Words by: Belinda Quick
“… His thumb began to trace the inside of her palm. Her breathing shallowed, trying to focus on the light show. ‘You deserve to feel adored…” – Imani Erriu, Heavenly Bodies
The emotionally loquacious nature of Melbourne’s THORNHILL is long storied and unrivalled in Australian musical history. Their aesthetic, central in creating an air of love, curated and evolved over the course of their career, is rich, purposeful and, in turn, evokes a reciprocation of emotion.
From the first flap of Butterfly wings, seconded by a navigation of The Dark Pool and tertiarily by the journey of love and loss to find themselves a Heroine, tonight has led them here: a discovery of the most heavenly BODIES, this eponymous national tour marks the trine, a performance to showcase pure adoration.
Opening wide HEAVENSGATE, Nazareth Tharratt issues a call: those ‘who came to get violent‘, forge to the front and RAIN down your blows. Drummer Caleb Kotsanis whipping his kit into OBLIVION, the fellow statesmen produce volume far surpassing a live four-piece. Adelaide audiences punch drunk and GINSICK for the frequently visiting rising stars, musical PETRICHOR precipitates the state’s impending storm, due tomorrow; the RATKING asks us to ‘give it up for PALEDUSK‘ before sacrificing A FAWN FLAYED in finale.
A montage of tracks dedicated to good HEALTH plays; Japan’s uniformed heavy metal boyband prepares for chaos. Introduced via THEME SONG #1, an all-of-a-sudden crowd swells to alert the AREA PD of tonight’s intention to SLAY! Broken beats and vocal overlay clash with devilish breakdowns to create a SUPERNATURAL HIGH, the RUMBLE continues to ride upon the PALE HORSE. FOREVER IN THE DARK, singularly dressed guitarist, Daisuke Ehara, dances back and forth bare-chested, offering heart hands and HUGs.
‘Lucid in the flow’ now, OG Forever rings out as OCEAN GROVE surreptitiously appears and performs perfect CELL DIVISION. Joining the BODIES tour on its eve, superstar frontman Dale Tanner and the epicureal Twiggy Hunter Ask For the Anthem of those just joining the Collective and, pointing to my unabashed Intimate Alien silhouette perched precariously on a booth’s partition, rejoice with those who’ve been here from first to LAST DANCE.
A RAINDROP falling figuratively completes the cinematic Stratosphere Love, the regional boys celebrate in the style synonymous to them and their fandom. Thrashing like the phenomenal Sam Bassal on drums, JUNKIE$ of the ‘1, 2, 3’ let anarchy reign; entwined with Adelaide’s audience, all are ready to FLY AWAY on a wing or prayer, to ride the Ocean Grove wave ‘forever, forever, forever…’
Smooth as silk, as if no interlude has occurred between the two Victorian eras, DIESEL burns. Jacob Charlton cocking the Revolver, the frontman shoots through an ethereal green shadow, begging and offering Mercia concurrently.
An act of Nurture by kings of compassion, Charlton’s dedication to his beloved pet strikes an eternal chord; Lily & the Moon evoking memories of the last night I spent with my own darling, Stevie, gazing up at the universe together, nobodies in love looking up at the stars of Hollywood one last time. Thornhill, in this very moment, proves their uniqueness for speaking universally, making each and everyone of us feel, concurrently, like there was Only Ever You.
A personal moment inspected under the knife, Arkangel soars in fantasy-fiction, landing gently upon the crush of Blue Velvet. ‘Cause I’m blessed with it’, Thornhill’s Silver Swarm, encircling and enrapturing the crowd, Charlton’s ability to speak in TONGUES coalesces with Casanova charm, contained For Now but not for long – the full bloom of passion begs to be set wild and free.
An Obsession shared, in song sung together; hitting the right nerv and under the glow, we ‘move back in the centre of the crowd’, together and as one, in love. Adored, just as we all deserve to be, still swept up in the splendour of tonight’s light show, the memory of the embrace lingers long after the final chord is struck ✨
