Bastille and Queen + Adam Lambert at Singapore Grand Prix Padang Stage

About seven months ago, a friend and I decided a vacation halfway around the world was in order. We agreed on Singapore as one of our stops after realizing the Singapore Grand Prix Formula 1 racing event would be taking place when we were looking to travel.  Shortly after we had booked flights and hotels and the trip was set in stone, they announced some of the off track performances that would take place race weekend. Saturday night was a night for British rock fans new and old as Bastille and Queen with Adam Lambert would take the stage.

A few things to note about me as a concert go-er are that I prefer smaller indoor venues, I don't have the best camera (I feel picture / video taking should be limited and performance enjoying should be maximized), and I'm 6'4" so it's very rare I don't have a good view. So please be tolerant of the lack of great photos since I was pretty far back and still managed to enjoy the show about the same.

Bastille

Genre: Indie Pop / Alternative Rock

Stage Presence: Fun, but a little reserved

For those who haven't found them yet, Bastille are a British indie pop / alternative rock group formed back in 2010. Their first album, "Bad Blood", featured the single "Pompeii" which really drove the band into the mainstream. Their second album, "Wild World" was released on September 9th, giving fans a few weeks to listen and love before seeing them in Singapore. Something to keep in mind, though, is that this was a performance at a Formula 1 racing event. Although I'm sure there were plenty of Bastille fans there (the crowd would confirm this), the music was intended to be secondary to on-track events.

This was my first time seeing Bastille live and it was a good introduction to what they could do in this type of setting. Their style translated fairly well into this larger setting, but some of the slower beats led me to believe it would be a better performance in a small, more club-like venue. They did a nice balance between songs from their first and second album which I think was a good decision given the relatively short amount of time between album release and concert date.

My main criticism of the performance is that I wish Dan, the lead singer, would've utilized the catwalk more. Maybe there was a reason he wasn't fully utilizing the stage (set-up for the Queen show later?) but I think it left the fans disappointed that he wouldn't get up close.

Queen + Adam Lambert

Genre: Classic Rock

Stage Presence: An involved sing-along

Okay, so let's get it out of the way early: Adam Lambert is just filling in for Freddy Mercury. And the rest of Queen didn't try and pretend any different. And that made this performance a really good one.

One of the downsides to being younger is that I never had the chance to see Queen complete. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy Queen in its current form. Made up of Adam Lambert, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and various touring members, this was a fun show for fans young and old. It's a chance to hear some of the classics and sing along with Adam Lambert leading on the vocals while Brian May shows he's still got it on guitar and Roger Taylor provides a beat to keep up with. Possibly my favorite part of the lineup was backup drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Roger Taylor and drummer for The Darkness. There was a great father-son drum duel about halfway through the set that had this really great connection as Roger Taylor led at the front of the catwalk and Rufus shadowed behind for those that recognized the relationship between those dueling.

The show was a solid 21 songs with a 3 song encore that was a good way to wrap up the second night of racing in Singapore. Seven Seas of Rhye was a perfect decision to open things up with energy as Adam Lambert began with a privacy shield covering his face only to reveal sunglasses underneath halfway through the song eliciting some laughs from the audience. You can find the whole setlist online, but the short version is that I don't feel we were missing anything. Two cool moments involved Love of My Life and Bohemian Rhapsody which involved recordings of Freddy performing on the screens. It gave Adam Lambert a break and the audience a small taste of something they want to hold on to. Additionally, closing out the main set with Radio Ga Ga gave the younger generation a chance to pretend they were at Wembley back in 1985. An encore of We Will Rock / We are the Champions satiated a need to hear crowd favorites played together and permitted one last sing-along before God Save the Queen with all of the active members coming forward, Brian May in a Flash Gordon t-shirt, to take a bow. A great show to fulfill the need to see a performance by a band that lost one of their core members too soon.

If you've been following along, one of the things you'll note is that I love to make a stop at the band merch table at the shows I go to, sometimes to buy and sometimes just to see what's available. One of the shortcomings of the Singapore Grand Prix was that it lacked a band merch tent. I understand that this is a Formula 1 event (which meant there were multiple F1 tents in each zone), but it would have been nice to see a tent for band merch near the main stage. With such great performers, you can be sure at least some of the fans were there for the show and not the race. This leaves those fans without the chance of taking home a souvenir beyond the photos and memories of a show they likely enjoyed.