Live Review: Empire Of The Sun, High Highs

It can't have been easy for High Highs, an indie pop band from Sydney, to play to a half -full concert hall at Sydney Opera House as opener for Empire Of The Sun. The audience was eagerly awaiting premiere material from Empire and High Highs had been forced to the very front of stage by the looming structures set up for the headline act. High Highs gave it their all though as they belted out their softly sung, breezy indie pop tunes. The performance was heartfelt and while their songs were good, they sounded like too many other bands currently making the rounds. This was an impression driven home when these three young men launched into a cover of A Real Hero by College.

Empire Of The Sun, however, were their own beast. The lights dimmed, the bombastic commenced immediately and did not let up until the lights were turned back on. They had come to Sydney Opera House to make an impression, both with their new album and as centrepiece to the Vivid festival. And it would have been impossible not to leave with some kind of impression.

Empire was centre stage for the night and they wanted everyone to know such. Lead man Luke Steele rose from the back of the stage in a self-important manner that yearned for attention. The band, however, was overshadowed, for most of the show, by the awe-inspiring costume design of the back up dancers.

The synth pop of the new album recalled more Eurovision than the '80s. The mood was flat for most of the evening with the audience only happily jumping to their feet with recognizable material, but that can be the case for any band that mixes old hits with attempts at new stuff. The band themselves were a farce; punters would be forgiven for thinking they were in Vegas with their absurd costumes and posturing. It is not hard to conclude the bravo and theatrics of Empire Of The Sun is designed to distract or ignore the quality of their work.

It is true that there is no other band in Australia quite like Empire Of The Sun. It is also true that few performers, particularly Australian performers, put so much attention and energy into the theatrics of the show. It is quite possible that the band put as much attention into their stage shows as they did into the new album. Punters will be hard pressed to find a show quite like the ones, for better or for worse, by Empire Of The Sun.

You can watch the live stream of Empire Of The Sun at the Opera House from 8:50pm tonight.