Glaive Explodes at the Bluebird on World Tour
January 26, 2025Photos by Béla Kershisnik
Colfax may have been cold, but The Bluebird was not when North Carolina’s very own Glaive took the stage last Wednesday night. Coming off the heels of his most recent album, “May It Never Falter,” which dropped back in October, Glaive made a stop in Denver to play songs off the new project and more as a part of his world tour which will take him across the US and Europe through April.
Glaive, real name Ash Gutierrez, began gaining popularity in 2020 for his undeniably catchy mix of emo, pop, and rap music that placed him at the forefront of the then burgeoning “hyperpop” scene on SoundCloud. The then 15 year old Glaive caught the attention of listeners and music executives alike, signing a deal with Interscope in late 2020. As the world moved out of the pandemic, Glaive and his contemporaries began to play shows across the country, including one at The Bluebird during his first headlining tour in 2022. It’s been three years since then and Glaive, a now 20 year old independent artist, has matured a lot both musically and personally.
Nearly every face in the room knew the lyrics to every song, new and old.
From the very start, Glaive’s energy had an infectious quality that swept over the room. Silhouetted by a projector and a few ambient lights, he began his set with three new album cuts back to back to back. As the room lit up and the setlist went on, he’d frequently hype up the crowd and ask them to jump to which he’d receive an enthusiastic response. It appeared that nearly every face in the room knew the lyrics to every song, new and old. Even upon playing “pardon me” from his side project, Ovine Hall, the crowd shouted with enthusiasm as he danced across the stage. Breakout hit, “astrid” was reworked to have more electronic instrumentation likely inspired by the rage genre currently having a moment in the underground hip hop scene. On the contrary, his 2021 track, “i wanna slam my head against the wall” arrived with a more subdued instrumental, serving as a much needed slow point for the performer mid set.
As the back half of the show ramped up, Glaive opted for a number of more intimate tracks, showcasing his vulnerable side. “living proof (that it hurts)” off his 2024 EP “a bit of a mad one” shows the singer grappling with self-blame and addiction while “joel,” off his most recent album, is dedicated to a late friend. Both tracks brought the singer to tears – a seemingly cathartic moment during what was an otherwise joyous set. Much of the audience joined in on this catharsis, shouting out the lyrics and offering words of support.
Finishing off his short but jam packed performance, Glaive played three songs as an encore. The first, “EVERYDOG HAS ITS DAY” provided the perfect simple scream along hook to kick in any final wind of energy the audience had saved up. The second, an unreleased track entitled “we don’t leave the house” came with the promise of a new album soon and declaration that Glaive doesn’t really like to go to parties but still wanted his fans to dance – and dance they did – all the way through his final song, a remix of album highlight “ik,” ending the night with a bang.
