Thornhill X-Mas Show | Pier Bandroom Frankston.
With Christmas quickly screeching to a halt in front of us all, the end of the year has been a rush of gigs, work and plenty more work (maybe some grog in between?). In the midst of it all, Thornhill announced an X-mas gig, with a stacked lineup of all Naarm’s favourite local legends, including Starve, Gloom in the Corner, Windwaker and Void of Vision. This is the second year the beloved quartet has thrown, last year being joined by Ocean Grove, Ocean Sleeper, Inertia and Post Heaven. With any luck, this festive event will become an annual celebration for all locals to enjoy again and again.
Nestled between the beach and plenty of pubs, the Pier Bandroom is a huge, levelled space with bars on either side of the room and amps towering either side of the stage. There’s different nests of space where you can clearly see the stage, so whether you’re there to kick someone in the pit or to kick it with some mates and watch the show, this venue caters to every experience. Personally, I immediately tucked myself in a pocket close to the barricade, and stood my ground with a group of friends for the rest of the night.
First to take to the stage with nothing short of fierce determination, Starve is a four piece hardcore who have been causing a stir for over half a decade now. Having supported the likes of Make Them Suffer and Kublai Khan and also recently completing their own headline Aussie tour, there's no stopping this group. ”Nightmare At My Door” was one of my favourite tracks they performed, and as the blistering guitar from Alessio rang out alongside Dunbar’s perilous screams, behind me the pit grew more ferocious and energetic.
Jordan Dunbar & Jack Bergin / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Ewan Gordan on bass laid it down thick and heavy, while Darcy Carrol proved himself invincible on the kit at the back. During (On Account Of My Emptiness), Jack Bergin (Void Of Vision) sprang onto the stage with a prowl, as he began to wail the lyrics “Take me away, sweet hedonistic rush,”. The crowd erupted, violence brewing as both Bergin and Dunbar screeched “Nothing left when I’m dead,”. Both recorded and live, their vocals slip together in a jarring, yet satisfying way, as Jack’s pierces the air, Jordan’s seems to tear at the earth under it. Closing out the set with their hit song “Parables”, starve did a fantastic job at setting the standard for the rest of the night.
With so many bands set to perform tonight, the time between sets was just long enough to top up on your beer or run to the loo and back, just in time to go all over again. The Gloom in the Corner are another staple Melbourne band, with concept driven tracks that explore the depths of human melancholy through their lore that’s tangled into the cinematic and heavy instrumentals. I could go on about them, the “Fear Me Arc”, and wave my merch in your face for hours, but for the sake of brevity, I will save that for another time.
As per tradition, Nicklebacks “How You Remind Me” was played as they prepared their equipment on stage, and as it faded out, the lights dimmed to a crimson red. Decorated in their usual uniforms, black ensembles etched with white sigils, the four members took to the stage and blasted into “Misanthropic”. Their stage presence is very theatrical, alongside the nature of their music, and Mikey has a natural charisma that demands the room's attention, almost as if he’s conducting the energy itself. They finished on their most recent release, “Jericho Protocol,” and shouted out the other bands before they said goodbye.
The Gloom In The Corner / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Named after the beloved Legend of Zelda game, Windwaker consists of drummer Chris Laois, guitarist Jesse Crofts, bassist Indey Salvestro, synthist Connor Robins and vocalist Liam Guinane. Cooking up tunes for a decade now, their sound is a mix of metal core, rap and hyper pop. They have an extremely dedicated fan base, and as they blasted through “Get Out” and “Break The Rules” the mosh exploded into a flurry of bodies colliding. The group has a playful, cheeky charm to their presence, despite the chaotic nature of their music. As they played their last song, “Villain”, they tossed their Santa caps into the crowd and hyped the audience up for the rest of the lineup.
Windwaker / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Void of Vision has a special place in the scene’s heart, their gritty, gothic appearance paired with industrial metal fused with techno. And, to everyone’s dismay, tonight is one of their last performances before their indefinite split as a group. In lieu of this, the crowd brought it their all in that pit, and as the band came on stage in Christmas get ups and Bergin now dressed up as Jack Skellington, they brought their wrath and nothing less to the stage.
I decided to grace the pit with my presence as the intro to “DOMANATRIX” played, and was immediately swept away in the sea of bodies and adrenaline. Despite already being half winded, out of breath, they churned out banger after banger, “Hell Hell Hell” and “Oblivion” flew by in the pit, like all the dirty Converses over my head. Bodies flew over the barricade relentlessly, “Kill All My Friends” definitely being a highlight of the night.
Void Of Vision / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Just as I felt I had finally caught my breath, the room erupted in cheers as a remix of “Lily & The Moon” blessed the room. The stage had been decorated with a tiny Christmas tree, and each member of the band were dressed in festively printed button ups and Santa hats, and the lead singer was wearing a reindeer beanie. To everyone’s delight, Santa himself was even there!!!! He tossed presents out into the audience as he bounded around the stage, and also rewarded any crowd surfers with one.
The setlist was stacked, they played older hits like “Hellfire Club” and “Coven”, while also showing off newer tracks like “Nerv” and “Obsession”. As I looked behind me, I don’t think anyone could even shuffle themselves up the stairs, the room was packed shoulder to shoulder. At certain points, it even seemed like the fans' voices were louder than the amps, it was incredible to witness how much this band has grown over the past few years. Closing out with “Where We Go When We Die,” it felt like time had eluded me as the house lights turned back on. They provided a fantastic show, not missing a beat of energy and sounding as tight as ever.
Thornhill & Santa / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Feeling a touch bittersweet that it was over, I watched as people dressed in banana costumes, Santa hats and merch filed out of the room. There was no better way to spread Christmas joy than spilling beer in the pit, screaming until my throat was raw and getting to bounce along to some of my favourite bands.
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