Music > Live Reviews
Bastille // Waterfront 8.3.13
09/03/13
Bastille are a band at the very tipping point of their musical career. Although they’ve been around for a little while already, it hasn’t been until quite recently they have been discovered by a much wider audience and have even found themselves in the run for a number one single and album. The buzz surrounding this band is astounding and they have completely exploded into our collective vision, for very good reason as they adequately prove tonight.
An early start of 6:30 proves the venue quite empty for the first band on tonight’s bill, The Ramona Flowers. Although originally excited by their Scott Pilgrim reference in their name, my excitement turned into slight apathy as the band delivered mediocre song after mediocre song, never really sticking to one style - not in a fun, experimental way. I found myself thinking that possibly this is the kind of music better heard on CD because you can skip the crap ones. But let’s not dwell on the negative; I’m sure the night has more to come!
Next up is the fantastically female-fronted MS MR, whose mailing list I became glad I joined. At this point in the night, which commenced about 7:45 if I remember rightly, people had almost stopped getting here and instead were stood, enjoying the great music and company. These guys seemed to mix together a very Beth Ditto sounding voice with a pinch of electro, a drop of indie and drums to taste – a recipe for definite success. A great warm-up band who have the potential to be very successful, especially with the attention the headliners tonight have been getting!
The sudden horror that I’d accidently walked into a Justin Bieber concert hit me as the final band of the night, Bastille, made their way onstage to a wall of high-pitched screams. Although I am partial to a slight fan-girl at the sight of a select few individuals, this kind of response seemed alien to me at the Norwich Waterfront; I guess that’s the problem with having a nice looking singer and an almost number one album. However, this exposure has not hindered but in fact seems to have helped these guys, who put on a flawless show. As soon as the music starts, the atmosphere in the room completely changes from that of anticipation to one of extreme energy with a large proportion of the venue singing and dancing along to tracks such as Bad Blood and Laura Palmer. Bastille have so many layers to their music from the live singing, drums and guitar along with backing tracks which makes their music sound so massive, especially in a room as full as this one. Changing the tone for a moment to play the beautiful Overjoyed, I glance around the room to see people of all ages enjoying the music being played. This really is the sign of a great band if all generations can find something in it for them and everyone here tonight seems to be joining in and completely enjoying themselves. My highlight of the night was definitely Of The Night, a very Bastille-styled cover of the 90s classic, Rhythm Of The Night which came as a complete surprise to me, a very recently made Bastille fan. Coming up second is the fantastic Pompeii, which ended with a mass sing-along, really proving the band’s dedicated fan base. To finish off what has been an outstanding performance from Dan Smith and co., popular single Flaws is played to great applause and excitement from the audience. When the singer makes his way off stage, directly behind me and to the bar during said song, I’m pretty sure a couple of girls stood next to him had a heart attack. What was an explosive and frankly brilliant end to the night leaves me both excited and in a small pit of melancholy that the gig didn’t last any longer. Overall, in mind of the recent A level results, I give the guys an A* performance and wish them the best of luck!
8/10 Ellie Smith