Empire Of The Sun Remind’s Us Why They’re Aus Music Royalty
By Bailey Marton
Empire of the Sun. Yes, the Empire of the Sun. the dynamic electro-pop duo from Eora/Sydney that has been gracing people’s ears at house parties, road trips, concerts and festivals the world over since the late 2000’s decided it was time to hit our stages once again and remind us all why they’re Australian music royalty.
It’s been a VERY long time between drinks since EOTS last performed in Australia. Despite some pre-covid touring in the US in 2019, we have to look all the way back to the 2017 edition of FOMO Festival to find their last appearance on home soil. So, with the stage set for their long-awaited return, UG took to Meanjin’s Fortitude Music Hall to welcome them back with open arms.
Luke Steele – the band’s frontman, came out dressed like a hi-tech samurai warrior, wielding his guitar like a Katana while being backed up by a small army of dancers contorting themselves into incredible positions. This combination of flamboyant costumes and eccentric dancers giving the set a feel that was reminiscent of Genesis Owusu’s dynamite performance at last year’s Splendour in the Grass, which, given how electric that show was, is this highest compliment that I can pay.
But the magic didn’t stop there. For one, the set design was like nothing I had ever seen from a concert before. The stage shone magnificently from dozens of colourful lights in every direction, Icy blue one moment, blood orange and hot pink the next. In the centre of the stage stood Steele who, for large parts of the set, was placed on a stand behind a glowing, onion-shaped monument with layers that curved up towards his head. All the while behind Steele and the band was the fantastic screen that was showering with lasers, crashing with exploding visuals, and flying us through galactic settings. The whole spectacle made me feel like I’d walked into Fortitude Music Hall and arrived on a spaceship
However, a kick-ass stage design can only get you so far without a great performance. Luckily for us, we got that too.
As the opening guitar licks of ‘Standing on the Shore’ and the booming drums that followed echoed over the crowd, everyone in that room was instantly reminded of why Empire of the Sun are royalty. The whole show was a transcendent journey filled with crowd-pleasing tracks that had the sold out FMH absolutely rocking. Roars of applause came after every song before immediately being replaced with an air of excitement about what might come next.
Without fail they delivered, covering the best of their discography like ‘We Are the People’, ‘High and Low’ and ‘Swordfish Hotkiss Night’, Steeles iconic voice gliding over the tracks like water, before going out with bang to Empire’s most-loved tracks ‘Alive’, and ‘Walking on a Dream’.
The whole show was a masterpiece. Growing up listening to EOTS I would have thought I’d know what to expect going into this set, but the whole thing was so grand, every detail performed to near perfection, that when ‘Walking on a Dream’ started playing I felt the same wonder I did hearing it for the very first time as a kid.
