“Doom Days” are here

Visual from the Bastille concert “Doom Days”.

EMILY PALK, Editor
October 1, 2019

On September 17th, I attended the “Doom Days” tour from UK band Bastille. Their most recent album “Doom Days”, was released on June 14th, 2019.

The eleven track LP is a concept album, taking place over the course of one night. Starting at 12:15 AM and ending at 8:34 AM as the apocalypse takes place outside a house party.

The opening act was Rochester, NY based indie-rock band Joywave. They are to release their fourth album titled “Possession” in March of 2020.

Bastille’s setlist featured songs from all three of their albums, including “All This Bad Blood”, “Wild World”, and “Doom Days”.

Both Joywave and Bastille put on incredible performances. The venue was Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion, this was amazing, and my seats were closer to the stage than I had ever been.

Joywave is a band that I was not familiar with until they were announced as the opening act for this concert. Their music is a blend of rock beats and tech synth, creating a unique style that was beyond what I could have imagined.

Joywave played two unreleased songs, most likely from their upcoming album, and both were very good. Their song “Tongues” was my favorite, with a very interesting synth beat that opened the song and chorus.

They also announced that they will be headlining next year to promote the upcoming album. Joywave is an exceptional group and their upcoming songs will without a doubt showcase the band’s talent.

Bastille kicked off their setlist with the opening track from “Doom Days”, “Quarter Past Midnight”. Their setlist was divided into three acts; Act One: “Still Avoiding Tomorrow”, Act Two:” Those Nights”, and Act 3: “The Morning Doesn’t Reach Us”.

The entire band put on an incredible performance, and brought so much energy throughout the whole night. Dan Smith, lead singer shook the venue with his powerful and soulful vocals on each and every song.

There was a good mix of music, that blended the work from each of their albums. From the joy filled “Happier,” to the power ballad of “World Gone Mad,” to the politically charged anthem “Doom Days.”

Bastille is a band I have wanted to see live for many years, and to finally be able to experience this was even better than I could have ever imagined. The concert was an amazing experience and I am so grateful to have gotten to go. I hope to be able to see both Joywave and Bastille again in the future.