CLASSICAL BY MINISTRY OF SOUND @ Kings Park

Classical by Ministry of Sound @ Kings Park
Saturday, December 10, 2022

The title Classical is a cheeky jibe at traditional orchestral works – because there was nothing of the 1700s at Kings Park on Saturday night when Ministry of Sound came to Perth for a sold out one-night-only mash up of house electronic music played by the Ministry of Sound Orchestra.

With laser lights bouncing off the gum leaves and a crowd ready to party, the evening started with fantastic sets from Touch Sensitive and DJ John Course. Sneaky Sound System got the crowd off their picnic blankets with hits of I Love It, Pictures and UFO.

Sneaky Sound System lead singer Miss Connie returned to the stage to wow us again as a guest artist, along with the Reigan, Lady Lyric, Rudy, Karina Chavez and Solomon Pitt. Unfortunately for the guest artists, they were difficult to hear from the lawn, with the sound system unable to project an individual voice over the volume of an orchestra in an open-air venue.

Billed as “a celebration of the greatest moments in dance music,” the show was a bit house-heavy for a crowd that wanted to dance and shout. Crowd favourites included Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics, Where’s Your Head At? by Basement Jaxx, and Lola’s Theme by The Shapeshifters. The crowd pumped up for hits with lyrics like Right Here Right Now but then dropped back to a shuffle as the electronic house tunes took over. The downside of an orchestra set list is the DJ doesn’t have the flexibility to read the crowd.

Classical is the same concept as Synthony (read that review here), providing creative opportunities for orchestras to diversify their audience and musicians to stretch their versatility. Both Synthony and Classical will be in Perth once a year so keep an eye on the calendar for 2023. As a comparison, Synthony at RAC Arena felt like you were back at the clubs, while Classical had a more relaxed outdoors picnic feel.

With an estimated average crowd age of 40, Classical by Ministry of Sound is a great night for all of us who loved the clubs 20 years ago but now need to be home by midnight.

MELISSA MANN

Photos by Adrian Thomson