GO LIVE: BASTILLE’S GIVE ME THE FUTURE TOUR STOPS IN WASHINGTON DC

June 17, 2022

Bastille’s Give Me the Future Tour

I remember when Bastille came out into the scene in the Washington, DC area. DC101 was among the first of their supporters, giving them airplay. I even covered a special acoustic performance that the station co-hosted at the UK Embassy. Ever since, I have tried to catch Bastille whenever they were in town, whether it was through concert photography…or just attending their show.

So, when I found out that I was going to be able see them on June 5th, I was looking forward to seeing them again on their “Give Me the Future” Tour at the Anthem in Washington, DC.

Josh Fudge and his band got a bit of a jump on the 8:00 PM start, opening with what I can only describe as funky grooves. Quite a large amount of the crowd was there early to catch their set. Josh and crew played some of their “old tunes”…which were all new to me…but they had some of the crowd singing along. With Tyler Sexton on the bass, Logan Bruhn on the keys, and Jhakobi Harkey on the drums, Josh Fudge’s sound did a great job of getting the crowd amped and ready for Bastille.

Bastille’s band came out onstage in darkness. As they got into place, a large screen behind them played an intro, introducing the crowd to “Future-Inc,” a fictitious virtual company (Think “Black Mirror.”). Then the venue went into total darkness for a brief moment before the screen lit up, backlighting Dan Smith in white. The band immediately went into “Stay Awake?” with Dan working the entire stage.

From there, the Dan and the band (Will Farquarson, Chris “Woody” Wood, and Kyle Simmons), accompanied by a fantastic back-up vocalist (sadly, I missed her name) and instrumentalist Charlie Barnes, went through their catalogue, briefly taking time with mini intermissions from “Future-Inc” that were played upon the jumbo screens. (Fun Fact: You can view Bastille’s “Give Me the Future Experience” on the Oculus virtual system.)

Always a ball of energy, Dan was moving constantly, whether jumping or dancing. Although, at one point, Dan sang from a kind of chaise longue on the middle of the stage (perhaps to simulate a haptic chair to go with the “Future-Inc” theme?).

Later in the show, while singing “Happier,” Dan kept his tradition of getting close to his fanbase by worked his way through the crowd on the main floor of the Anthem—much to the delight of the crowd, phones at the ready to catch him as he passed through.

The whole band seemed to be so grateful to be back on the road, after such a long pause from the pandemic. Dan profusely thanked the fans and the venue—packed to the gills on a Sunday night. It was great to have a sense of normalcy with such a fun band to watch.

Setlist:

* Intro (Intro – Out of the Darkness)

Stay Awake?

* Intermission (Interlude – Memory 1 Entering Innerverse)

Distorted Light Beam

Things We Lost in the Fire

Laura Palmer

* Intermission (Interlude – Memory 2 Was It a Dream?)

Oblivion

Those Nights

Quarter Past Midnight

* Intermission (Song played from tape Brave New World [Interlude])