Live review: Bastille break out from the norm with stunning Reorchestrated show in Sheffield

OK, hands up - confession time.
BastilleBastille
Bastille

I'll be honest right from the off, as a 45-year-old dad of two, I've become a little detached from what I believe used to be called the top 40 in recent years.

It is only my two lads who've kept me up to speed on the movers and shakers from what no-one calls the hit parade anymore.

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So, it was with some trepidation I set foot inside Sheffield City Hall on Saturday night for an appearance by Bastille.

My knowledge was limited to little more than the tracks Pompeii and Good Grief - so wasn't quite sure whether I'd be sat twiddling my thumbs for the rest of the evening.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. By the end of the night, I'd become a Bastille convert, transfixed by their dazzling array of dance pop anthems which captivated an enthusiastic City Hall audience from start to finish.

The premise of the Reorchestrated tour, was, as frontman Dan Smith noted, "to take our songs and flip them on their heads."

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So welcome to a very crowded stage, a string section, brass players and a very talented gospel choir, along with the regular band members and plenty of musical kit to boot.

A stripped back version of Pompeii, steeped in soul and acapella leanings, kicked things off and then it was a bouncy run through some of the group's biggest hits and album tracks.

After a somewhat subdued beginning: "You can get up and dance," Smith yells, "We feel like we've invaded a cinema!" things kick into gear with No Angels and Icarus.

The brass and Smith's vocals lend a John Newman-esque air to proceedings and he leaps around the stage, whipping the audience up so by the end, there's no option but to get up and dance.

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With the promise of new music and a new album coming soon receiving a rapturous response, Of The Night, the band's mash-up of 90s hits Rhythm Is A Dancer and The Rhythm Of The Night, sparked some serious shapes and singalongs.

If the title of the tour was leading anyone to believe this was going to be quiet and sedate affair with classical leanings, they couldn't have been further removed.

Although an old song Cut Her Down, with former bandmate Ralph Pelleymounter, was beautifully delivered - and at times you could almost hear a pin drop as the audience hung on the pair's every word.

It was all very much a mates' love in right from the off - opening act, singer-songwriter Charlie Barnes, now a touring member of Bastille, kicked things off with To Kill A King, featuring Smith's old bandmate, the aforementioned Pelleymounter, second act onto the stage.

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With a brisk version of Good Grief closing the main set, it was onto a stripped back and slowed down encore of Get Home and World Gone Mad (with Happy Birthday to bandmate Emma sandwiched in between) before Weight Of Living, Pt 1 saw a fully charged, all-singing, all-dancing finale to send everyone home singing along and with a smile on their faces.

Bastille broke out from their comfort zone - and on this form, there'll be no containing these guys anytime soon.