A walk through the City Botanic Gardens is a fairly civilised way to begin a night out. Where things go from there depends on who's playing Riverstage. With Empire of the Sun, the answer is somewhere considerably stranger. The Australian electronic-pop outfit will return on Sunday, February 21, 2027, bringing its Ask That God: Afterlife tour to Brisbane. For anyone who caught the last visit, the draw is a reimagined show. For everyone else, it's a chance to hear familiar songs delivered by Luke Steele, dressed for an entirely different civilisation. Riverstage's setting is part of the appeal. Inside the City Botanic Gardens, beside the Brisbane River, the outdoor venue offers a distinctly different starting point from an arena concourse. There's something pleasing about approaching such a fantastical show through the trees. The venue is familiar, but the show is being reimagined. Frontier Touring describes Afterlife as the final live chapter of Ask That God, extending the world of the 2024 album. The six-date Australian and New Zealand run is being billed as the band's largest tour of the region, following more than 400,000 tickets sold worldwide during the touring cycle. "I think things are going to happen on this tour that have never happened before," Steele said in the announcement. The North American performances offer a few clues. In her review of the September 13, 2026 show for WEGL, Johanna Kunz described a production with a different visual setting for each song: rising suns, futuristic costumes and alien-like characters sharing the stage with the musicians. The surprises weren't all visual. Kunz also reported a pared-back rendition of 'This Land Is Your Land', a quieter contrast to the electronic spectacle. Later, a guitar solo cut through the familiar arrangement of 'Walking on a Dream'. Brisbane's performance may take a different shape, but it's an encouraging glimpse of what Afterlife can do. The attraction isn't simply more scenery around the same songs. It's a show with room to move between grand gestures and quieter moments, giving familiar music another way to land. The costumes are elaborate, but the invitation isn't. Reviewing the October 29, 2024 Riverstage show for The Live Wire, Lucas Bell described teenagers singing alongside grandparents, with 'We Are the People' drawing one of the night's biggest responses. Fans who looked more at home at a metal gig were dancing alongside people dressed as fairies. It's a lovely image for a band whose presentation can seem so elaborate from the outside. Onstage, there are characters, costume changes and a whole alternative universe. In the audience, there's a chorus everyone can get behind. Bell also reported a mass singalong during 'Walking on a Dream', before the evening closed with 'Alive'. The spectacle supplied plenty to look at; the songs gave an unlikely assortment of people something to share. That's an inviting prospect for anyone who likes the singles but has never quite worked out the rest of Empire's world. You don't need a favourite album or an explanation for every costume. Knowing the words is a more useful qualification than understanding the mythology. Back by the river, you might even prefer to watch from the hill. Riverstage's sloping amphitheatre gives you a wider view of a show where the dancers, screens and musicians all compete for attention. It's a different pleasure from being right up against the stage: noticing a scene change, then finding yourself pulled back into the chorus. With this band, taking in the whole picture feels like part of the point. Brisbane can supply the gardens and the riverside setting. Steele can handle the departure from reality. Empire of the Sun's Ask That God: Afterlife tour plays Riverstage, Brisbane, on Sunday, February 21, 2027. The show is licensed all ages. General admission tickets are listed at $149.90 plus applicable ticketing fees. Book via Frontier Touring.