Bastille Puts On An Incredible Snow Show At The Palace

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GO 96.3’s Snow Show was the perfectly fitting for Wednesday night. As the snow fell and traffic slowed many music lovers, including myself, bundle up and made the journey to The Palace Theater in Saint Paul. This year’s Snow Show was stacked with a lineup everyone had been talking about for weeks. I’m not normally one for larger venues, I crave the intimacy of a small venue shoulder to shoulder with those who love the same artists as I do. But with LANY and Bastille being in the lineup for this one, I caved.

The night started out with local girl group Last Import. I have seen these ladies rock the stage before and just like last time they took the stage as their own. Emily (guitar and lead vocals), Grace (bass and vocals) and Jane (drums) had already taken to the stage when I got to the floor. The trio becomes entirely engulfed in their music when they perform. With songs life One a Day and Money, Last Import makes it easy to want to dance.

Wednesday night was a first listen for me as Albert Hammond Jr.’s set started. Many people know Hammond from The Stokes, but since then he has really made his own. His fourth solo album Francis Trouble earlier this year. The indie rocker gave this year’s Snow Show a performance of light and dancing. Join with Albert was a four-piece band each of which had a way of pulling your attention. They were all in their own world as Hammond danced with him and serenaded The Palace.

LANY walked on stage to what was the loudest the crowd had been for any of the previous openers. LANY has been destroying it on the alternative rock circuit. With a large following (and growing) it was no surprise that a good chunk of the crowd was thee for this California trio. Lead Singer Paul Klein takes the stage and makes it his private dance floor. From start to finish this guy never stops. Klein’s one of a kind dance moves and charming personality invites the whole venue to dance and sing along. I’ll admitted it during I Don’t Want to Love You Anymore, I quickly made my way back to my friends to join in dancing and screaming the lyrics. With this being roughly the twelfth time LANY has graced the Twin Cities with a performance, you will have a chance to see this quickly emerging band.

With a night that had already been jam packed with amazing artist was British indie rock band Bastille. This was my first time seeing these live and I didn’t really know much about them. But you’d have to had been living under a rock to not have heard any of their singles such as Happier, Quarter Past Midnight or Pompeii. Before the headliner’s set started, I spoke with some ladies who had been in line since 10 am. I can’t remember the last time I waited in line to be at the barricade. “This will be my sixth time seeing them. They have stage presence that’s hard to find,” she proceeded to show me the tattoo on her bicep that was inspired by the group. Before I could ask any more questions my ears almost burst from the screams in front of me. Bastille broke out into Good Grief and the audience only grew in volume.

I found myself staring at front man, Dan Smith, through the lenses of my camera. I completely understood what the tattooed lady had meant. Dan sang with passion and it came across in his face and body language. It was easy to tell these guys have a lot of admiration for their fans. At every chance they could, they were thanking their fans and reach out to touch them. Bastille’s fourteen track set list ended before I knew it. I watched the crowds as they flooded the exits, each smiling from ear to ear.

Set List: Good Grief / Blame / Warmth / World Gone Mad / Laura Palmer / Bad Blood / Two Evils / Icarus / Happier / Send Them Off! / Flaws / Of the Night / Quarter Past Midnight / Pompeii

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