Bastille and Alice Merton at the Paramount
We were so excited to head to the Paramount theater for the Bastille show. It feels like forever when we caught them last time at WaMu and this felt even more special in the smaller and better sounding space. The English band started as the solo project of lead Dan Smith in 2010 and then morphed into a full band with keyboardist Kyle Simmons, bassist and guitarist Will Farquarson, and drummer Chris “Woody” Wood. They were back in town supporting their fourth record Give Me the Future.
The delightful Alice Merton kicked the night off and people were really into it as she has established a name over the last few years and gained recognition with her single “No Roots.” She played a few new tracks from her upcoming second album titled S.I.D.E.S which will be out later this year.
When it was time for Bastille to take the stage there was a huge screen in the background which throughout the night played short interlude clips that tied into the whole futuristic reality theme. The company who is selling these products is called Future Inc and Smith would sit on a chaise chair imitating the image of being plugged into this reality.
Their set kicked off with “Stay Awake” while Smith moved around constantly on the floor. They played a lot of fan favorites along with newer tunes and the night seemed to be so perfectly planned. Smith‘s voice is so distinguishable you can tell it’s him in any situation you hear it. His English accent while he sings makes the words sound even more intriguing and you can’t stop paying attention to him. You also can’t stop singing in a fake English accent since you are clearly following along with him.
The night loaded with emotions as the end brough “Happier,” “Of the Night,” “Future Holds,” and the global hit, “Pompeii.” For “Of the Night” the band still made fans go lower on the floor before the chorus and jump up to sing along. The song still gets you in the mood and of course it would as the mash up of two 1990s dance hits. Smith also jumped in the crowd and walked around singing to fans on the GA floor.
After a short break they returned for their encore which included “Hope for the Future,” and the feel good tune, “Shut Off The Lights.” For the latter Smith guided people to sing along to the chorus for them and when it was time the words also appeared on the screen to make things easier. It felt extremely cathartic to end the night yelling out ‘Shut off the lights, we don’t need them to dance!’ and to let go of things weighing down on us. Bastille is always a good time and for sure a band you don’t want to miss live.
Words and photos: Sophia Barkalakis
