Acting as the main event of the Red Bull Music Academy Weekender, the longtime local favourites teamed up with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for an ambitious hometown show that proved to live up to the hype: 15,000 people all singing and dancing in unison under the stars.
The vibe was unique. The port-a-loos, crop tops and $15 paella suggested that this was a festival, but the picnic rugs and pillows gave the event a more down-tempo vibe. It was a testament to the special show that was being witnessed, where electronica and classical music co-existed and fused harmoniously. Accordingly, he crowd was diverse: From younger festival punters pashing under the trees to older EDM graduates and parents having a few beverages to re-kindle the glory days of benders from 1983.
When Flight Facilities took the stage, it was a grandiose display in every sense of the word. The two sat in a cockpit at the rear of the stage, fronted by a 50-person strong orchestra playing furiously under a visual light show that included a tribute to the late Gene Wilder. With Sydney City’s skyline and the Centrepoint Tower towering over The Domain, it was certainly a sight to remember. All of the Flight Facilities favourites were there with a melodramatic edge added by the additional instruments – strings, guitar solos and saxamaphones accompanied seasoned favourites like ‘Foreign Language’ and ‘Two Bodies’, while collaborators like Owl Eyes and Elizabeth Rose jumped onstage to add yet another live element.
During the brooding ‘Claire De Lune’ everybody raised their phones in the air for a makeshift light show, and it wasn’t until then that we realised the true size and magnitude of this show. The track hovered ominously over the venue before it gave way to an extended version of ‘Crave You’ – where the crowd was teased and sang along to every word before breaking out jovial dance. It was a neat summation of the carefree and relaxed nature of the evening, and one that’ll be damn hard to replicate. From the bustling dancefloor to the families camped out back, Flight Facilities and the Sydney Symphony entranced the audience for 90 minutes with their very rare display.
Flight Facilities are two individuals who earned their stripes on Sydney’s DJ circuit. To think that they’re playing a hometown show in a space usually reserved for festivals is astonishing – and the fact that they’ve done it with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is true proof that the best music knows no barriers.
