Bastille & Supports
Who?:
- Bastille
- Clean Bandit
- Rag 'n Bone Man
Where?: O2 Academy, Birmingham
When?: Sunday 3rd November
Walking into a crowd already witnessing first support act Rag n Bone Man, I was instantly captured by his style. From the name, I was expecting one man, acoustic guitar, rough voice- I was very wrong. Powerful soul mixed with blues, hip-hop, rap, Rag n Bone Man sang passionately about his past, but its clear he is current and well positioned in the underground scene. Bringing on a guest vocalist, again, his style changed to a more raw, urban filled sound. I've never been a big fan of soul or blues music however, Rag n Bone Man's music has been on repeat since his gifted and skill-full set.
Clean Bandit; an up and coming pop group who plunge themselves into electronic music and experimental methods. Having seen them twice before at Boardmasters and Reading Festival, I knew what to expect. However, just like the previous occasions; they blew me away. To come out to a crowd who are really just there for Bastille and perform the way they did was just outstanding. Each sound that builds up the wider picture was on point; showing that technically as a band, they really know their stuff. Biggest tracks 'Mozart's House' and 'A&E' got the crowd swaying however, it was clear the crowd were there for one thing only, which was a shame.
Out the boys came, on to one of their more upbeat songs- 'Bad Blood'. After patiently waiting, the crowd were ready to bop along to the sounds of one of the biggest bands of 2013. Bastille then went into a number of other album tracks; followed by a new song.
'Campus'- at first I didn't even believe it was Bastille. It was so different to their album tracks, I think I actually preferred it. The song is filled with ascending beats that lead to incredible drops. Of course this provided plenty of opportunity for Dan Smith to show off his not-so-dancey moves. I felt like the song had come straight from one of their mix-tapes which got Bastille to where they are today.
Campus went straight into 'What Would You Do?' what Bastille have done with this song is so incredible and unique that if you weren't a massive fan- you would definitely think it was one of their own. The passion that Dan Smith, as well as the other members is so breathtaking you are left almost in a daze. Again followed by some more album tracks- the set was really becoming strong.
Another new song- 'Blame'. This for me was the highlight of the set. Dan Smith emphasised; "This is the first song we've ever used a guitar on, crazy right? We've never used one of the most common instruments.." Hang on.. Are Arctic Monkeys in the room?! Not quite- but again, it highlights that Bastille are full of different sounds. Completely different to the album, and completely different to 'Campus'. The use of the guitar for the first time really paid off. The incredible backing vocals "I want you" from Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris Wood made the track truly one to watch. This could again plunge Bastille into a whole other dimension.
Again continuing the set with album tracks; 'Laura Palmer' and 'These Streets', Bastille were really putting on a show. Having seen them before, I knew what to expect but I did not expect this level of passion and performance. It was like a whole different band. Another new song 'The Draw', Dan Smith confirmed this was the final new song they would be performing. Again, it was more down the indie rock path Bastille have added. Incredible vocals coming from Dan Smith completed the set of incredible new songs. More creative, yet still meaningful lyrics "I can feel the draw, I can feel it pulling me back", Bastille reminded us of their roots, and the reason so many people have become fans over the past year.
'Icarus' and 'Flaws' followed with Dan Smith doing his signature performance trick; coming down, into the crowd to create 'rave pits' where he gets sweaty with the crowd.
Ending their set with their latest single 'Of the Night' and most acclaimed song 'Pompeii', Bastille rounded off a flawless performance which left their fans more than satisfied. If anyone there that night hadn't seen them before, I'm sure they'll definitely want to do so again.