Disco Inferno Turns Back Time at the Top of the Ark
Fusion Pops Orchestra @ The Arkaba
There are some venues that hold more than memories - the moment you walk through the doors, they have the ability to transport you straight back to another time.
For me, the Top of the Ark at the Arkaba Hotel is one of those places.
Arriving early on Friday night, I managed to secure a perfectly centred front-row position overlooking the dance floor. As I settled in, I couldn’t help thinking back to my late teens, when the Top of the Ark was somewhere we came to dance, socialise and enjoy the music of the era.
So there was something wonderfully fitting about returning all these years later for Fusion Pops Orchestra’s Disco Inferno - a show dedicated to the music of the 1970s.
And what a way to revisit it.
When Disco Meets an Orchestra
Fusion Pops Orchestra @ The Arkaba
From the outset, Disco Inferno was bursting with energy, colour and talent.
This wasn’t simply a band playing a collection of 70s favourites. The combination of a full orchestra and an impressive ensemble of vocalists gave these familiar songs an entirely different dimension.
Strings, brass and rhythm combined with powerful vocals, sparkling costumes, colourful lighting and plenty of movement on stage to create a genuine sense of occasion.
The performers weren’t just singing the songs - they were having fun with them, and that enthusiasm quickly spread through the room.
For those of us who grew up with this music, there was an irresistible familiarity to the night. One song after another brought back memories, while younger audience members were discovering just why these songs have survived for generations.
A Dance Floor Made for Disco
Fusion Pops Orchestra @ The Arkaba
One of the things I particularly loved about the setup was its inclusiveness.
There was plenty of seating around the outside of the dance floor, so you could sit back and enjoy the orchestra and vocals, or get up and dance when a favourite song came along.
It made the evening ideal for a broad range of ages and meant everyone could enjoy the show in their own way.
Of course, with music like this, staying seated for the entire evening was always going to be a challenge.
My personal highlight was It’s Raining Men. Big, joyous and completely over the top in exactly the way a disco anthem should be, it captured the spirit of the night perfectly.
Watch our video from It’s Raining Men following the review.
A Familiar Face Among the Performers
Rachel Hedges - Fusion Pops Orchestra
The evening also had a personal connection for me, as one of the singers performing with Fusion Pops was Rachel Hedges, whom I knew.
Rachel’s musical background goes back to childhood. She began singing with the Adelaide Girls Choir - now Young Adelaide Voices - at the age of 10, with her musical journey taking her as far as performing at Westminster Abbey during a European tour. She later performed with Orphean and Aurora before becoming part of Fusion Pops.
Seeing someone I knew amongst such an accomplished group of performers made an already memorable evening that little bit more special.
The Perfect Home for a Night of Nostalgia
Fusion Pops Orchestra @ The Arkaba
It would be difficult to imagine a more appropriate Adelaide venue for Disco Inferno than the Arkaba Hotel.
The Top of the Ark has been part of Adelaide’s entertainment landscape for generations, and seeing that dance floor once again filled with people enjoying the music made the venue feel every bit as much a part of the show as the performers themselves.
Today, the Arkaba offers considerably more than live entertainment. You can make an entire evening - or weekend - of a visit, with its Restaurant and Lounge Bar, Sportys sports bar, six function spaces and 62 accommodation rooms all under the one roof. The Top of the Ark itself remains the hotel’s flagship entertainment and function space.
For me, though, Friday night was about returning to a room filled with memories.
I may have been sitting front and centre rather than arriving as the teenager I once was, but when that orchestra struck up and those familiar 70s songs filled the Top of the Ark, the years seemed to disappear remarkably quickly.
Fusion Pops Orchestra’s Disco Inferno was energetic, nostalgic and enormously entertaining - a sparkling celebration of the songs an entire generation grew up with.
And for a few hours on Friday night, the Top of the Ark became our dance floor all over again.
Kate Needs attended Disco Inferno for Limelight SA.
‘It’s Raining Men’ - Fusion Pops Orchestra
Photo/Video Credits: Kate Needs
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