Empire of the Sun

Concert Review: Empire of the Sun, September 9, Danforth Music Hall

Posted on by Ricky in Concerts | Leave a comment

empire_of_the_sun

In a world where all the young kids suffer severely from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), is there a better set closer to help pacify that then the song Alive from Empire of the Song?

Take a look at the chorus (which by the way, everyone was singing to):

Loving every minute ’cause you make me feel so alive, alive
Loving every minute ’cause you make me feel so alive, alive
Alive, alive

Who doesn’t want to dance and sing about being “alive” while confetti drops from the ceiling in front of a band that looks like they are tribe from Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future?

The answer is obvious: nobody.

Monday night’s Empire of the Sun show was not packed by any means, but those who went had a hell of a time. At this point, it is fair to say that Empire of the Sun doesn’t stray far from their electro-pop formula – icy beats, acoustic arrangements and a falsetto chorus drenched in synthesizers, however this formula works really well for them live. You forget how much you love singing along with people until you hit an Empire of the Song concert and you are singing out songs like Half Mast or new hit Concert Pitch in your most outrageous falsetto. It makes for a very engaging experience overall.

As one would expect from a band whose style overwhelms their substance, the show was a visual delight. Aside from Luke Steele wearing his trademark headpiece, there was a drummer and a multi-instrumentalist wearing what appears to be spartan-esque outfits. Just like last time, there were four mesmerizing dancers whose outfits ranged from what can be described as space metallic pelicans to some creature that you would see in Pans Labyrinth. Each song had a set piece associated with it, along with backing videos, lights, elevating stages and smoke. Every little touch just added to the Empire of the Sun experience and makes for a bit of a ‘whoa’ factor for people. It’s nice to see a band put that much effort into their live show when they aren’t at the stadium level of success.

In the end, the people who went to the show came for the hits. Walking on a Dream, Standing on the Shore, We Are the People and the previously mentioned Alive had the entire crowd buzzing and there were among other things – a crowd invasion, a smashed guitar and in one of the funnier moments, Luke Steele shoving a microphone into an old man during Walking on a Dream and telling him to “sing it!” to which he complied. That guy must have been the coolest father ever.

Concert Review: Miami Horror, September 13, Sound Academy

Posted on by Ricky in Concerts | Leave a comment

Toronto – Opening for Empire of the Sun was another Australian synth-pop outfit – Miami Horror. The band had previously headlined a sold out show at the Mod Club in April. Due to the early start time of the headliners, the four piece outfit from Melbourne had the unfortunate task of opening up a show at 8pm to a rather sparse crowd. I made a note of that on my tweet.

Undeterred by the small crowd, Benjamin Plant, his singer Josh Moriarty and the rest of the band soldered forth an energetic set consisting of tracks off the band’s debut album Illuminations. To say Josh Moriarty has got moves is an understatement of epic proportions. The man knows his guitar poses as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. The spin? yup. The machine gun? yup. The play the guitar behind your head move? yup. On your knees? yup. Crotch in photographers face? yup. He’s got it all.

Miami Horror’s energy went a long way into transforming the semi lethargic opening band type crowd into a semi dance party. Their hit tracks – I look to you, Holidays and Summersun definitely struck a chord with the crowd and I even had a girl who looked like she had just started college ask me what the band was. Since English is my second language, I sometimes have trouble with my R’s so I think I said ‘Miami Whores’ which elicited a semi unfavorable response from the lady. I quickly rectified this by typing out the band’s name in my phone and showing her the real name, much to her relief. Her dad then protectively pulled her to the side and punched me in the face. One of the previous three sentences is a lie, I’ll let you figure out which one.

Anyways, the band ended off their set with the track Holiday. While the opening slot lacked the same amount of energy and love Miami Horror showed in their initial show here, they were still entertaining and easily won over a large number of new fans. A great achievement considering the circumstances.

Sometimes by Miami Horror (Official)

I don’t know why I quoted myself in this article, but like Whitney Houston said.. It’s not right but it’s okay.

Concert Review: Empire of the Sun, September 13, Sound Academy

Posted on by Ricky in Concerts | 1 Comment

Toronto – As Uncle Frank drove us in his minivan towards the barren wasteland that is known as the Sound Academy, we casually glanced to our left to see yellow tents pointing skywards with the sign “Cirque De Soleil” prominently featured all over the grounds. Dancers dressed in odd costumes frolicking around all night long? “That would be interesting to see, I thought”.

After witnessing Empire of the Sun‘s mind blowing audio/visual spectacular on Tuesday night, its fair to say I may have just gotten my own theatrical thrill.

One of my favorite shows, The Mighty Boosh, starts off with the line “Come with us on a journey through time and space” and that is exactly how I felt when Luke Steele took to the the smoked filled stage dressed as a lovechild of Ziggy Stardust, some random characters from the movie Stargate and an ancient African tribe. With video projections showing images of worlds away, Steele and his troupe of dancers spent the next eighty minutes barraging all our senses with color, movement and of course, music. Both the singer and the dancers went through multiple costume changes ranging from the weird (space aged geishas?) to the absurd (some kind of horse-dolphin hybrid? yes..)

Now all of these visuals probably wouldn’t of worked if the music of band was not up to par. Despite a rather small catalog consisting of one whole album, the band was able to construct a rather long show by creating highly dance-able extended versions of their hit songs such as Standing on the Shores and Half Mast. Some of the filler tracks on the album did make it’s way into the show, but whenever the music didn’t do it for you, all you had to do was just watch everything going on. Time passes quickly. Luke Steele proved himself to be a rather entertaining lead, nailing a lovely guitar solo, having some nice banter (even bringing out his child at one point) and generally keeping things interesting on stage when he wasn’t play acting or dancing.

Our journey with the band ended with the track Walking on a Dream and just like that, they were gone. It was all over and we were back to reality where the colors suddenly don’t seem so bright and vivid.

Don’t let the high ticket price scare you away, Empire of the Sun is a show well worth experiencing. I can’t wait until they come back with another album and more material.

Without You by WalkingOnADream

Song of the Day: Gypsy And The Cat – Jona Vark

Posted on by Ricky in Music, Song of the Day | Leave a comment

Toronto – Seeing how Australian music has been highly influential in my music tastes these days, it should be no surprise that another electro pop act has caught my eye.

Gypsy And The Cat consists of Melbourne DJs Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers. At the tender age of 21 years old, they appear to be kinda new. This track started receiving heavy airplay from Australian station Triple J, and for good reason – it’s really catchy. The track reminds me of Empire of the Sun without all the drugs. Check it out.