Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineNovember 01, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Odin Imaging, Nathan Goldsworthy, odin imaging, Sam Smith, rod laver arena, frontier touring

Sam Smith @ Rod Laver Arena 31-10-23

Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineNovember 01, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Odin Imaging, Nathan Goldsworthy, odin imaging, Sam Smith, rod laver arena, frontier touring

photos and words: Nathan Goldsworthy @odin.imaging

The air crackled with anticipation as Melbourne's hallowed Rod Laver Arena braced itself for the arrival of the mesmerizing vocal virtuoso, Sam Smith. The faithful followers, clad in their glowing devil horns, eagerly awaited the sonic communion promised by the ethereal maestro. Amidst the flickering sea of crimson lights, there was an unspoken pact, a shared reverence for the divine blend of vulnerability and power that only Sam Smith could conjure.

As the clock struck the appointed hour, an otherworldly hush descended, shrouding the congregation in an eerie yet electrifying silence. Then, from the depths of the abyss, emerged the haunting melody of "Stay With Me." A collective shiver ran through the assemblage, a testament to the raw emotional prowess that lay at the heart of Smith's enigmatic persona. It was a fitting invocation, a siren's call that beckoned the enraptured souls into the sonic labyrinth of Gloria.

In a captivating display of vocal alchemy, Smith's crystalline voice soared through the night, weaving a tapestry of heartache and redemption, of love lost and found. The hymns of "Unholy," with its bewitching collaboration featuring Kim Petras, echoed like a hymn of forbidden desires, casting a spell that dared the audience to confront their own inner demons.

Smith's stage presence was akin to a benevolent specter, a spectral guide leading the audience through a cathartic journey of self-discovery. With each crescendo and every vulnerable whisper, they unraveled the complex layers of Gloria, laying bare the struggles and triumphs of the human experience.

As the last note dissipated into the ether, a hushed reverence lingered in the air, a testament to the transformative power of music and the undying spirit of an artist who dared to bare their soul on stage. Melbourne, ensconced in the afterglow of a musical exorcism, bore witness to the timeless allure of Sam Smith's Gloria, a haunting elegy that echoed long after the final curtain fell.