Review: Synthony's Full Metal Orchestra and Origins delight at Spark Arena
Toogood performed crowd pleaser songs like Rain by Dragon, and Split Enz's I Got You.
He noted performing his classic Home Again that he'd played it during his time in Shihad hundreds of times a year, so would change the lyrics to entertain himself and the band. Synthony's audience got one of these 'Put your c*** back in your undies.'
Toogood's performance set the tone for what was to come.
The Auckland Philharmonia was ably conducted by the brilliant Sarah-Grace Williams, who is one of the stars of Synthony's performances around New Zealand, Australia and the globe.
Toogood ran back on stage for Enter Sandman by Metallica.
The night also belonged to EJ Barnes, daughter of Jimmy Barnes, who has clearly inherited her vocal talents from her dad.
Jennie Skulander from Devilskin was also a highlight on songs like Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.
There was a tribute to the late Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, who died on July 22. Toogood performed a brilliant version of Black Sabbath's War Pigs.
AC/DC's ex-drummer Phil Rudd, who has lived in Tauranga for years, was also a tour de force. Welcomed to the stage for Thunderstruck, with Barnes singing and Wellington musician Seamus Johnson behind the microphone for Highway to Hell.
Other features of the night included Skulander tackling Aerials by System of A Down, with other songs including Master of Puppets by Metallica performed by Toogood.
For the finale, all the musicians came back, with Rudd performing on AC/DC's It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll), with bagpipers also on stage.
Manuka Phuel Full Metal Orchestra at Spark Arena on Saturday night. Photo / RadLab
After the performance of Full Metal Orchestra, we filed out to eat chicken wings and wait for the performance of Synthony's Origins featuring EDM classics that began Synthony's worldwide run.
The crowd at Manuka Phuel Full Metal Orchestra at Spark Arena on Saturday night. Photo / RadLab
The next section began with Bevan Keys and Synthony's musical director Dick Johnson and an MC performing a DJ set.
They were followed by Australian EDM pioneers Sneaky Sound System with singer Connie Thembi Mitchell's powerful voice and rainbow coloured outfit on show.
The orchestra then returned to get into the spectacle that was Origins. Great visuals highlighted Williams' conducting. Emily Williams and Nyree Huyser stunned on vocals.
Great visuals accompanied 'Epic Sax Guy' and Synthony OG Lewis McCallum for Fat Boy Slim's Right Here Right Now.
Daft Punk songs were also played, with Around the World and Sam Allen on vocals for One More Time.
The night was then taken back to 1995 with Robert Miles' Children and songs also going back in time, like Feel So Close by Calvin Harris and Levels by Avicii.
As the night ended, fans of Synthony's famous fusion of classical and EDM classics would not be disappointed, with the night eventually closed out with Darude's Sandstorm, which has become Synthony's theme song.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
4 minutes ago
- Scoop
Mānuka Phuel Synthony Festival To Return In March 2026
Press Release – Duco Touring Duco Touring has today announced the date for New Zealand's biggest one-day music event Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival, returning in 2026! The festival will take place on Saturday 21 March, 2026 and will return to Auckland Domain. The 2025 event had record-breaking attendance, with the headline act SYNTHONY performing to an impressive sold-out crowd of 40,000. The $1.8 million dollar production featured 2000 working personnel plus 316 artists and performers. Following a successful double-header event this weekend at Spark Arena, with 10,000 Kiwi's attending Mānuka Phuel FULL METAL ORCHESTRA and SYNTHONY ORIGINS, Duco Touring are excited to continue to bring high-quality experiences to New Zealanders year-round. Duco Touring Founder David Higgins commented: 'After a massive turnout in 2025, and an incredible atmosphere across this weekend's events, we knew we had to bring SYNTHONY Festival back to the Domain. In 2026, we're planning to scale up every aspect, from the stage production to the artist line-up. SYNTHONY Festival will continue to be a destination event for fans nationwide.' Described as 'an enduring success' and 'enjoyable for everyone' (NZ Herald) and 'a magical farewell to summer' (RNZ) following Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival 2025, punters can expect the same unparalleled festival experience, local and international artists, world-class immersive visuals, and some of the biggest dance tracks of all time reimagined. 'Following the roaring success of last year, we're proud to once again come on board as the headline sponsor for Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival 2026,' said Alex McDonald, Co-Creator of Mānuka Phuel. 'Our partnership with SYNTHONY across multiple events in 2025 has proved to be the perfect collision of energy, sound, and culture — and embodies everything Mānuka Phuel stands for. We're proud to return in 2025 to phuel what we believe is one of the most powerful and unmissable live music experiences Auckland has to offer.' Tātaki Auckland Unlimited's CE Nick Hill says: 'We're proud to support the return of Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival in 2026. Last year's event was a phenomenal success, drawing a record-breaking crowd and creating an unforgettable experience in the heart of Auckland. It's exactly the kind of world-class, homegrown event that showcases our region's energy, creativity and love of music. We're thrilled to invest in its future on behalf of Auckland Council and can't wait to see it light up the Domain once again.' The first, stellar line-up will be revealed in early August. Presale registration is open now, with presale and general on-sale mid August.
Scoop
34 minutes ago
- Scoop
Mānuka Phuel Synthony Festival To Return In March 2026
Duco Touring has today announced the date for New Zealand's biggest one-day music event Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival, returning in 2026! The festival will take place on Saturday 21 March, 2026 and will return to Auckland Domain. The 2025 event had record-breaking attendance, with the headline act SYNTHONY performing to an impressive sold-out crowd of 40,000. The $1.8 million dollar production featured 2000 working personnel plus 316 artists and performers. Following a successful double-header event this weekend at Spark Arena, with 10,000 Kiwi's attending Mānuka Phuel FULL METAL ORCHESTRA and SYNTHONY ORIGINS, Duco Touring are excited to continue to bring high-quality experiences to New Zealanders year-round. Duco Touring Founder David Higgins commented: 'After a massive turnout in 2025, and an incredible atmosphere across this weekend's events, we knew we had to bring SYNTHONY Festival back to the Domain. In 2026, we're planning to scale up every aspect, from the stage production to the artist line-up. SYNTHONY Festival will continue to be a destination event for fans nationwide.' Described as 'an enduring success' and 'enjoyable for everyone' (NZ Herald) and 'a magical farewell to summer' (RNZ) following Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival 2025, punters can expect the same unparalleled festival experience, local and international artists, world-class immersive visuals, and some of the biggest dance tracks of all time reimagined. 'Following the roaring success of last year, we're proud to once again come on board as the headline sponsor for Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival 2026,' said Alex McDonald, Co-Creator of Mānuka Phuel. 'Our partnership with SYNTHONY across multiple events in 2025 has proved to be the perfect collision of energy, sound, and culture — and embodies everything Mānuka Phuel stands for. We're proud to return in 2025 to phuel what we believe is one of the most powerful and unmissable live music experiences Auckland has to offer.' Tātaki Auckland Unlimited's CE Nick Hill says: 'We're proud to support the return of Mānuka Phuel SYNTHONY Festival in 2026. Last year's event was a phenomenal success, drawing a record-breaking crowd and creating an unforgettable experience in the heart of Auckland. It's exactly the kind of world-class, homegrown event that showcases our region's energy, creativity and love of music. We're thrilled to invest in its future on behalf of Auckland Council and can't wait to see it light up the Domain once again.' The first, stellar line-up will be revealed in early August. Presale registration is open now, with presale and general on-sale mid August.
NZ Herald
17 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Review: Synthony's Full Metal Orchestra and Origins delight at Spark Arena
Toogood also performed Pacifier, by Shihad. He noted he was 27 when he wrote it and was now 54, so his voice would've changed since then. Toogood performed crowd pleaser songs like Rain by Dragon, and Split Enz's I Got You. He noted performing his classic Home Again that he'd played it during his time in Shihad hundreds of times a year, so would change the lyrics to entertain himself and the band. Synthony's audience got one of these 'Put your c*** back in your undies.' Toogood's performance set the tone for what was to come. The Auckland Philharmonia was ably conducted by the brilliant Sarah-Grace Williams, who is one of the stars of Synthony's performances around New Zealand, Australia and the globe. Toogood ran back on stage for Enter Sandman by Metallica. The night also belonged to EJ Barnes, daughter of Jimmy Barnes, who has clearly inherited her vocal talents from her dad. Jennie Skulander from Devilskin was also a highlight on songs like Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. There was a tribute to the late Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, who died on July 22. Toogood performed a brilliant version of Black Sabbath's War Pigs. AC/DC's ex-drummer Phil Rudd, who has lived in Tauranga for years, was also a tour de force. Welcomed to the stage for Thunderstruck, with Barnes singing and Wellington musician Seamus Johnson behind the microphone for Highway to Hell. Other features of the night included Skulander tackling Aerials by System of A Down, with other songs including Master of Puppets by Metallica performed by Toogood. For the finale, all the musicians came back, with Rudd performing on AC/DC's It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll), with bagpipers also on stage. Manuka Phuel Full Metal Orchestra at Spark Arena on Saturday night. Photo / RadLab After the performance of Full Metal Orchestra, we filed out to eat chicken wings and wait for the performance of Synthony's Origins featuring EDM classics that began Synthony's worldwide run. The crowd at Manuka Phuel Full Metal Orchestra at Spark Arena on Saturday night. Photo / RadLab The next section began with Bevan Keys and Synthony's musical director Dick Johnson and an MC performing a DJ set. They were followed by Australian EDM pioneers Sneaky Sound System with singer Connie Thembi Mitchell's powerful voice and rainbow coloured outfit on show. The orchestra then returned to get into the spectacle that was Origins. Great visuals highlighted Williams' conducting. Emily Williams and Nyree Huyser stunned on vocals. Great visuals accompanied 'Epic Sax Guy' and Synthony OG Lewis McCallum for Fat Boy Slim's Right Here Right Now. Daft Punk songs were also played, with Around the World and Sam Allen on vocals for One More Time. The night was then taken back to 1995 with Robert Miles' Children and songs also going back in time, like Feel So Close by Calvin Harris and Levels by Avicii. As the night ended, fans of Synthony's famous fusion of classical and EDM classics would not be disappointed, with the night eventually closed out with Darude's Sandstorm, which has become Synthony's theme song.
