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.
