Bastille – The Town Hall in New York, NY November 25th
Fans filled the historic Town Hall in New York City on Monday, November 25th to celebrate Bastille’s newest record “&” (Ampersand). The album is Dan Smith’s (lead singer of Bastille) personal storytelling project that focuses on the stories of historical and mythical people and relationships. Fans were treated to an intimate stripped-down performance accompanied by interludes from Dan explaining the stories behind the songs.
One of the songs on the album focuses on the 19th century poet Emily Dickinson (“Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky”). To begin the night fans were treated to a performance by Adrian Blake Enscoe (one of the stars of Apple TV’s Dickinson) and Brooke Steinhauser of the Emily Dickinson Museum. They played some arrangements of Emily’s poetry accompanied by music.
This was followed up by a short set by singer songwriter Moira Mack. Moira has been playing guitar during Bastille’s set throughout the tour and she also opened the show the first night in Los Angeles last week. She performed a combination of original songs and covers, including some unreleased originals.
As the lights dimmed and the band took the stage you could feel the anticipation build. Dan Smith of Bastille was joined by a band of fantastic musicians including: Merrick Winter, Florrie, Moira Mack, AK Patterson, and Charlie Barnes. The eighteen-song set included all fourteen songs on the new album, prior Bastille hits, and more. The night began with performances of “Intros & Narrators,” “Emily & Her Penthouse in the Sky,” and “Seasons & Narcissus.” The banner behind the band included graphics relating to songs on the album and Dan would occasionally reference the graphics as he explained each song off “&” (Ampersand) before performing. Dan sang the band’s 2013 hit “Pompeii” which received thundering applause as the track concluded. He also performed a new single created for the Netflix tv show KAOS “Eurydice.” The band was joined on stage by BIM three quarters of the way through the set to sing “The Soprano & Midnight Wonderings;” she stayed on stage for the remainder of the show. The penultimate song was a performance of “Good Greif” where Dan featured each member of the band with a brief solo to showcase their immense talent. They closed out the night with “Blue Sky & the Painter” about Edvard Munch and his battle with depression. The intimate show was educational, entertaining, and managed to feel deeply personal despite the crowd.
List of photos by artist:
Bastille 1-29
Moira Mack 30-38
Adrian Blake Enscoe 39
Review and Photos by Simon Lindenblatt
