Bastille at the O2 Arena, London, gig review: Band's upward trajectory shows no sign of slowing

A live setting is an excuse to broadcast Dan Smith's inner film nerd

Dan Smith performs with Bastille at the O2 Arena, London (Rex)

From the moment Bastille storm the stage at the O2 Arena for their opener 'Send Them Off!' it’s sheer, unadulterated energy.

Still experiencing the high of their second number one album with Wild World, the band's upward trajectory doesn’t appear to be showing any signs of slowing down.

This the biggest venue they've played to date, and while that may have seemed like a daunting prospect they pull it off in spades.

Drummer Chris 'Woody' Wood is a bundle of energy while keyboardist Kyle Simmons jokes with Smith as he darts around the arena; the latter having no trouble sustaining his impressive vocal range despite the fact that he simply does not stop moving.

A live setting is an excuse to broadcast Smith's inner film nerd: footage of atomic bombs being set off are (probably) inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s closing footage in Dr. Strangelove; orginial characters from Wild World loom ominously down from the giant screens; and Saul Bass’ famous silhouette design from Hitchcock’s Vertigo falls endlessly during the encore.

As the band intersperse tracks from their two studio releases it’s noticeable how frontman Smith’s songwriting has progressed - in their 2014 debut Bad Blood he took inspiration from Roman mythology, films and TV shows; the lyrics in Wild World are less literal but follow the same themes.

His narrators’ feelings of jealousy, insecurity and fear play out beneath Bastille’s typically euphoric instrumentation; on ‘Good Grief’ it’s like listening to an unfolding disaster whilst simultaneously experiencing an urge to start dancing; on ‘Pompeii’ Smith himself notes the bemusing reality of 20,000 fans cheerfully belting out the lyrics to a song about a funeral.

What perhaps comes as the greatest surprise is, given his shyness and habit of deflecting praise onto other people, is what a great showman he is. Rather like Editors’ Tom Smith, he adopts an exaggerated persona onstage, jumping into the delighted crowd and ploughing through until he reaches the sound decks in the middle of the arena for a rendition of 'Of The Night', their mashup of 'The Rhythm Of The Night' and 'Rhythm Is A Dancer'.

Critics can sneer at Bastille for being mainstream like that's a bad thing, but what really is mainstream about a band who have consistently done their own thing, without so many of the Sound Of nods, X Factor appearances or 1Xtra shout outs that typically precede a modern act of their sound and scale? Bastille are an anomaly at a time where labels are fretting about the lack of British acts who are managing to achieve cross-Atlantic success.

And even standing onstage at the sold-out O2, saying ‘thank you’ for the millionth time - after world tours and two number one albums, TV appearances and festival slots - Smith, who after their first number one album was still considering the possibility that he "could be working in McDonald’s next year", can’t quite accept that the band’s success is real. Well, it is, it will continue to be, they deserve it, and we’re bloody lucky to have them.