It’s pretty safe to say 2016 isn’t turning out the way many people expected.
We divorced the EU, a PM no one voted for is in power and an orange offensive buffoon is in control of the most influential country on the planet.
But Bastille are here for the millennials and generation Z who are fed up with all the f*ckery this year has brought. Last week they played the SSE Hydro to a fully packed venue which lead singer Dan described as a ‘spaceship’.
Well for one night they certainly transported us far from the problems on planet earth, which so many of us have wished for at various points this year. Mars, anyone?
The tracks from their new-ish album Wild World are social commentary on our culture but disguised as infectious pop melodies. Of course nothing can beat their anthemic hits, and festival favourites, Of the Night and Pompeii from their 2013 reissued album All This Bad Blood.
The lead single from the current album, Good Grief, is all about grievance although you wouldn’t think it at first for the high energy impact and happy-go-lucky undertones. Dan was giving it all that on stage too, presenting his tales of woes whilst competing for ‘Best Dad Dancer’ on the disco floor.
He introduced the song Currents as a criticism on the negative impact certain political figureheads, *cough* Donald Trump *cough* can have through their rhetoric. It’s not all doom and gloom though, Dan reminds us that friends and family are important in these times. Why not have fun and go out with friends on a friday night? Let’s dance to that!
Speaking of alcohol, if you took a shot for every time Dan proclaimed ‘THANK YOU SO MUCH!’ immediately after a song, you would have been too drunk to remember the second half. This only shows how humbly grateful the band are for their dedicated following. The 30-year old singer didn’t expect their first album to blow up in the way it did, never mind how far they’ve come today. So it’s nice to see, init?
Glasgow @TheSSEHydro – such an incredible crowd tonight. Thank you SO much. 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/snBmgVvUYw
— BASTILLE (@bastilledan) November 13, 2016
At one point Dan sang and walked the floor through the crowd which whipped some keen fans into a frenzy. No, not me… Ok, fine – me included!
The screens in the background brought everyone in to their alternate dystopian universe controlled by ‘WWCOMMS’. Visuals of newsreaders and an evil politician fella created a sense of impending doom whilst awe-inspiring short films of friendship offered hope and unlimited possibilites. Then of course screens off to the side of the stage followed Dan as he bounded across the stage with the power of a million Duracell batteries.
If you missed Bastille’s Scottish escapades then nae luck because after they finish off Europe, the lads will be touring America and there are no dates back in their homeland as of yet. No doubt they’ll return soon enough and we can all rejoice in how f*cked up things are once again.
