Synthony review: My night moshing with ‘half of Auckland’

It’s a bit strange moshing to Sandstorm while the sun is still up.

It was only 6.30pm as Darude hit the stage at Aotearoa’s biggest one-day festival - Synthony.

But the DJ’s millennial anthem was tonic to the early evening slump ahead the main event itself, the debut performance of Synthony No 6.

At any other festival, standing near the front of a 40,000 strong diamante-clad crowd as Finnish EDM trance music rings out over the speakers could be overwhelming.

The punters at Synthony, however, were welcoming, and in it for the long haul.

While relatively subdued at first and the mixed-age family friendly attendees (which at times felt like half of Auckland) were ready to party.

Especially when Aussie star Cyril took the stage, playing his version of Stumblin’ In, originally by Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman.

Even better, later in the evening Cyril joined the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra to perform a rendition of the same hit, which was even better the second time.

I could see why Synthony sold out.

The line-up included artists like Ladi6, Th’ Dudes, Basement Jaxx, and Kora.

The latter, lead by frontman Fran Kora (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Pūkeko), brought their typical Kiwi charm to the now internationally acclaimed event.

Kora frontman Fran Kora brought his Kiwi charm to Synthony. Photo / Katie Harris

Patches of rain early in the evening didn’t hinder their performance, and the ongoing crowd work by Fran kept the festival-goers engaged throughout their set.

As the sky went dark the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, accompanied by choirs, dancers, and vocalists, performed Synthony No 6.

Led by principal conductor Sarah-Grace Williams the group covered Paramore’s Still Into You, Calvin Harris’ Blame, Modjo’s Lady and many more old-school favourites.

Synthony Festival principal conductor Sarah-Grace Williams. Photo / Supplied

At times, I forgot we were watching an orchestra playing the songs live as every musician performed their duties in perfect symbiosis.

The separate areas for general admission and premium GA (and VIP/VVIP) ticket holders meant those with basic tickets were relegated to the back of the show, hundreds of metres away from the main stage.

Although this created more space to boogie at the front, the move towards this style of ticketing feels a bit odd in a festival environment which until recently has been in my experience a first-come first-served mosh pit set-up.

I felt that the inclusion of younger attendees helped reduce some of the macho-aggression that can arise at some festivals.

And while I did see a few audience members getting kicked out, I didn’t personally witness any bad behaviour throughout the festival.

Food, lines and bathrooms

Typically, the available food-cart cuisine is quite low on my list of festival priorities.

But the excess of diverse dining options in both the GA and premium GA sections at Synthony was of particular note.

Early in the festival I opted for the wood-fired pizza from one of the carts in the Premium GA section.

Wood-fired pizzas were available from multiple carts at the festival. Photo / Katie Harris

The base had been pre-prepared, so less than two minutes later the pizza was ready to go.

While it’s not five-star dining, the pizza exceeded all festival fare I’ve tried at dozens of previous events.

For desert Nutella and banana crepes from the GA section were on the menu. This was prepared from scratch on the spot and also came out in minutes.

It was also gone in what felt like seconds, devoured by myself and my companion.

A crepe to top off the night at Synthony. Photo / Katie Harris

During my time getting food there were barely any lines in both GA and premium GA, and where there were lines they moved quickly.

There were also minimal bathroom queues from what I witnessed.

Overall, last night proved why Synthony is an enduring success and how multi-age events can be enjoyable for everyone.