APO Does Disco
(The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra feat. Esther Stephens, Annie Crummer and Laughton Kora)
14th June 2018
ASB Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by David Watson.
Everybody loves disco.
It’s a fact. Whether you have a record collection full of it or just love to bust out a few moves to one particular iconic (or ironic – Editor’s Note) track; everyone loves disco.
And apparently none more so than the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Blasting the winter blues away on a chilly Thursday night, ASB Theatre was transformed into an opulent den of mirror ball madness capturing the spirit and vitality of the one and only Studio 54 in New York. A large number of audience members embraced the theme of the evening wholeheartedly, sporting some wonderfully decadent disco numbers; and while not all played dress up, each and every person in attendance certainly brought their dancing shoes.
Led by conductor David Kay whose on stage outfit was a stunning homage to the 1977 John Travolta movie Saturday Night Fever, even striking the signature dance move (much to the audience’s delight) before taking the rostrum; the APO delivered a fullness of sound tonight that completely captured the essence of each and every track disco infused track. Beginning the evening with the inspired choice of Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven’ and immediately shoes began tapping while bottoms wriggled in the seats.
An evening of instrumental would have indeed been enjoyable, but tonight was just that little bit extra special and as such required some extra special guests. While the APO itself had some stand out faces joining them for the night including both Brett Adams (The Mockers, one half of The Bads and session musician extraordinaire) and Jol Mulholland (Producer, Engineer, Instrumentalist and member of Sandy Mill’s band) they needed a little hand in the vocal department. Cue the special guest outstanding vocalists. While Laughton Kora and Annie Crummer are household names in New Zealand, some may not have recognised that of Esther Stephens. Stephens is one of those multi-faceted talented people. An accomplished actress (Go Girls, When We Go To War) she is also a vocalist in her own right. Singing as a three piece, Crummer, Kora and Stephens easily took the first few tracks to the next level, the good vibrations throughout the room palpable as their voices intertwined with the perfectly balanced APO. ‘Boogie Nights’ and the spunky ‘Le Freak’ by Chic certainly setting the tone for what was to follow.
“This is for all the people that remember Form two” Crummer joked with a smile; truly the night was certainly one of nostalgia, and yet the spirit of disco and the infectious effect it can have on the body never actually seems to age; a fact clearly made evident by the almost full house of differing generations. Soon enough patrons began to slip into the isles, the urge to dance too much too hold back, but it was a sight that obviously brought joy to Kora as he commended them on doing so. Kora was soon to take the spotlight as he delivered a powerful version of the Earth, Wind and Fire track ‘After The Love Has Gone’ his delivery of it on point as are the majority of all his performances. Having appeared at both the David Bowie tribute (Bowie.Starman) with the APO and Synthony with the ASO, Kora has proved time and time again just how he can turn his hand to any form of music. Undeniably a stand out tonight, Kora is a performer who instantly brings a smile to your face, his demeanor one of humbleness with a touch of mischievous humour, his voice decadently rich and impeccably timed, knowing just when to lay it all on the line.
Soon it was time for our ladies to strut their stuff for the evening and while Stephens’s version of ‘Hot Stuff’ by “the goddess” Donna Summer was a little stilted in the beginning, she soon brought it home to the delight of all. Teaming up with Crummer the duo then delivered a passion filled version of ‘No More Tears (Enough is Enough)’ before Kora once again took centre stage as he channeled the great Lionel Richie for ‘Three Times A Lady’, many couples in the audience turning toward each other with a sparkle in their eye. Finishing the first half of the evening on ‘Blame It on the Boogie’ by The Jacksons and the thirty minute intermission was very much welcomed by those who had let their feet fly.
Kicking off the second half in style, conductor David Kay donned a halved mirror ball helmet and dazzled the audience quite literally as he conducted, playfully swatting away their requests to leave it on for the rest of the night. Returning to stage the lovely Crummer and Stephens had respectively changed into some silk and sequin outfits, while Kora preferred to remain in his traditional but ever stylish contemporary black ensemble. While sprinkled with some one-offs from Candi Staton and The Tramps, the second half of the evening was all about two of the biggest acts of the era; the Euro-Caribbean group of Boney M certainly providing ample material during their illustrious career. Prompting a mass karaoke session, Crummer took it to the bank with interest as she had the entire venue singing to ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’ while Kora once again did some channeling of the spiritual kind; his voice dropping several octaves as he delivered the parts of Bobby Farrell.
And of course where would a disco night be without the sweet sounds of the Bee Gees? Kora this time climbing up the octave scale to carry out those delightful falsettos while expertly being supported by Crummer. Finishing on ‘You Should Be Dancing’ conductor David Kay ushered our three vocalists off stage for a bit of a faux encore, Kora’s humour shining through as a cheeky audience member demanded another hour of performance; “One Hour? Cool. Where do I send my invoice?”
Watching an entire theatre of people dance to ‘YMCA’ – complete with those alphabet dance moves – is beyond uplifting, the spirit of the room one of pure joy. So it was more than appropriate to finish on the classic Sister Sledge song ‘We Are Family’. But the audience begged for one more; and while the set list had been exhausted it seemed our performers still had a little left in the tank, delivering ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ once more but this time with additional boogie…
A stupendously fun filled evening that will hopefully become a regular feature!
Were you there at the ASB Theatre for this magnificent musical mash-up? Or have you seen The Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra play some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- A Fifth Of Beethoven – Walter Murphy
- Boogie Nights – Heatwave
- Le Freak – Chic
- After The Love Has Gone – Earth, Wind And Fire
- Fantasy – Earth, Wind And Fire
- September – Earth, Wind And Fire
- Boogie Wonderland – Earth, Wind And Fire
- Hot Stuff – Donna Summer
- No More Tears (Enough IS Enough) – Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand
- Last Dance – Donna Summer
- Three Times A Lady – Lionel Richie
- That’s The Way (I Like It) – KC & The Sunshine Band
- Blame It On The Boogie – The Jacksons
- Young Hearts Run Free – Candi Staton
- Brown Girl In The Ring – Boney M
- By The Rivers Of Babylon – Boney M
- Sunny – Boney M
- Ma Baker – Boney M
- Rasputin – Boney M
- Disco Inferno – The Tramps
- It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls
- Stayin Alive – Bee Gees
- Jive Talkin – Bee Gees
- More Than A Woman – Bee Gees
- Night Fever – Bee Gees
- You Should Be Dancing – Bee Gees
- YMCA – Village People [encore]
- We Are Family – Sister Sledge [encore]
- Blame It On The Boogie – The Jacksons [second encore]
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