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CONCERTS ARE OFFICIALLY BACK
...And my heart is full. I attended the Glass Animals show this Wednesday, September 29th, in Boston at the Leader Bank Pavilion while the UK-based band embarked on their Dreamland tour.
It was as if really nothing ever happened; we never experienced a pandemic. The crowd was energetic and dressed up in the typical concert-going attire. Large groups, couples, friends filled out the outdoor stadium and the buzz was contagious. I don't know how else I could express the giddiness I felt, but I knew this was going to be a great show, especially having been to a Glass Animals concert in the past. Of course, everyone was following the protocols of presenting a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination, and many wore their masks, but it still felt somewhat "normal". People stood by their seats and danced and sung the night away.
Before the band came on, a man appeared on stage with the famously symbolic pineapple and immediately the crowd exploded with applause and screams. There was even an individual in front of me who brought his own pineapple. We knew Glass Animals fans knew what this meant--The band was about to appear. For their set design, as always, it was eclectic, fun, and confusing. They had a giant computer with a projection of an old-school PC screen with a loading bar that represented the "downloading" of the band. I'm sure for many of the Gen-Zers, that screen was pretty confusing, but for the millennials, it was pretty damn nostalgic and comical. There were neon signs that said "pool", "moon", and "hotel", there was a basketball hoop, a palm tree, a pyramid, and of course lots of amazing lighting fixtures.
The loading bar finally reached the end, and in an extremely dramatic and suspense-thrilling way, the lights went out, the screen began to glitch and then projected "DREAMLAND" and we all went wild in the crowd. The band walked out in yellow attire, and the next thing we knew, the beautiful introduction of the song "Dreamland" began with it's lullaby-like tunes. Dave Bayley, the lead singer started singing and the crowd was immediately under his spell. His falsettos were smooth and buttery and truly dreamlike as he went from song-to-song. Throughout the experience, Joe Seaward (drummer), Ed Irwin-Singer (bassist) and Drew MacFarlane (guitarist) carried the music seamlessly, and even gave some of the most epic solos I had ever heard.
The bass was HEAVY. You could feel it in your chest, and for each song you were bobbing your head, jumping around, or waving your hands in the air.
A fun fact, I never knew about Bayley was that he was born in Boston! He told the crowd this at the beginning, exclaiming that for him this was much like a homecoming show. You could tell that the band put so much effort into this show between the guitar solos and the lights, and the dancing, you truly got the "concerts are back" experience.
Glass Animals not only performed their new album but they also played a few classic, older hits like "Gooey" which is always an amazing performance live. The projections in the background were expectedly trippy, but captivating and fascinating. From technological algorithms to animated human limbs to things oozing and melting into various shapes to an array of colors and objects, if you weren't already charmed by the impeccable dance moves, then you had to be entranced by the visuals in the background.
The boys wrapped up the night for the encore with their two hit-singles as well as the highest energy tracks of the project "Tokyo Drifting" and "Heat Wave". It was INTENSE. After the strobing lights, the sing alongs, and the bouncing from the crowd that shook the place, the post-concert high was inevitable.
The crowd was on fire and for a moment it felt like we had never been rid of concerts for almost 2 years.
From the aesthetic to the music everything was electric.
Here are some snapshots from the show:
Try to catch them when they’re in your town--they're still on tour!
Listen to Dreamland here now: