Gig diary: Bastille, Marble Factory

Having been a fan of Bastille over the last ten years, I was super excited to have grabbed a ticket for the Bristol date on their Independent Record Store tour to see frontman Dan, touring member Charlie and either one of the remainder of the band members Kyle, Woody or Will.

Like many people, this was my first gig since the Covid-era, and it was so refreshing to be part of something interactive and intimate with the audience. With a meet and greet before the show, audience requests and questions from the audience - Bastille have straight away set a new standard for post-Covid gigging. I was one of the lucky ones who the band performed my request (I was completely caught off guard when Dan said my name)! During the set, there was also a segment where the audience’s dreams (from a survey sent out pre-show, following the theme of their latest album, ‘Give Me the Future’) were performed by the band.

Then, of course, it goes without saying that the band were brilliant, as always. Although Dan had a chest infection, his vocals were still top. Charlie was also live looping the show as it was performed, even looping the audience’s vocals too! Having seen them live in various forms over the last nine years, Bastille never fail to put on a great show.

I think, no pun intended, that these sorts of shows need to be the future of gigging. Musicians are as accessible as ever, and with Covid changing the way that people feel about high-capacity venues - intimate gigs could be the way forward.