Review: Classical by Ministry of Sound at Kings Park and Botanic Garden

Classical by Ministry of Sound at Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Saturday, December 9, 2023

What to do when one friend loves dance, trance, and house music and the other friend prefers an orchestra? Ministry of Sound’s Classical at Kings Park!

Picnic blankets of mates clustered under the majestic gum trees of Kings Park at two outstanding concerts last weekend. 

There was no chance of hearing the kookaburras over the cranking tunes on Saturday from support acts MINX, Stafford Brothers, and The Potbelleez. For those lucky enough to get tickets on Friday night, the crowd was warmed up by Micah, Stafford Brothers and Sneaky Sound System.

Once night fell, renowned DJ Groove Terminator took to the decks and introduced a line-up of guest artists, including Reigan, Lady Lyric, Rudy, Karina Chavez, and Luke Antony. Everyone was dancing on their picnic blankets from the first song, Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and did not sit down again until intermission. Even the conductor couldn’t stop herself from dancing, with the brilliant and energetic Vanessa Perica jumping with the downbeat of the baton.

The Ministry of Sound Orchestra is the star of Classical, with excellent camera work showcasing the musicians’ incredible skills with closeups of the instruments in every song. Lola’s Theme by The Shapeshifters highlighted the string section, Show Me Love by Robin S. profiled the percussion and horns, and Feel the Love by Rudimental opened with a haunting organ solo from the keyboard.

Crowd favourites in act one included Luke Antony's excellent cover of Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia, Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd, and Memories by David Guetta, featuring all the guest artists.

Not to be outdone, act two opened with an instrumental version of Any Other Name by Thomas Newman, had the audience pumping with Toca’s Miracle by Fragma, Insomnia by Faithless, Right Here Right Now by Fatboy Slim, and closed the night with The Sound of Silence.

A special mention also goes to the lighting and sound team, whose stage step lights, high-definition background motions, and lasers bouncing of the eucalypts turned the outdoor auditorium into a pulsing club, best demonstrated when they had everything blasting for Losing It by Fisher.

With two sold out performances on 8 and 9 December, Classical is getting bigger and better each year. Classical improved on its 2022 version, with a superior setlist keeping the crowd dancing non stop, and a better sound system providing higher quality audio to enjoy the guest artists. Absolutely nothing to fault in 2023.

With a crowd ranging from 18 to 58, everyone is welcome at Classical. Whether you still hit the clubs on a Saturday night, or your dance moves are now limited to the lounge room, Classical should be a highlight of your Perth concert summer calendar.

MELISSA MANN