BASTILLE LIVE!! | REDHAT
We covered Bastille on their second to last tour date at the Redhat Amphitheater in
Raleigh North Carolina on 10/25/2019
Photo by Chris Sturk
Bastille is a band that brings one hell of a show to its fans. The show includes a huge screen playing continuously in the background with various videos, pictures and some random text all in the attempt to spark an emotion out of the viewer. They don’t just put on an amazing video display they follow that up with an energetic performance with tons of energy thanks to lead singer Dan Smith. Dan came out on stage ready to have fun. The lights went dim and the band came out to loud cheers from the fans of North Carolina. I was in the pit (front of stage) waiting to see Dan walk up to greet the crowd but realized he was already on stage and was sitting on this chair to the right side of the stage in front of this television. The large screen at the back of the stage lit up with different colors and images while Dan started to sing. A few minutes into their first song Dan got up and walked over to this huge circle stage in the center of the main stage. It resembled a really sturdy trampoline, now I don’t know if it was a trampoline but he did get some epic air when jumping off of it. You can see what I mean with the next picture.
Photo by Chris Sturk
Bastille is a band that gives me happy memories and good vibes, so before I continue with how their show was lets give you a little background into the band. Bastille formed in 2010 and is mostly listed as a British Pop band based out of, you guessed it, Britain. The name Bastille derives from Bastille Day, which is celebrated on the 14th of July. The bands first studio album released in 2013 under the umbrella of Virgin Records and was called “Bad Blood”. It featured their hit single “Pompeii” and was also the first song that I heard from the band and really liked it. The song Pompeii made me think about driving into the city with the windows down as the highway street lights strobed past me and I could see the beautiful silhouette of the city in the distance. Something about that song just gave me joy and I always loved hearing it. The band has released three albums in total so far but has sold over nine million records world wide. The band continues to put out solid albums with distinct sound that only sounds like Bastille.
Now lets get back to the show itself. Dan Smith was the main highlight of the show and he kept the energy very high. The rest of the band did not interact very much and stayed in one spot barely showing any emotion. This is not something that is bad because they are focusing on what they are playing but I think it would be nice to show a little bit of enthusiasm for the fans who have paid money to see them live but Dan definitely made up for it with his energy. During the songs we covered Dan Smith jumped off this circular stage not once, not twice but four times catching some epic air time. I even saw Kyle Simmons (keyboards and bass guitar) looking at him in mid jump with this worried look on his face. I think he was thinking “oh shit, please land carefully!”. The band as a whole sounded phenomenal and put on an incredible show not only visually but audibly. Everything sounded in key and the band was smooth with each riff, drum hit and transition. Dan Smith embraced the crowd and talked with them, thanking them for coming out. Bastille is a band that I consider a band to watch for years to come. I think they will only grow even more then they have and will continue to put out meaningful and creative music for your ears to enjoy.
~ Lead Photographer Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk
Photo by Chris Sturk