Empire of the Sun lights up Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles

Hopped on a plane down to LAX with a dream and a leather jacket (I won’t be caught dead in a cardigan). Welcome to the land of great success…artists and dreamers galore.

I’ve been to Los Angeles before, but this time around I began to understand the true essence of what it’s like to experience the wind beneath the wings of a true angelino. Perhaps it was a newfound injection of inspiration, hunger for art, the immense window of opportunity to seek out a creative career…or maybe it was the need to prove that I can do it solo and embark on a daring weekend full of unpredictable moments.

The truth is, I’m a planner, but most importantly, a city girl. I can leave Chicago every now and again, but my comfort zone is right here…among the bustling L trains, the ruckus of the morning rush, the bright city lights and albeit even the cold winters that breed the best summers. We earn everything around here and it’s what keeps our hungry hearts beating. I never chased the music that far before, yet something was calling me. I secretly knew that I had unfinished business in LA and hence why I gravitated towards the date of November 22 of the North American leg part of the Empire of the Sun: Ask That God tour in Los Angeles, California at the Hollywood Bowl.

Empire of the Sun is an Australian duo of musicians; Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore. Together they form an intricately captivating electropop stage presence that attracts listeners from all age groups.

The love for the band started relatively early for me…I heard their song “We Are The People” off of a made-for-TV movie “The Roommate” starring Leighton Meester and Aly Michalka. My then teenage world collided with my present day introverted nomad lifestyle. Looking around the huge open-air venue, I truly couldn’t believe I’ve made this trek possible.

Ever since their debut, infamous hits such as “Alive” and “Walking on a Dream” have been remixed by numerous house music DJs. You especially could not escape the synths of “Alive” summer of 2013 and onward…but it’s one of those timeless classics. Not to mention its beautiful music video set in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. No matter how many times it has been played or featured on the radio, you can’t get yourself to skip. The only other song I can say that about is Disclosure feat Sam Smith “Latch” and I think that’s when you know that you have something truly special.

While I relished in my memories of how far the band has come, Luke Steele was also out living his biggest dream. He told the audience that,

“20 years ago…wow, that makes me sound really old…20 years ago when I was three [he laughs] I went to the Hollywood Bowl with my fiance and I thought to myself, ‘one day, I’m going to be on stage and I’m going to play here’. Praise God, it’s so good to be here. When the pandemic hit, I was like, ‘Empire is done. I’m exhausted’ and then I asked God, ‘God, if you’d like me to continue, give me a sign.’ We feel so thankful to be here, thank you to the audience…you beautiful people,” which got the crowd roaring and excited to hear more of the Ask That God album.

The tour setlist was a combination of nostalgic hit albums from “Walking on a Dream” and “Two Vines”. Each song was beautifully synchronized to neon-nostalgic and futuristic visuals. One that stood out to me the most was the performance of “Television” which showed a myriad of television screens, liminal robotic creatures and a touch of that 90s bright color palette splash. During the performance of “Ask That God” the screen perfectly illustrated a marble God-like hand that was meant to reach out to Luke until it touched in perfect unison. This moment felt like a silent thank you and praise to God for allowing him to keep going.

It made me feel melancholic that any doubts had ever crossed their mind because had they not continued with their craft, we would have never been able to experience this marriage of records, old lyrics, new visuals and the overall progression of their artistry throughout their years on stage and on the radio. Whether they like it or not, they are a prolific name in the music industry and a huge inspiration for many that are following in their footsteps, experimenting with sounds and focusing in large part on ethos through sound.

There is a significant shift in the way people choose to consume music, as in more tangible purchases in the form of vinyls and walkmans. Empire of the Sun is expressing their sentimental nod to the 80s-90s through their musical sound.

How would I even begin to describe the sound of Empire? To me, their auditory component conjures its own sequence of nostalgic memories and appreciation for electro-pop synths that I had been introduced to circa late 90s…which has since sparked a love affair with music so strong, it’s got it in a chokehold.

The tour started off with “Changes” illuminating the stage in crimson red and welcoming the audience with a lengthy guitar solo followed by “Feeling You Get” to get an already anticipated and excited audience off their feet; this upbeat flow trickles over to “Half Mast” which was sampled by Mac Miller during his debut on Spins. Then it continued with “Cherry Blossom” and “DNA” that have easily become one of my favorite hits to see live and transported me back to the sounds of the summer of 2013.

The artifice of their work and the amount of work that goes into that, no matter how tiring, is not something that is largely advertised. Instead, the music as well as the emotion it is meant to evoke is very evident. The show ended with the largely anticipated and heavily remixed and revised “Alive” coupled with fireworks and an ode to the audience for coming out and withstanding a brief drizzle of California rain.

Dare I say, this time around, Los Angeles felt beautifully different. I felt a sincere welcome and a desire to be there…and I can’t wait to come back again to dance underneath the open, misty night sky.

Relive the show by tuning into the “Ask That God” set list below: