The recurring thought when seeing Bastille is: “Man, that guy can sing.” On record, vocalist Dan Smith can come off as almost too clean; a manufactured part of the pop music machine that’s churned out by the magic of auto-tune. But live, it’s a different story. There’s that much needed sense of authenticity, clarity, and – yes – actual talent. Truthfully there is probably some electronic magic at work to perfect it all. Thankfully though, it isn’t overdone.
The English four-piece packed in the fans for their debut Toronto showing. Bastille originally sold out the 850-person Opera House and were upgraded to the slightly bigger 1,100 person Phoenix; but in all likelihood the band could have played an even larger room in the city. Of course, they had plenty of company that night – joined by a veritable English invasion of bands rolling through town – including the Pet Shop Boys, Stereophonics, Tom Odell, and Travis. For the young band up against a strong showing of UK exports, Bastille came out of the gate guns and instruments blazing.
With just one album to their name – March 2013’s Bad Blood – it’s clear that Smith and company have turned a lot of heads in a short period of time. It undoubtedly helps that Smith is a good-looking young man with an impressive head of hair and an English accent to boot. The girls at the front screamed, threw oversized granny panties at him, and appeared overwhelmingly enamoured. It was an energy the band capitalized on, though admittedly Smith still seems unaccustomed to the attention.
The 26 year-old was joined on stage by the rest of Bastille – Kyle Simmons on keyboards; Will Farquarson on bass; and Chris Wood on drums – but it was Smith who took the spotlight, bouncing around the front of the stage and singing directly to the crowd.
Bastille was started by Smith as a solo project in 2010, expanding the project along the way. Media and fan attention soon followed, and the band released their first single – “Overjoyed” – in April 2012. Three other singles (“Bad Blood”, “Flaws”, and “Pompeii”, respectively) were released prior to the publishing of the Bad Blood full-length. The album debuted at the top of the UK’s album chart, though critics were more tepid in their reception. Regardless, supporting slots with Emeli Sandé and Muse helped to cement the band in the public sphere.
It’s a wonder, then, that it has taken Bastille this long to get to Toronto – and it was clear that fans were on edge for the show.
“I want to touch your hair,” yelled one girl in the front row to Smith. Though it was a request he didn’t grant, he did respond with: “Alright, can I touch yours?” It’s an endearing bashfulness, but also a rather interesting one to witness. For a man writing and singing such approachable songs, the awkwardness is quite surprising. He’s clearly not trying to sell up the heartthrob status. But it helps.
On second song “Things We Lost in the Fire”, Smith perched himself behind a pair of drums to help round out percussion. On the band’s third number, all four members found themselves at the front of the stage for the aforementioned “Overjoyed”, collaborating on electronic percussion and keys.
Much of Bastille’s set relied on material from their debut, though some choice covers helped round out the hour-long show. Among those was highlight “What Would You Do?”, a 2001 classic from R&B trio City High. If it sounds like a weird pick for the rock four-piece to play, you’ll have to believe me when I say it wasn’t. It worked: Smith’s English accent and vocal clarity a strangely perfect match to the Grammy-nominated song about poverty, prostitution, and single parents.
“Oblivion” was a vocal obstacle course, Smith entering into the higher region for the song’s end, then back down again with ease. Follow-up track “Weight of Living, Pt II” again showed his power and control – and with a voice like that it’s obvious Bastille is playing to its strengths and very much destined for huge rooms.
Also spectacular was the lighting. I’m not usually a huge fan of the Phoenix when it comes to visual show, so whoever does the lighting for Bastille deserves a raise. I congratulated the man briefly on my way out the venue, but I’ll say it again: he did a great job in making the band look as great as they sounded. Good work and congratulations, mysterious lighting man.
Fifth single “Laura Palmer” saw Smith grab a sweater from a girl in the front row. On the garment were the words “I killed Laura Palmer” – much to the frontman’s delight. “Can I keep this?” he asked. “Oh, you look like you want it back,” he conceded before settling on draping it over his keyboard for the song. “Laura Palmer” itself sounded massive; it’s the type of song best experience live, with Smith belting the line: “This is your heart, can you feel it” to the crowd.
Non-album track “Haunt” also made an appearance – a slower EP release that heavily favours Wood’s drumming. It led into “Icarus”, a clap-happy song that Smith is vocally well balanced on by Bastille keyboardist Simmons. The main portion of the 45-minute set came to a close with “Flaws”. On this, Smith jumped into the crowd, hopping up on the venue’s side bar to the enjoyment of the sold-out crowd.
The man needs to invest in a wireless microphone, however. His attempt to climb up to the balcony failed miserably thanks to his tether and Smith had to turn around halfway up the stairs. Thankfully he saved grace by weaving his way back through the crowd, all the while holding every note.
Bastille returned for “Get Home” before introducing another cover – this time of Corona’s dancefloor friendly “Rhythm of the Night”. The lesson here, I suppose, is that when you’ve got a voice this good – you can cover any thing. Smith began the song by explaining: “As you may have noticed throughout the evening, I’m a f****** awful dancer.” (True. Mostly he just jumps around, but I guess that’s a dancing style of sorts…) The cover got the disco ball out and shining, Smith and Simmons both banging on a drum before he ended it a cappella on the song’s titular words.
Ending the set with the single and Bad Blood lead track “Pompeii” made sense, given it’s their most popular to date. The crowd sang along, word for word, Smith ending with a simple “thank you so much” as he and the rest of Bastille gazed out over the sea of people, taking their time to appreciate it all.
Yes, they’re all easy pop songs to like – “Pompeii” especially. As I left the venue, I overheard one security guard remark: “I hear that song on the radio every day. I had no idea who they were.” Safe bet is this band is only getting bigger and the name only much better known. Whether or not Smith will be able to keep up the endearing bashfulness is a different story.
Thanks to Live Nation Ontario for media access.
