BASTILLE AND MONDO COZMO  – Live at the Air Canada Centre

Bastille made a triumphant return to Toronto on March 24th, packing the Air Canada Centre on the 1st date of extended 2016/2017 Wild World tour.  Bastille are touring with an elaborate stage setup featuring a wedge of screens broadcasting dystopian news footage and visuals that perfectly suit their unique style of major key pop despair.   It was honesty hard to hear the band take the stage to “Send Them Off!” over the screaming fans and to be honest – the scream fans never let up. Bastille’s 23 song setlist gave their fans everything they’d want, saving their biggest hit “Pompeii” for the closer (performed with opener Mondo Cozmo – More on them in a minute).   The set featured close to an equal selection from Wild World and Blood with “The Anchor” winning a twitter vote and falling mid way through the set. 

 

I honestly enjoyed Dan Smith’s (Bastille’s front man) commentary the most.  Ex: “Here comes our most depressing song”, “Sorry, this next song is pretty depressing” – but he has a lot of fun with it.   Bastille’s songs are rich in their visuals their dystopian lyrics evoke, especially with the current Brexit and Trump climate.   But their songs, when pared with their extraordinary stage productions, a beautiful to see in hear.    Bastille are touring through August 2017 – catch them while you can. 

 

A quick pre-show google told us that Mondo Cozmo were fresh off a Kimmel performance and were only a few shows into a tour.   We didn’t know what to expect but can tell you that we blown away by how amazing their were.  Well crafted Springsteen meets Oasis rock and roll songs with a hint of pop.   We saw this show Friday and “Hold On To Me” has been on repeat ever since.   It’s rare that the opener overtakes the headliner but this was definitely the case with Mondo Cozmo.   We couldn’t be more excited to see them at Bonnaroo 2017.   If you want a great rock show check them out – even if you’re not a Bastille fan.   Go to just see Mondo Cozmo and it’ll be $ well spent.   You’ll be hearing more from this act for years to come. 

We rate this show a 6 out of 6ix.