the stage and Sam appeared in yet another costume change. Draped in black from head to toe with top hat adorned with silver devil horns, Gimme rang out. The stage awash with sexy dancers which Sam joined and mixed it with the best of them as they strutted all the moves to perfection. Lose You, Promises, I’m Not Here To Make Friends were welcome additions to the setlist, and saw Sam in a luxurious pink layered floor length extravaganza of a jacket. The stage was charged with laser lights flashing in overdrive, the venue was humming with infectious happiness, what a delight it was to witness. A rainbow of lasers and lighting lit up the stage for the Donna Summer cover of I Feel Love as Sam made his departure and left it to the dancers to see out part ll with their spectacular moves.
Part lll: Sex took Rod Laver to new heights as Sam appeared in a sheer full body covering complete with crown. It covered their face and with their arms held wide it felt like the we were in the church of Gloria and Sam Smith was our preacher. It was about now that the junior members of the night’s congregation needed to cover their eyes as the raunchy metre hit 11. Sam was unveiled to be wearing not a lot, a black thong and cobweb pasties, fishnets and thigh high black boots pretty much sums it up as they launch into a cover of Madonna’s Human Nature. The stage then turned red with Sam dressed in yet another corset and devil top hat, I was mesmerised as they slid, ground and wove around the stage accompanied by the scintillating dancers. It was sexy, it was saucy, and it was bloody extraordinary. With once last addition to the wardrobe Sam returned with a red flowing robe de chambre and a glittering pitchfork, as the final strains of Unholy rang out.
If there was one place I would have wanted to spend Halloween it was at Rod Laver Arena with the one and only Sam Smith. They brought so much joy to so many people in a loving, united environment and it was absolutely delightful to be a part of it.
[Review] Thornhill @ Moore Park, Sydney 28/10/2023
I’ve been wanting to see Thornhill for a while now, so last Saturday night, I finally got to tick that one off my list. It was October 28th and at Moore Park, The Entertainment district in Sydney. It was a busy night, with a Halloween dance party at the Hordon Pavilion and Sir Paul McCartney playing next door at Allianz stadium. But at Liberty Hall, Sydney metalheads lined up early and gathered for the final night of the Prom Queen City Tour. Which had the amazing line up that was Bloom (Syd), Thousand Below (USA), Holding Absence (UK) and Thornhill (Melb).
First up were Sydneysiders, Bloom. I wasn’t familiar with them but colour me impressed! They brought the energy and entertained with a 7 song setlist warming up the crowd with Laughing Stock, Bound To Your Whispers, Sink Into The Soil, Daylight, Siren Song, The Service and finished the set off with Cold. At the end of the evening I was chatting with a fellow and he said that Bloom is his new favourite Sydney-based band! Big call considering the bands in Sydney, but I admit, these lads are impressive, so keep an eye out for them on future tours – definitely worth checking out.
Next up were American “homies” Thousand Below, who took to the stage with a powerful 8 song set including, Hell Finds You Everywhere, Venenosa, Tradition, Silent Season, 171 xo, The Love You Let Too Close, No Place Like You and rounding the set out with Sabotage. Thousand Below did a great job of hyping the crowd where Bloom left off. At the conclusion of the set, the singer introduced himself as James and said he was going to be over at the merch stand and wanted to meet everyone. I’d already staked out my favourite spot at this venue, so I wasn’t moving for anyone, not even a friendly American (soz), not even for the line up at the ladies loos, nope, not budging.
Then it was time for Welsh post-hardcore alt rockers, Holding Absence, who played an energetic 8 song set which had us all singing along to songs like, Like A Shadow, Aching Longing, Gravity, Scissors, A Crooked Melody, Her Wings, Afterlife and ended the set with The Angel In The Marble. The night before, Holding Absence had played a full set in my hometown of Newcastle, but with a “bangover” neck ache from the previous weekend seeing Bury Tomorrow, I’d piked out to save my energy for the trip down to Sydney and this show – but now I’m kicking myself for not mustering up the energy and seeing the full set show cos these guys are fan-bloody-tastic.
Finally, it was time for the headliners, metalcore / alt rock, ARIA nominated Melbournites known as Thornhill. The line up currently consists of guitarist Ethan McCann, Drummer Ben Maida, Bassist Nick Sjogren and Vocalist / guitarist Jacob Charlton. The lads blazed onto the stage with latest single, Viper Room, then led into Heroine favourite, Arkangel, followed with Views From The Sun, The Haze and Red Summer where Holding Absence vocalist, Lucas Woodland joined them on stage to add some gnarly growls. Next up were Hollywood followed by Casanova, then the band left the stage with no explanation and I still have no idea why, for about a 2 minute interlude, then they returned to the stage to play Something Terrible Came With The Rain. The crowd moshed hard and sang along loudly to The Hellfire Club, and Leather Wings. Next up was the moody All The Light We Don’t See, then the crowd sang along enthusiastically to Lily & The Moon, the audience circle moshed during Coven, and Raw. Thornhill finished the set and the tour with Where We Go When We Die.
Frontman, Jacob Charlton’s falsetto vocals are transcendent, taking you on an emotional journey with him, and his dance style and hip movements took me right back to the days where I was on the rail watching a young Michael Hutchence in INXS. The band were tight and played a good mix of songs from both albums. The Sydney audience showed their appreciation as Thornhill put on an impressive performance and definitely lived up to the hype.
All four bands put on a great show and left the crowd happily satisfied and a bit tired from all the moshing and singing. Holding Absence are currently continuing their Noble Art Of Self Destruction tour with Thornhill as their guest support band in Germany and the UK.