Bastille proves to be worthy in Berkeley
Best known for the tired pop hit “Pompeii,” Bastille showcases the depth of its songbook
Bastille is better than “Pompeii.”
Oh, sure, that multiplatinum hit remains the British indie-pop band’s biggest calling card, having sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. alone.
Yet, “Pompeii” also sounds like an old TV jingle for bubblegum or, even worse, a lost Chumbawamba tune. It’s undeniably catchy, but it grows more nauseatingly tiresome and strikingly vacant with each spin. (And, wow, has this song been spun a lot since it was released in early 2013.)
Fortunately, “Pompeii” is not at all representative of the band’s overall catalog.
Bastille sounded mostly magnificent as it rocked through a 20-plus-song set on Sunday at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. It only came across like Chumbawamba once, when it played the “Tubthumping ”like “Pompeii,” otherwise recalling such solid acts as Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Travis and Franz Ferdinand.
The group — which is led by singer-songwriter Dan Smith — kicked off the show in fine fashion with “Send Them Off,” the recent single from last year’s sophomore effort “Wild World.”
The quintet then veered back to its first album, 2013’s “Bad Blood,” for a gripping take on “Laura Palmer,” a title inspired by the tragic central character from the cult TV show “Twin Peaks.”
Smith then paused to let the audience know how happy he was to be back in the Bay Area.
“I can’t believe we get to play here,” he said in admiration of the stunningly beautiful amphitheater. “This is insane.”
It’d get more insane once the singer left the stage and moseyed right into the crowd during the “Bad Blood” cut “Flaws.” Smith would hit all the right notes as he shook hands and danced with fans on his way to the back of the building.
That gave way to a pair of satisfying arena rockers — “Things We Lost in the Fire” and “The Draw” — the latter of which, with its escalating, guitar-fueled progression, might just have been the top song of the night.
Of course, Bastille isn’t the most uplifting of bands — at least lyrically speaking.
Smith would be the first one to agree with that assessment, freely admitting to the crowd that Bastille has a “high proportion of incredibly depressing songs.”
And he’d hit the crowd with what he judged to be the most depressing of the lot — “Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)” — which came to a close with a juggernaut of a guitar lead.
Smith was an engaging frontman throughout the night, connecting with the crowd with his actions as well as his affable personality and self-effacing sense of humor.
“I am the least talented dancer in the world,” he admitted to the fans. But, he added, that “doesn’t seem to stop me.”
And it certainly didn’t hold him back as he lit into a great “Good Grief,” which brought the main set to a close.
“Who is ready to jump up and down with me to a very depressing song?” the vocalist asked, getting an affirmative response from thousands of fans.
The show ended with a three-song encore, beginning with a chilling, sparse version of “Two Evils” and closing as the opening act, Mondo Cozmo, returned to the stage to help Bastille on “Pompeii.”