Empire of The Sun performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on May 3, 2025. Matt Pang/STAFF.

BERKELEY — Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun brought its tour in support of 2024 album Ask That God to the Greek on Saturday.

Ask That God is Luke Steele’s and Nick Littlemore’s first new collection of songs in more than eight years, and the band hasn’t performed in the Bay Area in more than half a decade, so for fans waiting to hear new Empire of the Sun music, the concert was a long time in coming.

The duo and its band opened the show with a cinematic entrance to “Changes,” accompanied by two dancers in geisha masks. It felt like an opening scene to a movie. The dancers pranced across the stage while Steele sang. Other new songs like “The Feeling You Get” and “Cherry Blossom” followed, while the band also snuck in “Half Mast,” from its first album. Steele played an electric guitar animatedly while leaning into the crowd.

The retro-futuristic visuals and eye-catching costumes complemented the songs, taking the audience to different levels within the band’s universe.

Empire of The Sun performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on May 3, 2025.

Empire of the Sun transitioned to hit “We Are the People” as the dancers next to Steele  switched to sparkling mirrored outfits. “Television” was partnered with trippy visuals of a bunch of static televisions playing the song’s music video.

“It’s a true dream come true to play at the Greek,” Steele said during the euphoria-inducing “Music On The Radio,” off Ask That God. , which was accompanied by visuals of a person dancing with a bunch of Maneki-neko (lucky cat figurines).

Steele showed off his guitar prowess with solos during “Swordfish Hotkiss Night.” His bright red guitar played a pivotal role as a spotlight shined off it.

Other highlights included new tunes “Ask That God” and “Happy Like You.”

A sudden shift of lights signaled crowd favorite “Walking on a Dream.” Attendees chanted the song word for word as Steele ran through the crowd, pointing a microphone at the audience.

Roi Turbo performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on May 3, 2025.

The performance concluded with “Standing on the Shore” and “Alive.” Steele grabbed a guitar, smashing it on stage repeatedly.

“Love each other while we are all on this small planet,” Steele said.

South-Africa-born, London-based electronic duo Roi Turbo opened the show. Brothers Benjamin and Conor McCarthy, from Cape Town, blended elements of techno and surf rock together to create a tropical dance vibe.

Their 45-minute set included several songs from just-released Bazooka EP, including “Dystopia” and the title track. In all, the new songs felt like a good time, with disco vibes. Other highlights included “Super Hands” and “Hot Like Fire.”

Follow photographer Matt Pang at Instagram.com/mattgods.