Words by Sam Elliott and Matilda Elliott.

Photography by Jordan Munns.

Empire of the Sun - Sydney/Eora 21st Feb Enmore Theatre

Entering the Enmore Theatre on a horrendously stormy night within the Sydney / Eora space, we are immediately met with a bunch of fellow soaked punters ranging from freshly teenagers to elder rockers, eagerly dancing along to the DJ sent in to warm up the crowd. 

Your dear reviewers were nestled tightly within the already solid formation that had become the crowd of eager fans. In front of us, there was a couple that stuck to each other like glue. Due to the stature of the gent in the pairing, Sam and I had no choice but to sway at his pace or be hurdled into the abyss (meters behind) the connectivity of the couple made us feel a sense of yearning, Matilda for her partner who is currently overseas, and Sam, for her partner who is currently non-existent. 

The lights were low and everyone jostled in anticipation for the headlining act. Eager to enlighten and entertain, the Empire of the Sun set opened with a dramatic light and visual epilogue that continued through the set. Starting off strong with Emperor Steele emerging initially as a silhouette, but the lights slowly revealed what we can only describe as a wizard spirit guide with a red cloak and lengthy black hair, ready to lead us through almost two hours of transcendental tunes, he decided that it was best to be starting our journey by playing the most face-melting in the best possible way rendition of Standing on the Shore.

The melding of music, visual art and dance had us transfixed. Phenomenal dancers in what our pea-brains can only describe as the most expensive looking morphe suits ever created guided transitions between songs with ever changing looks and headdresses seamlessly. Their timing to the tracks with their movements were seamless and perfect. 

The crowd roared as the iconic tinkle started for the song that is Half Mast, famously sampled back in 2010 by the late and great Mac Miller in his track The Spins. The stage turned into a lush green pasture. We felt ready to frolic amongst the hills, like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music or Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she arrived in Emerald City. 

This song was one of the first hits that sent all young fans into a frenzy, jumping on eachother’s shoulders and whipping out phones to record the scenes unfolding from them. “They aren't even watching the show!” An older man jeered to his fellow older punters. It was funny to see the ‘us vs them’ mentality change as the set rolled on. The older man began taking his phone and snapping pictures and videos of his favorite songs. If you can't beat them, join them!

“Look at the person next to you, tell them you love them!” Emperor Steele cooed, of course, we had each other to send love to, but this moment in the set also allowed our packed sardine selves to experience another love, a father-son bonding moment that felt like we were watching a coming of age film. We of course have no content on this family, but we’d like to think it was one of those “maybe, my Dad is alright” type beats. 

The lights go off, Emperor Steele changes into his second outfit of the night and we are subjected to simply him and a spotlight. He tells us of his time spent away in a log cabin in the US during lockdown. Fondly pencilling down music and tunes. He tells us how he talked to his daughters and promised them they would make their way back to Australia. It was really special to see this full circle moment. Steele even brings out the girls to do a quick wave to the audience roaring with applause. It was nice to see such a genuine touching moment. 

Emperor Steele then plays two sounds from his acoustic album making the pace slower and steady and the audience seem to melt further and further into each other. He also readapts one of Empire’s older hits I’ll be your man into an acoustic setting. 

Following this, we were entranced with one of the most interesting serenades we have ever seen. Only Empire of the Sun are able to make a spectacular visual show of what feels like an intimate duet - only, it is Emperor Steele singing with his back to the audience facing a giant hologram of a beautiful cyborg with a bob cut wig on her head that would rival SIA in her This is Acting album days. 

Once all of the Empire of the Sun classic hits and some deep cuts were covered as well as a third outfit, the show had come to an end, we still felt like we had more in us to keep dancing but as a grand rendition of Alive closed the show, and gold confetti doused us, we realised that we have been transfixed for almost two hours. For us, this is the mark of an exceptional performance. At no point did we feel compelled to scroll through any apps, or have conversations with each other. We were enchanted by the magic that is Empire of the Sun. Alongside the packed theatre of people, we became privy to a bit of magic.