An extremely hot June evening at the picturesque Cardiff Castle was always destined to have its surprises. Tonight, Australia’s finest musical exports Empire Of The Sun brought their unique electropop and colourful costumes to the idyllic backdrop of Cardiff Castle.
Warm-up duties fell to the incredibly talented Balu Brigada, a New Zealand indie rock band who primed the crowd perfectly for the boundary-pushing headliners. With frontman Luke Steele and his live bandmates entering the stage with their renowned flamboyant outfits and headgear, they soon had the crowd screaming their names – and many gathered had made such a fabulous effort of dressing up in colourful, glitzy outfits and dramatic eye makeup.
With fabulous, dramatic visual backdrops and a lowered space capsule, Steele appeared first through the smoke, flagged by EOTS’ two dancers. Renditions of We Are The People and Cherry Blossom ensured the crowd were well on their way to an unforgettable evening.
It was the opening chords of Walking On A Dream, heard over a cheering crowd, that took us to another level, though. Already treated to a vision of what had appeared to be the hand of God earlier, we were now being carried even higher than you could imagine, adding to the most perfect evening and performance.
With an encore of Alive, it was clear this was an evening nobody wanted to end. There came a dramatic ending nevertheless, when Steele launched his guitar high into the air; breaking into several pieces as it finally landed on the stage, it made for a rockstar finish exceeded all expectations. Falling clouds of confetti sealed an evening as spectacular as Cardiff Castle – and those inside it – had surely ever seen.
Empire Of The Sun + Balu Brigada, Cardiff Castle, Tue 23 June
words ELLIE EVANS photos PAUL WINDSOR
