Bastille gathered a huge crowd at Coachella this year, drawing crowds sizable enough to stand alongside midday acts like HAIM and AFI. However, the following thinned considerably as people realized they would rather be doing literally anything else.
Starting out with the title track of their debut album, “Bad Blood,” frontman and producer Dan Smith led the audience through the album as if it were a tracklist on shuffle. While their performance proved that they are actually the band you came to listen to, their strict adherence to the formula did little else to spark additional interest. Widely criticized as being predictable people-pleasers, Bastille fans were looking to the band to bring an element of much needed surprise to their first U.S. festival performance. But the only difference between watching Bastille live and watching their SNL set back in January of this year is air conditioning.
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Bastille is consistently cruising at the top of the charts in the UK, even nominated for British Album of the Year for the 2014 Brit Awards and their US reception has been welcoming. But in sea of competition such as Coldplay and the Arcade Fire here in the states, Bastille may prove to be a well-coiffed sinking ship.
Bringing on Detroit female rapper Angel Haze did add some interest to the Brit boys’ set, but telling a crowd that you’re at a festival so it’s okay to play depressing music certainly does not.
Photo: Karl Walter, Getty Images
