The Shrine Auditorium was a sight for one-of-a-kind costumes as fans spent their Halloween night, minds blown, with Empire of the Sun’s vivid performance.

As Halloween is a day open to creative expression, most fans arrived at the venue with their inspired takes on Empire of the Sun’s vocalist, Luke Steele. From feathered out headpieces to mask-inspired makeup, fans were adorned in metallic, glitter, and blue. 

For those who shockingly aren’t familiar with Empire of the Sun, they gained instant international success through their first album, “Walking on a Dream.”

The band consists of Australian duo Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, who actually created EOTS as an experimental side project to their already existing bands. Steele started off in The Sleepy Jackson while Littlemore is in a dance music duo called Pnau.

Australian band Alpine opened the long-awaited show, following RAC who remixed familiar singles like Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans” and Phoenix’s “When I’m Small.” However, it was apparent that everyone were primarily there to see Empire of the Sun as seats were empty and everyone was walking back and forth for more beer.

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About an hour and a half after the show started, the pitch-black stage clouded with smoke as fans screamed at the top of their lungs and Luke Steele promptly arrived in position from under the stage. In his usual EOTS headdress and sparkling blue robe, Steele started off with “Lux” as he raised one arm up and the blue lights hit his glistening robe so perfectly as to make him look like a mystical figure.

Songs from the two albums, “Walking On a Dream” and “Ice on the Dune,” were performed on shuffle throughout the entire night. Steele mysteriously changed into several outfits throughout his performance, from a twinkling gold head-to-toe outfit to a feathered version of his headpiece.

The band was also accompanied by four dancers, who continuously moved and twirled to beautifully transform each song into a human form.

When the acoustics to “We Are The People” started, Steele stood in the middle of the stage as four other performers walked onstage with LED guitars. It brought the acoustics of the song to life (literally) as the moment felt as if you were in another world filled with flashing lights and outrageous costumes.

Mid-show, everyone were covered in confetti that showered from both ends of the stage. Confetti fell from above as fans sang “oh let’s go running away/ we can always be together/ oh let’s go running away/ we can last forever” to “Ice on the Dune.”

The mood quickly shifted as couples warmly held onto each other during “I’ll Be Around.” All the blue lights turned its way to the disco ball held above, reflecting specks of light onto the entire arena. Steele matched the disco ball with his long robe, which was embellished with silver sequins that was definitely a sight to see.

During his entire performance, Steele proved that he had complete control of his guitar. He would strum his guitar so passionately, as if nothing else mattered in that moment.

Towards the end of the show, you could feel everyone holding their breaths as they watched him take his guitar and swing it over his shoulder. He powerfully slammed his guitar against the floor, sending the fans into an overjoy of enthusiasm and fist pumps. 

A combination of musical and dance performances, topped with costumes and stimulating lights, the show was such that those who attended would probably agree that it was one of the most entertaining concerts you could attend.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better during the entire show, Empire of the Sun continuously proved us wrong.

Setlist:

 

1. "Lux"
2. "Old Flavours"
3. "DNA"
4. "Standing on the Shore"
5. "Breakdown"
6. "Half Mast"
7. "We Are The People"
8. "Concert Pitch"
9. "Celebrate"
10. "Ice on the Dune"
11. "I’ll Be Around"
12. "Surround Sound"
13. "Swordfish Hotkiss Night"
14. "Walking on a Dream"
15. "Tiger By My Side"
16. "Alive"

Read more of NT’s show reviews here.

Reach Staff Reporter Aeri Koo here or follow her on Twitter.