Born out of Ministry of Sound’s Reunion events, the idea to perform “the most loved dancefloor moments as you’ve never heard them” was brought to life by Australians Simon Lewicki (AKA Groove Terminator), Tim McGee, Guy Noble, Adam Sofo, and Lionel Towers (Gypsy & The Cat), with guest vocals from Owl Eyes and Daniel Merriweather.
When the Orchestra’s first notes rang out through Hamer Hall to raucous cheers and applause, it was obvious this was a crowd that had a lot of energy to burn. It wasn’t long before the first punters got to their feet, and the venue transformed from a fancy concert hall into a three-storey nightclub.
The atmosphere built steadily through the Orchestra’s covers of Shapeshifters’ Lola’s Theme, Daft Punk’s One More Time, Bag Raiders’ Shooting Star, and Moloko’s Sing It Back, until Destination Calabria dropped, and the crowd went wild. You haven’t really lived until you’ve seen balding, middle-aged men grooving in the aisles to electronic music from the noughties.
Melbourne’s own Owl Eyes made her first appearance of the night lending her silky smooth vocals to Spiller’s Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love), followed a few songs later by soul singer Daniel Merriweather.
Given how pumped the crowd was, it seemed an odd decision to have an interval, but despite the break, the Orchestra’s rendition of Moby’s Porcelain ensured the audience quickly warmed themselves up again.
Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy brought some calming nostalgia to the crowd before the Orchestra launched into Disclosure’s Latch and almost every smartphone in the hall lit up.
Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now brought the whole audience to their feet, with a few even cracking out some robotic dance moves, before the surprise inclusion of Dirty South’s remix of Evermore’s It’s Too Late transported me back to my early teens.
Things got political during Daniel Merriweather’s rendition of Bob Sinclair’s World Hold On, with him imploring the Australian government to shut down the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres “right now,” before hitting some of the highest notes known to man.
The Orchestra was so note-perfect throughout the show, you’d almost be forgiven for forgetting they were performing live, but it was during the more instrumental tracks that their talent really shone through.
After Owl Eyes’ second appearance providing vocals for Delirium’s Silence, Groove Terminator teased the crowd’s desire to keep the show going all night saying, “No one’s leaving, should we do one more?”
Closing the night with Florence + The Machine’s You’ve Got the Love, was a genius move, resulting in a mass singalong, endless cheers and a standing ovation for all involved.
Orchestrated truly was a celebration of dance music, delivering a mixed bag of symphonic bangers and a strong sense of togetherness.
Highlight: Being reminded how much of a classic Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) is, and singing it off-key in my (thankfully) empty train carriage on the way home.
Lowlight: The lack of Darude.
Crowd Favourite: Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim.
