Glass Animals Barrowland Glasgow 8th November 2021
Glass Animals kick-started their UK tour in Glasgow – a special event for their Weegie fans and the band themselves. Following several postponements, they were ripe and ready for their UK tour. We had Dave Bayley was on vocals, Drew MacFarlane on main keyboard, Ed Irwin-Singer on bass and keys and Joe Seaward on drums.
The stage was decorated with neon light signs – suitable to their Dreamland album. The colours changed to suit every song. The lights hit the ceiling and resembled an under-water feel. From the moment the four lads got on the stage, they delivered lots of energy – it was contagious and even the crowd in the back felt it.
They took us through their three studio albums and kickstarted the evening with the headline name for their tour: Dreamland, onto Life Itself, Tangerine, Black Mambo, Hot Sugar, Hazey – which was supplemented with a fun and energetic duo riff between Dave on the guitar and Ed on the bass.
We moved onto The Other Side of Paradise – the tone and the mood of the show changed and flowed into Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Dave is a self-indulgent man and really enjoys his less mainstream and obscure songs – such as Space Ghost. The experience of hearing it live was so interesting compared to that of just through Spotify. His energy, his jumping on stage, his wild hand gestures made the whole crowd join in. We loved watching Dave have the best time on stage – it was an evening for fun and dance
He danced on along to Cane Shuga, Your Love (Déjà Vu) and then took a left turn on to Take A Slice. The tempo slowed down allowing Dave to take a break. He introduced their new song; I Don’t Wanna Dance. We moved into more old-school Glass Animals territory and the crowd sang along to Gooey – Dave reached out with his microphone, letting the crowd do the singing. The song ended with a heart-beat track – as if we were coming out of the womb.
The crowd were ready for more, when the boy started the intro sequence for Youth. Dave sang along and pranced around on the stage and encouraged everyone to do the same. The tempo was amped up and ready for Pork Soda – a signature song accompanied with their favourite mascot; a pineapple.
They went off the stage, giving us the final wave. They left the stage and staff come on as if to take off equipment. They dragged it out for as long as they could – and then! An encore followed with Tokyo Drifting and then the cherry on the cake: Heatwaves.
The audience was taken on a wild visit into Glass Animal’s past and present, whilst delving into a semi-rave night. It was a fun and energetic event for the Barrowlands. Listening to them live is such a more authentic experience. The live space allows them to take some creative freedom and adjust their sound to the venue. They made the evening really fun and memorable.
Review and Photographs by Caroline Ring
