Glass Animals | Dreamland Tour
by PARIS LEWIS
Oxford based band, Glass Animals, sold out St. Louis’ newest venue on Thursday night with their Dreamland Tour. There were so many enthusiastic fans waiting to get into the venue that the band delayed their set by 10-15 minutes. This was greatly appreciated by those who eventually made their way inside.
Glass Animals made their entrance to the beat of their single, “Life Itself,” prompting the angsty crowd to roar into cheers and lyrics. From that moment, front man, Dave Bayley, embraced the atmosphere and brought powerful energy. He showed love to all sides of the stage, jumping and dancing throughout while the rest of the band, Joe Seaward (drums), Edmund Irwin-Singer (bass), Drew MacFarlane (guitar) held their places, providing the bedrock melody and beat with a force that complemented the efforts of their leader.
The set consisted of palm trees, neon signs, a basketball hoop with shoes hung by their strings, a diving board platform, and seemingly arbitrary, fun visuals that played on the big screen backing the band. A cohesive color scheme of blues, pinks, oranges, and occasional greens supported the aesthetic of the set overall. As random as some of the details seemed to be individually, it all came together, being just as unique as Glass Animals themselves.
For readers who are not familiar with this group of friends, their signature sound breaks down genre barriers by seamlessly blending indie rock, synth-pop, R&B, and electronic rock, with an essence of psychedelic undertones. Their soundtracks have a dreamlike warmth to them, captivating their listeners. During their set, the members’ vocals were clear with recognizable groovy softness in their tone, doing justice to the fidelity of a recorded track, if not improving upon it.
One highlight of this show was seeing how in sync the fans and band members were. Each moment of the show was internalized to the fullest, and it was reflected in the eyes and body movements of everyone in the venue. The energy expended by the audience as they sang and danced to the music was indicative of how much everyone present almost needed to have fun. Towards the latter half of the set, the crowd’s supportive cheering seemed to overwhelm Bayley with emotion in the best way possible. One could easily assume that he was incredibly grateful to be there in that moment sharing music with the fans. It was a special sight to see.
In anticipation of the encore, the band performed “Pork Soda,” which showcased each member’s musical talent. Every solo during the performance of the single gave the feeling of watching a jam session between longtime friends rather than a performance for a crowd. Glass Animals closed out this memorable performance with “Tokyo Drift” and hit single, “Heat Waves.” As soon as Bayley announced the song title after chants of “one more song” from the crowd, everyone cheered even more than before. It was a perfect end to the night.
Overall, the show was a huge success from beginning to end. Glass Animals is a band to look out for, and their creative and innovative mindset will continue to pave the way for their success.