Bastille, led by frontman Daniel Smith, performed at Virginia Credit Union Live this weekend. (Photo by Katja Timm)
With stunning visuals, lights and stage props, indie pop band Bastille put together a multifaceted show at Virginia Credit Union Live Saturday night, Sept. 28. Opening with “Quarter Past Midnight,” the lead single from “Doom Days,” its latest album, the band energized the crowd from the first note. Fans sang along as a screen lit up with follow-along lyrics on a hot autumn night.
As Bastille started “Flaws,” a song from its debut 2013 album, “Bad Blood,” lead singer Daniel Smith jumped off the stage and made his way into the crowd, followed by security guards. He walked through the audience, shaking fans’ hands as they all rushed toward him in the sweaty general admission pit. The momentum built when the band performed “Happier,” undeniably its most popular song, to raised hands and screaming from the predominantly female audience.
Photo by Katja Timm
“We’re in the middle of the most depressing part of our set,” Smith said about an hour into the performance. “This song is the title track for 'Doom Days,' and it’s a joyful song about the Orwellian nightmare that is 2019.”
The band's stage props and visuals gave off a moody and solemn vibe. For some of the set, Smith sat on a rotating couch and sung with his hoodie hiding his face and his head hung low. Later in the show, Smith climbed a ladder as a giant moon filled the screen behind him. The band's energetic stage presence and dark, ominous visuals paralleled the feel of the "Doom Days" album: happy-sounding songs with a dark and serious underlying message.
“At the very least these songs sound happy, even if they’re depressing as hell,” Smith says between songs.
Nearing the end of the show, the energy lifted a little. Bastille performed “Of the Night,” a mashup of “Rhythm of the Night” by the Coronas and “Rhythm Is a Dancer” by Snap!, and Smith told the crowd to crouch to the floor, and when the chorus dropped, to stand up and jump; the entire crowd complied.
The show ended with Bastille's perhaps most popular song, the groundbreaking 2013 hit single “Pompeii.” The crowd was jumping, screaming and singing along, taking their last chance to rock out, as Smith had announced that this was the last song and there would not be an encore.
The New York-based, eccentric indie electronic rock band Joywave opened the concert. The five band members wore matching Adidas track pants and neon sweatshirts. Joywave’s lead singer Daniel Armbruster later returned and joined Smith onstage for a duet of “Bad Decisions.”
