« Bastille at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, Wednesday, September 25th, 2013 »

Bastille is a British band that I discovered through a friend who lives in the UK, where they have been successful for over a year now. Wednesday night, they made their Canadian debut at a Toronto club called The Phoenix. Like the iconic El Mocambo, the site of my parents’ first blind date in 1959, this rock hall also has special significance for me: it used to be the German Canadian Club Harmonie, where my family went to cultural events when I was a child.

‘Overjoyed’ gets played to an enthralled crowd.

One of the reasons I was so excited was that the capacity of the club is only 1 100 people. In the past, I have seen the Classic Albums Live series at this intimate venue, and loved watching and hearing the re-creation of old rock masterpieces from the upper deck, where you can lounge on the leather sofas next to your own bar service. Wednesday night, we drifted upstairs to the familiar space, content to let the under-30s stand below like crowded, excited sardines while we took it in from above. We missed most of the opening set by Nightmare and the Cat due to a long line-up and identity card checks, as this all-ages event meant separating the patrons into a licensed bar area and a general section. We did catch all of the second act, Little Daylight, who were a dreamy mix of the Eurythmics and Kate Bush. They are the perfect tour support for Bastille, who also evoke the 80s in a slightly different manner.

Another photo of Dan Smith singing ‘Overjoyed’.

My concert experiences this year have largely consisted of classic rock artists knocked off the bucket list, but I’ve also found myself listening to and seeing contemporary acts. There are two major trends in music at the moment: the folksy songwriter revival led by Mumford & Sons, Frank Turner, and The Lumineers, and the return of the 80s sound epitomised by Bastille and Chvrches. Bastille’s magnificent album ‘Bad Blood’ reminds me of Depeche Mode with its driving electronica beat but also brings to mind the aching melancholy of early Tears For Fears lyrics. I was delighted that we would get to hear most of the songs from this debut LP, and was only disappointed that the gem ‘Daniel in the Den’ was not included in the show.

Dan Smith plays the beautiful ‘Oblivion’.

How to describe the actual concert? The intro risked being the highlight as the band came on to ‘Falling’, the instrumental theme to the 1991 television show Twin Peaks. The few of us born before 1975 in the audience laughed loudly at the tribute to the inspiration behind their hit ‘Laura Palmer’, although it mystified the younger people around us. Lead singer Dan Smith seemed thrown off at times by the hordes of screaming girls, and I have to admit I was too, because this is not teenybopper music. He was good natured about the gifts of clothing thrown onstage, and was very gracious and grateful for the warm reception given the band over the course of the performance. His voice was as angelic during ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Overjoyed’ as it is on record, and the power of his range was remarkable during the faster, more intense numbers such as ‘Pompeii’ and ‘Laura Palmer’. There were great moments throughout the hour and a quarter set: ‘The Things We Lost in the Fire’ had a ‘Radio Gaga’ moment when all hands went up to a rhythmic clap that looked incredible from the balcony, and ‘Flaws’ sent Dan Smith into the audience for an intimate victory lap that would have brought him up the stairs to us had his cord extended just a few more feet. He stopped mid-way to wave, then turned back around and continued among the throng of surprised but delighted fans. I had two recurring musical observations of this band, both of which were positive: the first was the consistent use of bass drums, banged about with a single stick by one or more members of the band simultaneously to create that loud, urgent beat during some of the faster songs, and the other was the one-handed keyboard playing by Dan Smith while he held his microphone with the other. The lead singer of Little Daylight did the same thing, and it occurred to me I had never seen that before in person.

Very few cellphones are on as the band plays to a sold-out crowd.

At the end of the night, I knew I had witnessed some early magic. This is a band going places, and I predict they will be huge a year from now if they stay on this path and there is any justice in the musical world. They were on Jimmy Kimmel Live just two nights ago, and seem poised to leave their mark on this side of the pond. Musically, they have produced what I think is one of the best albums of the year, with a perfect balance of high energy anthems and powerful ballads. On stage, they reproduce their songs with competence and confidence, and manage to take everyone along for a fun ride. I don’t remember bouncing up and down like that since the Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road weekend in August. It also doesn’t hurt that lead singer Dan Smith bears a slight resemblance to Clive Owen in terms of visual appeal. If I’m right about their rise to the top, this might be an echo of that night in 1979 when I was 16 and saw this new British band called The Police at the Danforth City Music Hall…

‘Pompeii’ is one of three encores that gets the whole crowd jumping and singing.