Review by J.L. Greene
It’s a given with Justin Timberlake, I’d expect it with Justin Bieber and would definitely anticipate it with twerk-magnet Robin Thicke. But I never, ever, ever thought I’d get crushed to death by a savage mob in front of Empire of the Sun’s Luke Steele (see picture above).
Perhaps it was just naiveté on my part, but on Thursday, September 12th it was hard to think of such dangers. Alpine, an up-and-coming group of bewitching Australians, opened the show and brought with them another level of dance-consciousness. It’s easy to see why Rolling Stone named them band to watch in July 2013. With pump and enthusiasm coupled with sparkles and paint, singers Phoebe Baker and Lou James danced with flowing hand motions, and then like clawing cats, while displaying the range of their exquisite voices. Their energy was contagious and they proved to be the perfect opening act for Empire of the Sun.
Between sets, fans waited in Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, passing around white paint to mark their faces. The humming crowd filled the unique space, a venue built almost to accompany Empire of the Sun’s tour itself. With balconies out of Aladdin, a ceiling painted with shooting stars reminiscent of Mickey’s adventure into wizardry and a touch of the fanciful in the Never-Ending Story, the Aragon stood almost as a testament to the fantastical past, waiting for the fantastical future that EOTS would bring.
Empire exceeded expectations. It was like an hour and a half electronic acid trip. Frontman Steele emerged in a black and gold costume with a magnificent headdress that Shredder would envy. Steele’s quirky “girls of the future” surrounded him continuously as they alternately donned space helmets, anteater-like masks, angel feathers and gigantic pink guitars. With perfect lighting, Steele ran about the stage crushing his guitar but always returned to an anchored spot, a command station post in the middle of the stage where he would work synths and keys.
There was constant, intense motion throughout the long set. With the dancers on stage, Steele running about, and projector images of travels all over the earth, outer-space and phases of evolution. Throughout the show, Steele randomly came down from stage for intimately close encounters with euphoric fans.
The room was absurdly hot and even Steele felt it. He first stripped his headdress to show bleached hair, highlighting his blacker-than-black thin goatee. Then he stripped his jacket, rocking around stage in a black shirt and leatherish pants. The heat, however, would not stop Steele from his futuristic costume changes time and again, each one hitting the elaborate state one would expect from the boundary pushing artist.
As Steele disappeared to the side of the stage, a huge form emerged from the stage back, rising to the multi-tiered platform summit. With two, red leaf-rakers for horns, a giant grey skull with flashing purple and blue eyes donned a multi-colored robe. The stunned crowd screamed its delight as Death pulled out two gasoline pump handles and began shooting fog. After a few minutes, and just as seemingly natural as he arrived, he descended into darkness once more.
But where Death left, Steele emerged in a similar costume if not the same as featured in the EOTS “Alive” video. The three burly musicians wore their attire with grace–including the drummer who’s helmet’s plume matched the height of his torso. You can clearly see why Cirque du Soleil would be so attractive to Empire’s other half, Nick Littlemore.
Speaking of Littlemore… Despite a visually overwhelming show and Steele’s ability to capture the huge ass stage, you couldn’t help but hope that fellow bandmate Littlemore would make a surprise entrance. Littlemore’s missing presence was like J.D without Turk, Wayne without Garth, Troy without Abed. It was a palpable ache you hoped would find a happy ending. Even though it was a given to Empire fans he would never arrive, his missing presence still hurt the soul.
In the midst of this fantastical show, my life passed before my eyes several times as I saw my phone flying through the air punched by a fan’s eager fist, received a blow to my face (bruise included) and was almost crushed to death on a few occasions. Honestly, it was the first time I could see how people died at shows. Again, maybe I was naive but never have I been around such ruthless fans. To say the least, the show was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced–both visually and physically. One thing I know for sure: never again will I underestimate the power of a man in a headdress.
Empire of the Sun 
(Official)
Rating 8.3
Reviewed by b3
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