If you were in the crowd for Empire of the Sun at Atlantis on Friday night, you better have been prepared for a mind-bending trip.
When lead singer Luke Steele descended onto stage, adorned with a pale stripe across the eyes, exaggerated black eyebrows and his signature spiky gold helmet, it was clear: the Australian electronic duo had arrived to Sandance.
Their theme, as always, seemed to be ‘if gladiators came from mars’. They mixed warrior imagery with extraterrestrial elements to create a futuristic backdrop to a masterful synth-heavy set.
A host of alien-like back-up dancers in latex filled out the gaps on stage, switching costumes and headgear between tunes. We spotted feathery gladiator helmets, plastic cone heads, and a personal favourite — full-faced metallic visors. The latter was paired with white wings to create what looked like indestructible robot angels during the performance of Celebrate.
The loudest cheers of the set were reserved for Walking on a Dream and Alive, though there were some groans in the crowd when Steele smashed his expensive-looking guitar on stage. “We could’ve taken that off you, mate,” we overheard.
By the time the stage was stripped down for Clean Bandit, we nearly experienced whiplash. The UK quartet — although there were only three of the main members on stage on Friday, as Jack Patterson was missing in action — put on such a barebones show compared to Empire of the Sun, without a gimmick or stage prop in sight.
Those who know Clean Bandit for their hits, Rather Be and Extraordinary, might have been surprised to find out that the rest of the band’s tunes were actually R’n’B heavy, from their sultry opening track Cologne to the Jess Glynne tune (and their upcoming single), Real Love.
The official band members — cellist Grace Chatto, violinist Milan Neil Amin-Smith and drummer Luke Patterson — were cast in shadows for the majority of the set, as the touring vocalists, Florence Rawlings and Elisabeth Troy, took centre stage.
Troy, in particular, was a force to be reckoned with, enchanting us with her thousand-watt smile, smooth-as-butter stage presence and undeniable pipes. She performed Robin S’s epic 90s dance number Show Me Love, and though no one can touch the original, it sounded perfectly at home as their penultimate song of the night, as though it could have been a Clean Bandit original in another lifetime.
In keeping up with their commitment to do away with gimmicks, no one left the stage before the encore, which was a rendition of Rather Be that, predictably, prompted an audience-wide sing- and dance-along. Even Amin-Smith came out from behind his violin to shimmy like no one was watching, and stopped to snap a photo of the crowd before dashing off stage.
Rudimental were tried and true headliners as they performed at Sandance for a second time. The band, made up of four East London producers, Peirs Agett, Kesi Dryden, Amir Amor and Leon “DJ Locksmith” Rolle, were slightly behind schedule as soundcheck seemed to run late.
But along with their six touring musicians — including vocalists Anne-Marie, Bridget Amofah and Thomas Jules — the band arrived jumping, whooping, and totally lit up. The tensome were filled with so much energy that, at times, it seemed like they were best friends playing the most fun game of hot lava, where the stage was piping hot and no one could stand still for more than two seconds without risking getting burnt.
The show gave a groovier sheen to the studio tracks, breathing new life into their 2013 debut album, Home. Even non-believers might have been converted after hearing the warrior-like resolve of Solo, with the vocalist taunting, “You’re too cool to love me back”, or the gentle confusion of the Emeli Sande tune, Free, as it washed over the sweaty audience like a much-welcomed breeze.
The band’s strength undoubtedly lies in their live instrumentation, from guitar, keys and drums to an irresistible, booming trumpet, giving you the feeling that the musicians were rediscovering their sound in front of your very eyes; they looked like they were having the jam session of their life in someone’s backyard.
Their hit single Waiting All Night seemed to miss original vocalist Ella Eyre’s rumbling flare, even as the live rendition had the entire crowd moving. But the true stand-out track of the night, which seemed to come too soon as it ended a relatively short set, was the finale tune, Feel the Love. Jules did an astounding job on the band’s song with John Newman, calling on the audience to sing along as the music dropped out toward the end.
The performance left a bittersweet taste in our mouths, but only in the most pleasant of senses. Like a smokey block of rich dark chocolate melting on your tongue: you’re sad when it’s finished, but you’re incredibly pleased you got to enjoy all its layers while it lasted.
