This year has been a cracking year for my musical interests.
On the 10th of October I went to see Bastille live. I love Bastille and their lead-singer Dan has a cracking voice.
This band is always good live and was even dubbed performance of the night at the 2014 Brit Awards alongside Rudimental. Here are the highlights:
The London boys were assisted by the Swedish band Grizfolk who could best be described as what Nickelback tries to be.
The lead singer, Fredrik Eriksson, has ties to the deep south of America and it shows. His near-country vocals soared over the entire set as he switched between acoustic and electric guitars (if the song needed it). His vocals over the pop-rock riffs and synths were a strange juxtaposition at first, but the energy he and the band displayed soon won the crowd over and dancing ensued.
They played ten songs which included their indie hit "Vagabonds", a cover of David Bowie's "Suffragette City", and a big finale of "Hymnals". This band has yet to have a full album, just an EP called From the Spark, but it's just a matter of time until they blow up all radios.
After Grizfolk readied the crowd for the main act, there was a roundabout forty-five minute intercession where the venue elves assisted in taking down the instruments and lighting to ready the stage for the Bastille boys.
Then a flashing triangle appeared and it was apparent that shit just got serious.
As the triangle flashed, the lights dimmed and an ominous chord rang through the theatre. Then one by one, Dan Smith (vocalist), Kyle Simon (bass, backing vocals and synthesisers), Will Farquarson (bass, guitar, and backing vocals), and Chris "Woody" Wood (drums, beat sampler and backing vocals) came on stage to applause and cheers.
They opened the set with "Things We lost in the Fire" which has accompanied (like most of the songs that night) by music video or cutscene images on the big triangle.
After those songs, the lights went down and Dan remerged to dance it out for "Bad Blood". Dan had his two big drums that he banged whenever he felt the need to and performed energetically. The song had a bit of a reggaeton twist during the performance and thus the crowd (and Dan) did bogle.
Smith addressed the crowd stating that the band did have some really depressing songs, and that for the weekend it was fit to play some. He approached the keyboard and Woody approached the beat sampler for a stripped-down version of "Overjoyed". The same set-up applied for their performance of "Oblivion".
The best song of the night was an oldie, but a goldie-- a song from the band's mixtape Other People's Heartache which had circulated online in the late 2000's. Their mashup of "Angels" by the xx and TLC's "No Scrubs" called "No Angels" went down with the crowd.
The band then performed "Icarus", a song that shares a name with the Greek god who flew too near to the sun resulting in his wings melting and death. In a section of this song, Dan got a little close to a part of the crowd who wouldn't have seen him that up close and personal normally. He scaled the decorative moulding to perform to those seated in the mezzanines.
After the excitement of "Icarus", the band performed "The Draw" which Dan described as their "lame attempt at being a grunge band".
They then ended with one of their biggest singles (but not the biggest) "Flaws".
After leaving the stage for around ten minutes to a standing ovation, they returned for the encore and sang a stripped down version of "Get Back Home".
They then performed "Of the Night". During this song, Dan donned a grey hoodie and made his way through the isles of the venue to dance and sing with fans. His procession elicited many cheers and lots of fun.
Then, at the end of the night they played their biggest single, "Pompeii" (they couldn't have a big concert and not perform that song). For this, Dan invited Grizfolk guys to sing along with them and they came on stage to hugs and fist bumps. Dan told the crowd to put away their cell phones and dance with him-- do the "pogo" (i.e. jump up and down to the rhythm). It was a fun moment and one that most people would never forget. Everyone lived in the moment and danced to the beat.
Overall, Dan's vocals were excellent; they were more than on point, they were above point. At points he sounded even better than the album recording. His falsettos were sweet, his bass notes growled and menaced and he belted out his tenor notes with strength and confidence. The band's musicianship was excellent too. The guitar solos and sick bass lines kept the crowd moving. They also were full of energy, dancing and jumping around.
After each song Dan thanked the crowd for being there and expressed their disbelief at just performing at New York never mind the Radio City Music Hall. I think he and the band were genuinely chuffed to be there and so was the crowd.
Now I can't stop going to live gigs!!!!
