On Monday 18th April 2022, Bastille arrived in Brighton for the closing night of their 2022 UK tour, in support of their fourth studio album, Give Me The Future. The night was incredible, with support from BIM and The Native. Here’s what we had to say about the sensational event…
BIM
Following a last-minute line-up change, due to singer, Dylan, being unable to perform, long-time Bastille backing singer, BIM, stepped up to perform as first support of the evening. Whilst she only performed 2 songs, she wowed the audience with her incredibly powerful, and soulful voice. Songs, ‘O.T.R.’ and ‘Cinematic’ both had sexy vibes to them, the latter of which makes references to a selection of films, which BIM invited the audience to guess which ones she was singing about. The singer was candid with the audience about being alone on the stage and asked for the support of the crowd, which they gave readily. A great singer, with some incredibly dynamic vocals – definitely one to look out for.
The Native
This band were an interesting act – they’re clearly young but quite experienced. Unfortunately for the singer, he was having trouble with his guitar which threw him off slightly, however they remained professional throughout the show delivering a flawless performance. That said, they could have used a little more personality, energy and smiles in their stage presence and whilst they have well-written songs, if I’m honest, they were not the most captivating tunes. That aside, they did manage to get the crowd excited for Bastille and their song, ‘In My Mind’ was a real stand-out performance.
Bastille
From the moment the band took to the stage, there was a huge surge of excitement and cheering from the anticipating crowd, particularly when singer, Dan Smith, emerged at the back of the stage, on a high platform in front of a white rectangular backdrop.
From start to finish (of the 100-minute set), this was a truly captivating experience; probably one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen! The production was instantly impressive with a cool stage set-up, that saw crossed-shaped lights dance across and above the stage, whilst a massive stage-wide screen displayed a variety of stunning visuals at the back of the stage, throughout the set.
Much as with their fourth studio album, Give Me The Future, the entire set was broken up by audio-visual interludes that made the whole performance feel as if you were part of a wonderful cyber experience.
The set was packed with an impressive amount of songs and featured both new and old tunes that had the audience singing along with every word! Even some of the deeper cuts from previous albums as well as those from their latest, had the audience ecstatic.
Despite the nearly seamless flow to the set, the band were truly considerate of their crowd too, stopping the performance a couple of times whilst people who had passed out were carefully lifted out of the crowd.
The band were highly energetic and showed off just how refined they have become at performing in a big concert venue. They’re true professionals and giants in their genre, who deserve their every success.
Without a doubt, this band are a phenominal live act to watch and will have you jumping and singing along within seconds of taking to the stage. Whilst this tour may have now drawn to a close, I’m sure the band will be back and touring again, having said they missed performing during the Covid pandemic, and I cannot recommend watching them, highly enough – they will not disappoint!
Highlights:
- When singer, Dan Smith, jumped off the stage and into the crowd, during the band’s performance of ‘Happier’, it created a massive buzz throughout the audience and had everyone hyped up (watch the video below as I came face-to-face with him in the crowd!)
- The appreciation for their fans just being there was evident and the love for enabling their latest album to reach Number 1 was felt by all.
- The diversity of the set was really thrilling, with a combination of new and old, fast and slow songs, meaning the crowd were kept on their toes throughout.
- The stage design was amazing – it enhanced the performance without detracting from the band themselves in a wonderfully immersive way.
- ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’, ‘Happier’, ‘Of The Night’, ‘Future Holds’ (due to BIM‘s stunning vocals!) and ‘Pompeii’ were definite highlights of the show.
📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
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Setlist
Stay Awake?
Distorted Light Beam*
Things We Lost In The Fire
Laura Palmer
Oblivion
Those Nights
Quarter Past Midnight*
Back To The Future*
Plug In…
WHAT YOU GONNA DO???
survivin’
Good Grief*
Promises
Give Me The Future
4AM
No Bad Days
Happier*
Run Into Trouble*
Of The Night
Future Holds (with BIM)
Pompeii*
Encore
Hope For The Future
Shut Off The Lights (with The Native)
* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.
Finally, I want to say an enormous thank you to Jenny Entwistle from Chuff Media for sorting out this review for us and to Bastille, The Native and BIM for putting on a remarkable event!
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other live reviews here:
Muzik Speaks Live Reviews
Matt – Muzik Speaks
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