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Live Recap: The Future Past Tour with Duran Duran, Bastille, and Nile Rodgers & Chic

I can think of few better ways to kick off Labor Day weekend than with a show from Duran Duran, Bastille, and Nile Rodgers & Chic at Northerly Island in Chicago. And lucky for me, I was one of the several thousand fans who packed the Huntington Bank Pavilion on Friday, September 1st to attend the Future Past Tour.

The performances kicked off just before sunset with the legendary musician and producer Nile Rodgers, along with his band Chic. If you’re even a casual fan of disco or funk music, chances are you’re familiar with Chic’s hit “Le Freak,” and the band kicked off their performance with the popular track. If I’m being honest, I went into the show thinking that was the only Chic song I knew, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised when I recognized other Chic songs like “Everybody Dance” and “I Want Your Love.” Rodgers may be best known as the co-founder of Chic, but he’s also worked with countless top tier artists as a producer, so I was again pleasantly surprised to be familiar with all of the other songs performed in his set. In addition to some of Chic’s discography, Rodgers and his bandmates delivered incredible renditions of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” that had everyone standing and dancing—which is a rare sighting during the first act of a show.

Once the sun had set, Bastilletook the stage next. The British quartet of Dan Smith, Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris "Woody" Wood were joined by touring band members Charlie Barnes and Bim Amoako to help bring their songs to life. The band kept the high energy that Nile Rodgers had set up going, opening their set with the upbeat track (if you ignore the lyrics) “Good Grief” and the guitar-driven, rambunctious “WHAT YOU GONNA DO???” The rest of their setlist spanned their entire discography, from their debut album to their most recent album, as well as standalone singles like the hit collaboration they did with Marshmello, “Happier.” During the performance of “Things We Lost in the Fire” from their first record, Smith stationed himself a floor tom drum to pack another punch of percussion in the song’s chorus. The drums came into play during a couple of their other songs like the band’s mash up of the 90’s hits “Rhythm is a Dancer” and “Rhythm of the Night,” but when Smith wasn’t drumming he was usually dancing his way across the stage. While playing “Shut Off the Lights” from Give Me the Future, Smith shimmied alongside Bim Amoako, who delivered powerhouse backing vocals throughout the show. The set wrapped up with Bastille’s epic sing-along hit “Pompeii” that had everyone up and out of their seats yet again.

From there, the energy and anticipation only continued to climb while the stage was set for the main act, Duran Duran. When it was showtime, the screen onstage cast a futuristic, sci-fi-esque video, in homage to the future part of the tour name and the band’s most recent album. Finally, the shadows of band members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor appeared in the center of the stage, their silhouettes illuminated by colored lights in the background. The crowd went wild as the band launched into “The Night Boat” from their 1981 self-titled album— as I looked around I saw nothing but pure bliss from the fans in the front section of seats.

This concert was my first time seeing Duran Duran perform, and I was immediately struck by how poised and coordinated all of the band members were, and the elevated level of camaraderie between not only the core band members, but the additional musicians performing onstage with them. Le Bon’s vocals also sounded impeccable throughout the performance and he showcased a natural showmanship with his between-song banter. Le Bon took some time to comment on the beautiful weather and bright moon before they played their hit “Hungry Like The Wolf” as the third song of the set.

Le Bon gave similar quips to set up the forthcoming songs often throughout the night, like asking the crowd “which do you prefer? Yes or no-no” before “Notorious” and asking if there were any birthdays in the house before “Anniversary,” adding “We got everyone in this place celebrating an anniversary tonight!” In addition to Le Bon’s commentary, the lights and visual projections on the stage’s screen also complemented each song performed. During “Is There Something I Should Know?” images of the band on different magazine covers in the 80’s flashed on the screen, and they started their song “Girls on Film” with flashing lights and sound effects that felt like a real-life paparazzi attack.

While a lot of Le Bon’s commentary between songs had a cheekiness about it, he also made a very heartfelt dedication before performing “Ordinary World.” “'[This song] is about bringing people together, and saying yeah, I know how how you feel. There are two dedications to this song tonight…one to the people of Maui, hold them in your hearts and help them if you can. I also would like to dedicate this song to the people of Ukraine. In their struggle, we wish them happiness and peace in their own country, in their own ordinary world,” he added.

After lots of dancing and a journey through Duran Duran’s long discography, we’d sadly reached the end of the main part of the set. Duran Duran made sure to end the night with an incredible encore that started with their song “Save a Prayer.” The band asked everyone to turn on their cell phone lights for that song, Le Bon saying, “Let’s turn this part of Chicago into the galaxy itself!” The night wrapped up with an explosive performance of their hit “Rio,” featuring a saxophone solo from Simon Willescroft. Overall, the Future Past tour packed a lot of nostalgia and a great time for all.

View photos of the evening below, and see where you can catch Duran Duran on tour next here.

PHOTOS: Bastille's Bad Blood X Finale at The Wiltern

Bastille wrapped up their 10-year anniversary tour of their debut album, dubbed the Bad Blood X tour, on Friday night at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Check out the photo gallery of the evening below, and see where you can catch the band next here.

Live Recap: Bastille's Bad Blood X Tour Resurrects Their Landmark Album

“Every day it passes, faster than the last did, and you’ll be old soon, you’ll be old.”- “Weight of Living, Pt. II” by Bastille. These lyrics about the passage of time as you get older rang true for me back in 2013 when Bastille first released their debut album Bad Blood, but they definitely hit even harder when you realize the album is now 10 years old. A decade that felt both fleeting and like a lifetime.

To celebrate this decade landmark of their number one album, Bastille members Dan Smith, Chris “Woody” Wood, Kyle Simmons, and Will Farquarson announced last year that they’d embark on a“Bad Blood X” summer tour around the UK, kicking off Friday, June 30th at Newmarket Racecourses and ending July 23rd at Ludlow Castle. The premise of the tour (you guessed it) being that the band plays their entire debut album in full at these gigs, along with a few other fan favorites from their discography.

As someone who has been a fan of the band for over ten years (fun fact: I saw them perform for the first time on Bastille Day in 2013), the news of the tour conjured up waves of nostalgia and memories of seeing the group perform this album on the original Bad Blood tour(s) in venues ranging from Lincoln Hall in Chicago to Radio City Music Hall in New York. I got the chance to attend their Bad Blood X show in Leeds on July 13th, which was the eve of Bastille Day and the release of the 10 year anniversary edition of the record. 

The sold out show took place at Millennium Square in the heart of Leeds, with support from Etta Marcus and Orla Gartland. Singer-songwriter Marcus took the stage first with her 4-piece band to perform a handful of songs, including “Smile” and “Salt Lake City.” The latter got a big cheer and applause from a few fans who had traveled from Salt Lake City to attend the Bastille tour. I’d recommend listening to Etta Marcus if you’re a fan of Faye Webster, Samia, or Julia Jacklin. 

Etta Marcus performing

Orla Gartland took the stage next with her drummer and bass player, who were rocking Harry Styles and Taylor Swift t-shirts respectively. Gartland had supported Bastille at two earlier gigs on the tour, and it was clear she’d already gained some new fans in the Bastille community, as I saw several fans singing along to her songs like “Pretending” and “Why Am I Like This?” Gartland introduced the latter saying “This is a song about basically being in your own head” and the song seemed to be a crowd favorite. Towards the end of her set, the singer had everyone in the crowd singing along when she did a medley of different cover songs, including bits of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

Orla Gartland performing

With the crowd properly warmed up by Marcus and Gartland, the crew got to work setting the stage for the main event. The Bad Blood X stage included street lamps on either end and other bits reminiscent of their OG Bad Blood era, including a hoodie with a wolf on it and Converse shoes that lead singer Dan Smith used to wear during those early days of touring. Just before 8:45PM, the onstage screen flashed an introductory scrawl of “Bad Blood X” in Smith’s handwriting before fading into a montage of video clips from previous tours. While fans eagerly awaited the band to enter the stage, they saw moments ranging from celebrating Woody’s birthday to Will asking the band if they know how to say “goodbye” in Dutch to a younger Dan singing their hit “Pompeii.” The video clip of “Pompeii” transitioned into the band entering the stage and launching into playing the anthemic tune, which felt a little surreal to hear as the first song of the night. I’m pretty sure every time I’ve seen Bastille, they’ve closed with “Pompeii”— but with playing the album in full, fans got to hear it at the start of the set this time. 

The show begins…

Next up on both the album and setlist; “Things We Lost in the Fire,” which saw the entire audience clapping in time to the drumbeat of the chorus. After this song, Kyle Simmons addressed the crowd to let them know from time to time they’d be seeing old “embarrassing” videos of their early tour days up on the screen, which were captured by their friend and videographer Tom Middleton. Simmons also mentioned that he and Smith had studied at University of Leeds, which added to the full circle moment and fit the theme of revisiting a part of your past life.

Following the performance of the album’s title track, the audience got another stroll down memory lane with another clip from Middleton’s tour archive. The clip revealed an unglamorous moment of touring; changing a flat tire on the way to a gig. These interludes of past tour footage occurred a few more times throughout the show, but the most beloved seemed to be the video of Farquarson getting a tattoo of the words “Bad Blood” in Texas to commemorate the album going to number one on the charts, which got a loud laugh from the audience.

Will Farquarson of Bastille

The video interludes weren’t the only moments of the Bad Blood portion of the set that nodded to the band’s past. They made sure to bring back many traditions tied to these songs —for example, Woody left his drum set to come to the front of the stage to lead the crowd in swaying their arms during “Overjoyed” and holding up their cell phone lights during “Oblivion.” One tradition that has remained since day one is what has been deemed the “Flaws walk” by fans—which is when Smith hops off the stage during the performance of their first single “Flaws” to walk and dance his way through the audience. The song has remained a staple in their setlist, even on the tour for their fourth album Give Me The Future, so Smith has kept up the Flaws walk for years. On the night of the Leeds show, Smith started on the house right side of the crowd, made his way all the way to the back of the square, and re-entered on the left side. Quite the feat considering the size of the audience and the venue, but Smith has always impressed me with his ability to maneuver through frenzied crowds. Smith also impressed me with his ability to jump up and down while singing just as much as he did in the early days, but I did notice he swapped out his Converse shoes for more sensible New Balances.

Bastille’s performance of their debut album on this tour wasn’t just a redo of their early songs, it was a revival and a chance for them to breathe new life into the music they once performed as novices, now as seasoned performers. While they still had plenty of callbacks to their beginning days in 2013-2014, the 2023 tour also introduced more advanced production aspects and more live band members, including multi-instrumentalist Charlie Barnes (who has been a touring member of Bastille since 2015) and vocalists Bim Amoako and Senab Adekunle.

Another pleasant change with touring Bad Blood 2.0 was the addition of the song “Weight of Living Pt. I” to the setlist. Before playing the song to close out the first part of the set, Smith told the crowd that this track “really dates” the album because it was a hidden bonus track on the record, which isn’t a common feature on records nowadays. Prior to this tour, Bastille had only played Pt. I of “Weight of Living” a handful of times—the first time being in 2017, well after the album’s original tours. The live version of this song sounded incredible with extra vocal support from Bim and Senab.

Kyle Simmons, Dan Smith, and Charlie Barnes of Bastille

The entire band left the stage at this point, returning promptly to perform other fan favorites for part two of their set. A graphic on the screen reading “Beyond Bad Blood” marked the transition into music from other eras. “Good Grief” and “Send Them Off!” from their second album Wild World were both featured during this portion—the latter being fan-voted by a poll on the band’s Instagram Stories the morning of the gig. “The Draw,” which was a song featured on the (super) extended version the debut album called All This Bad Blood, had been played by Bastille on past tours, but this time around fans got to see Smith perform it on guitar, giving it a little extra edginess. We also saw Smith on guitar for the performance of the band’s 2020 single “WHAT YOU GONNA DO???”—but the real star of the show during that song was Barnes, whose showmanship was on full display as he jumped and flipped around the stage.

Smith then addressed the audience to tell them they’d like to “finish with a party” before launching into their hit collaboration with Marshmello “Happier.” Smith stood up onto the barricade rail for this song, balancing on it like a tightrope as he walked from one end to another, at one point holding the microphone out to a fan to sing part of the chorus. The party vibes continued with “Million Pieces” from their album Doom Days, which Smith introduced by saying “This is our attempt at a rave song, but as usual it has to be about the world fucking falling apart.”

Smith walking along the barricade during “Happier”

True to their word, Bastille rounded off the set with pure party vibes by playing “Of The Night” and “Shut Off The Lights.” During their performance of the former (which is a mashup cover of 90’s tunes “Rhythm is a Dancer” and “Rhythm of the Night”) Smith once again recalled a tried and true tradition at their shows by asking everyone to crouch down just before the chorus, then jump up and down with him during the chorus. During the final song of the show, Smith and his bandmates sang “shut off the lights, we don’t need them to dance” and dance we did.

After all the dancing I did at this show, I found myself in McDonald’s afterwards with several other concert attendees getting their post-gig fuel. The best conversation I overheard while waiting for food was a man singing “they put the chips in the fryer fryer fryer” to the tune of “Things We Lost in the Fire.”

A wise band once said “does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?” And with Bad Blood X, the changes are there with the increase in the size of their fan base, the newest live band member additions, the more supportive sneakers, and Smith’s stage demeanor, but the changes signify growth and the joy of living. Here’s to hoping we see the band when they’re older and full of (more) stories to be told for Bad Blood XX.


If you missed out on the shows in the UK, the band will be playing one US show for Bad Blood X in Los Angeles on August 25th. Check out all of their upcoming tour dates here, and see the full gallery of the Leeds show below.

Live Recap: Bastille's Give Me The Future Tour Brings a Futuristic Rave to The Sylvee

“But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?” We all know and love those lyrics from Bastille’s infectiously catchy massive hit song “Pompeii” right? As I was walking into The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin on a warm and sunny Wednesday evening, I couldn’t help but relate the current scene to those lyrics— While we’re in year three of dealing with a global pandemic and a lot has in fact changed in recent years, attending a Bastille show with fellow fans felt like a necessary safehaven in the midst of all this external chaos. It felt so eerily normal to be experiencing the spectacle that is Bastille’s Give Me The Future tour that it was easy to forget that so much has changed since they last toured North America for their album Doom Days.


The evening kicked off with a support set from Josh Fudge, who mentioned it was his and his band’s first time in Wisconsin. The audience welcomed the indie-pop singer songwriter from Oklahoma City with open arms and enthusiasm as he performed a few songs from his 2021 album Fun Times. Fudge mentioned that the rest of his set would be packed with new and unreleased music from his forthcoming record called Technicolor. Despite the unfamiliarity of the new music, the audience eagerly soaked up the feel-good tunes as they got warmed up for the main event.


Before we knew it, the stage had been set for Bastille’s immersive and intricate production; high risers loomed on the dark stage and a massive screen provided a backdrop to it all. As fog pumped out into the room, shadows of the band members appeared onstage as an introduction video about the band’s fictional concept “Future Inc.” featuring a Siri-esque narrator began playing on the big screen. From there, lead singer Dan Smith sang out the opening lines to “Stay Awake?” in front of a silhouetted spotlight and everyone dove straight into a futuristic rave full of dancing and escapism, aptly fitting in with the latest album’s title Give Me The Future. In the next song “Distorted Light Beam”, Smith proclaims “when I'm dreaming tonight, I can do anything” and those lyrics set everyone up for a euphoric experience.

Just as the audience never stopped dancing and jumping around during the 90-minute set, Smith rarely stayed in one section of the stage for more than a few seconds— he would occasionally drape himself across the chaise lounge positioned on one of the risers for slower moments, but otherwise he remained on the go, hopping across the stage and dancing to accentuate certain lyrics (for example, during “Those Nights,” Smith physically tugged at his own t-shirt as he sang “Pulling at my t-shirt, your hands everywhere.”) In addition to Smith’s dance moves, captivating visuals accompanied each song on the screen to make the live experience that much more immersive.

Between certain tracks, the lights would dim and audio interludes that were used on the album (such as “Promises” featuring Riz Ahmed) would play as a transition. Along with these interludes, Smith occasionally chatted between songs. He sarcastically stated “the album surprisingly is fucking depressing” about Give Me The Future, as the depressing undertones in the majority of their songs have been a constant throughout their entire discography. Take “survivin’”— the track features a simple, breezy and melodic chorus, which Smith asked the crowd to sing along with before they played it, but it details the feeling of auto-pilot survival mode that so many of us were on during the pandemic.

After performing a couple newer songs from the latest album as well as a stripped-down acoustic version of “4AM” from their third album, the main section of the setlist ended with a pinnacle of high energy. While playing the Marshmello collaboration “Happier,” Smith left his post onstage and wandered throughout the GA section of the floor, stopping at random points to dance and sing with members of the audience. The dancing didn’t stop there, though— when performing the mashup cover “Of The Night” (a cross between “Rhythm is a Dancer” and “The Rhythm of the Night”), Smith asked everyone in the crowd to kneel down before the chorus and then join him in jumping up and down. Next up, vocalist BIM got her moment to shine— actually, she’d been a star the whole set, adding depth to the band’s vocals— but she really showcased her vocals during the performance “Future Holds,” even leaving Smith kneeling down and mock-worshipping her by the end of the song.

Finally, the moment that the majority of the crowd had been waiting for: the band began playing the melody to “Pompeii.” The song’s introduction featured a brand-new arrangement for this tour, adding some spice back into the familiar favorite. The refreshed arrangement started with reverb-drenched synths and auto-tune vocals, which gave me nods of Bon Iver or Imogen Heap influences, as Smith slowly asked the familiar question “But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all. If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you’ve been here before?” Aside from the new material, revamped production and revitalized arrangements that Bastille had on this tour, in that moment, hearing this song felt like such a familiar comfort—like returning home after a long trip away.

While it felt like the night couldn’t get any more special, the band left the stage to echoes of “Eh Ohs” before quickly returning for a two-song encore. The encore featured the unreleased and harmony-packed “Hope For The Future” as well as the single “Shut Off The Lights” which had everyone dancing until the very last moment.

If you get a chance to catch Bastille on this tour, do not miss it. Their show mixes the warm embrace of nostalgia with lots of cuts from their debut Bad Blood along with the unknown and suspenseful elements of the future. Check out the photo gallery of the show below, and see where you can catch Bastille next here.


LIVE: Bastille Put on a Nostalgic Last Wild, Wild World Tour Show

Bastille took over The Fillmore in Philadelphia last Thursday night to play the last headline show of their sophomore album’s saga.


Kicking things off on the last night of the Wild, Wild World Tour, the Los Angeles duo Frenship took over the Fillmore stage for 45 minutes. Getting by with a little help from their friends in their live band, James Sunderland and Brett Hite performed popular songs like “Carpet” and “Run Wild” from their Truce EP. One of the set’s highlights included their performance of the viral track “Capsize,” which has racked up almost 400 million Spotify streams and features vocalist and songwriter Emily Warren on the studio version. Live, Frenship’s keyboardist and vocalist Celeste steps in to sing Warren’s parts, but the band also had the audience singing along to the catchy chorus as well. The real highlight of the set happened when Bastille crashed the stage during Frenship’s last song “1000 Nights,” which only got the audience more excited for the show that would follow.

James Sunderland and Brett Hite of Frenship

Thirty minutes later, the house lights dimmed, stage lights flickered, and the four members of Bastille made their way onto stage, accompanied by live band member Charlie Barnes. As the opening chords of the brassy and bassy “Send Them Off!” rang out into the Philadelphia venue, cheers erupted from the crowd and lead singer Dan Smith began to sing the lyrics that allude to Shakespeare's Othello. The set took a brief retrospective turn when the band performed “Laura Palmer” off their debut album, which seems pointedly apt again with the reboot of David Lynch’s cult classic TV show Twin Peaks. Before the bright lights on the stage dimmed to place the spotlight on Smith and his keyboard where he would sing the ironically sombre song “Overjoyed” from the debut album, Smith took a break to call attention to some of the signs held up by fans on the barricade. Bringing one on stage that read “I Totaled My Car Driving Up From DC To Be Here,” Smith asked the fan what had happened, holding out the microphone for her to share her story. He then selected a sign that read “Don’t Blame Me, I Worked 4 Hillary,” which alluded to the band’s song “Blame” and their politically driven song “The Currents,” which cleverly digs at Donald Trump. After the quick detour of “sign related stories,” as Smith called them, the show continued with Smith slightly struggling during “Overjoyed” due to vocal stress and sound issues. Although he remained visibly conscious of his vocals and sound levels during the performance, he pushed through and still delivered the sweeping range required for the song.

Frontman Dan Smith and the infamous sign

The remainder of the set weaved in and out of older tunes and newer ones from Wild World, which just hit its first birthday on September 9th. The fourth song of the night, “Warmth,” acts as a title track almost, with its lyrics containing “Hold me in this wild, wild world” during the chorus. Another true Bastille show staple, Smith left the stage to go sing and dance with the Fillmore audience during their single “Flaws,” another throwback to their first album. While the set contained a mix of Wild World and Bad Blood cuts, the band also sprinkled in a few other surprises. They induced 1990’s nostalgia when they performed their popular mashup cover titled “Of The Night,” which combines “Rhythm of the Night” and “Rhythm is a Dancer” and got the crowd jumping up and down with Smith yet again. “Of The Night” was first released as part of the band’s illegal mixtape called Other People’s Heartache, which contained uncleared samples and cover songs...so the only place to hear these songs are now live or in the deep dark corners of the internet.

Bastille also brought back “The Draw” from their extended album All This Bad Blood, which almost acts as album 1.5, as it contains a full album of never before released songs that came out between the two official full lengths. The biggest nostalgic surprise, however, came when Smith and co performed a beautifully rearranged version of their 2014 single “Bad_News,” which was released both independently as a music video and as a remix on their mixtape entitled VS. (Other People’s Heartache Pt. III). This mixtape containing collaborations with the likes of Haim, Rationale, Lizzo and more is actually legal and can be streamed or purchased on all major platforms. Speaking of collaboration, the set ended with the group’s massive hit “Pompeii,” and this time the tables turned when Frenship crashed the stage to lend some help with the “eh-ohs” and drumming. The band left the stage to a venue ringing with applause and echoing eh-ohs.

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The 19-track setlist did not include Bastille’s latest single “Glory” or another “Wild, Wild World Tour” setlist staple “Lethargy,” probably due to Smith’s vocal strain, but they still managed to fill up 90 minutes and deliver a well-rounded show that contained layers from each saga of Bastille’s career to date. Smith told the crowd they’ll be returning to The States soon with new music, which will include another one of their mixtapes and a new LP within a year’s time. As Bastille’s musical catalog continues to grow, their sound will only grow more diverse and multifaceted, and we can’t wait to hear what they release next.


Photo gallery of Frenship and Bastille at The Fillmore 9.14.17

Listen to Wild World in full while you await new Bastille music. 

Bastille Bring Their Massive Wild, Wild World Tour to "Shrek's Paradise" (AKA Aragon Ballroom)

Word and Photos by Rachel Zyzda

At most gigs, the show actually begins when the first note of the opening song rings out into the venue….but not at Bastille’s Wild, Wild World Tour. On Monday, April 3rd, the show started from the moment fans entered the majestic Aragon Ballroom with a full scale, interactive production that kicked off while fans patiently awaited support act Mondo Cozmo, and kept rolling even in between acts. In addition to audiovisual bits of lead singer Dan Smith’s project with Ralph Pelleymounter (of To Kill a King) called Annie Oakley Hanging, the show included short film clips featuring the news anchor from the band’s “Fake It” music video (rumor has it he’s called Billy) and the band decked out in WWCOMMS jumpsuits, performing various activities.

Directly following a clip of “Billy” eating a banana, the five members of Bastille burst onto the stage around 8:45PM with their brassy and bass-boosting single “Send Them Off!,” Smith donning his uniform black t-shirt with the logo for WWCOMMS; a mysterious, omniscient entity constructed alongside the campaign for Bastille’s sophomore album Wild World. The 90 minute set that followed contained a fair mix of new songs from that album, as well as the songs we all know and love from Bastille’s debut album Bad Blood. The third song of the set, “Warmth,” contains the new album's name in its chorus. After the band delivered a powerful and polished performance of the album’s namesake track, Smith took some time to talk about the theme of Wild World and how it comments on the crazy events of the world, introducing “Snakes” as a song about him getting drunk with his mates to take his mind off of the negative events.

Next up, the band sticks to traditions with one of their most popular tracks, “Flaws,” in which Smith always goes into the crowd to dance and sing with audience members. Of course, in addition to this maneuver during “Flaws,” a Bastille gig is never complete without Smith’s endearingly awkward dance moves and his mention of their “horribly depressing songs.”  During this set, “Oblivion” and “Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)” stood out as highlights, despite their very depressing nature. During “Oblivion” the entire Aragon Ballroom lit up with cell phone lights, the audience swaying their lights along with the slow-tempo tearjerker. During “Four Walls,” bassist-turned-guitarist Will Farquarson delivered an incredible minute-long guitar solo. The guitar solo put a fresh spin and new arrangement on the studio version of the track, which is based on Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

The show also featured plenty of dancing and crowd participation during the more upbeat songs of the night. Although, as Smith would say, most of the songs are still incredibly depressing-- they just do a good job at masking the depressing content with happy-sounding music. For example, newer song “Lethargy” is ironically upbeat and great to dance to, much like their debut single from Wild World, “Good Grief.” Despite being a song about losing someone and the grieving process that accompanies the loss, it’s hard to resist busting out your spirit fingers during the song’s catchy chorus. As far as crowd participation, “The Draw,” a track from the extended version of Bad Blood (called All This Bad Blood), had everyone moving their hands along to the beat during its chorus, in the shape of triangles. The biggest form of crowd participation, hands down, occurs during Bastille’s mashup cover song “Of The Night,” taken from their mixtape Other People’s Heartache. During the mix of Corona’s “Rhythm of the Night” and Snap!’s “Rhythm is a Dancer,” Smith asks that everyone stoops down right before the explosive chorus, and then jumps up and down with him on his command. A highlight at any of their shows, but especially in a venue the size of The Aragon, it’s such a spectacle to see a crowd of thousands jumping in unity.

In addition to the new arrangements of old favorites and the extensive video production that accompanied each song performed, which is exclusive to this Wild, Wild World Tour, the band also kept things fresh on this tour by conducting a daily Twitter poll for fans to vote on a coveted slot on the setlist.  The song that won for Chicago was “The Anchor” (our personal favorite…no idea why), which closes out the 19-track version of Wild World.  Another incredible addition to this tour was the ASL signer that the band had stationed in the sound booth, for audience members who are hard of hearing. The only other time I’ve seen this wonderful service provided at a gig was actually during Bastille’s Lollapalooza performance last year.

Lastly, Bastille’s three-song encore really packed a punch, closing out the magical evening in a massive way. Kicking off with Smith and Farquarson in one of the Aragon’s balcony alcoves, the pair performed the Tarantino-esque track "Two Evils" while Smith balanced on the balcony ledge. After that adrenaline-boosting performance, the energy escalated with the crowd favorite “Icarus.” As the evening drew to a close, the energy remained at an all time high as Bastille invited Mondo Cozmo to join them onstage during their hit “Pompeii.” Rearranged from the studio version, the live version of “Pompeii” just hits you right in the heartstrings. When the song came to an end, lingering chants of eh-ohs mingled with cheers and claps that echoed throughout the Aragon Ballroom (or “Shrek’s Paradise,” as Smith calls it) as the band exited the stage.

What the band delivered in production quality, they brought equally, if not more, in sound quality and musicianship. Bastille is one of those bands that somehow always manages to sound even better live, and last night was no exception. The Wild, Wild World Tour will continue throughout North America through mid-May. Do not miss this captivating, interactive, and unforgettable show if you get the chance to see it! You can check out all of the tour dates here. 

Photo Gallery: Bastille's Wild Wild World Tour // Chicago // Aragon Ballroom 4.3.17

The Setlist

1. Send Them Off!

2. Laura Palmer

3. Warmth

4. Snakes

5. Flaws

6. Oblivion

7. Lethargy

8. Things We Lost in the Fire

9. The Draw

10. The Currents

11. The Anchor

12. Bad Blood

13. Four Walls

14. Blame

15. Of The Night

16. Fake It

17. Weight of Living, Pt. 11

18. Glory

19. Good Grief

20. Two Evils

21. Icarus 

22. Pompeii


Wild World by Bastille

Frenship Delivers Explosive Energy As Part of Bastille's Wild, Wild World Tour

This past Sunday night we caught up and coming duo FRENSHIP in Barcelona, supporting Bastille on their Wild, Wild World Tour at Sant Jordi Club. The Los Angeles based group fuse rock, pop, and electronic elements to craft upbeat and catchy tunes that will easily get lodged in your brain, and their live show with a full band only further amplified the energy found in their music.

FRENSHIP at Sant Jordi Club in Barcelona

FRENSHIP at Sant Jordi Club in Barcelona

The 7:30 PM set started with the tune "Run Wild," with frontmen James Sunderland and Brett Hite instantly hooking the crowd with their stage presence. The audience dished the energy right back to James, Brett, and their band-- everyone in the front row dancing along and some well-versed audience members even singing along.

For the second song, "Carpet," the dance party continued with the band members shuffling themselves around on stage, with keyboardist and vocalist Celeste moving from stage right to stage left. The performance grew even more dynamic and lively as James and Brett faced off in a drum battle during "Knives."  

As the band rocked through singles “Nowhere” and “Morrison,” they all had infectious smiles on their faces, and they made sure to work every side of the stage so that no part of the 3,000 capacity venue felt left out. The highlight of their 30 minute set had to be the performance of their most popular track, “Capsize,” which was originally recorded with singer Emily Warren. Celeste took center stage during the song to sing the unforgettable melody and chorus of the track, and the energy of the night hit it’s peak.

Just around 8PM, the set concluded with new song “1,000 Nights,” but not before James and Brett had a full-on dance off and another drum battle with each other.

The fact that FRENSHIP are already able to establish such a connection with a foreign audience and as a support act leaves no doubt that we'll all be seeing and hearing a lot more from this band in 2017. If you like dancing and having a good time, make sure you get yourself to a FRENSHIP gig as soon as possible. Check out their tour dates here and listen to their debut EP Truce below: