Glass Animals Roam Free at The Mission
March 19, 2022Photos: Gerardo Federico
Glass Animals, from Oxford, England, hit the Mission Ballroom last Monday, and didn’t disappoint. A nearly packed house was anxious to check them out since so much has happened since they released the 2017 Mercury Prize-nominated How to be Human Being in 2016. After drummer Joe Seaward’s tragic accident and considerable time spent healing – and, of course, the global pandemic – live shows have been few and far between.
Now, in support of their new album Dreamland, the group didn’t miss a beat, and the crowd was more than happy to finally get to see them onstage. And what a show this band of lifelong friends put on. It was magical, surreal, and super fun.
Glass Animals narrated a musical world that lifted the spirit of the whole evening.
Led by singer Dave Bayley and childhood friends – that became future bandmates – Joe Seaward (drums), Drew MacFarlane (guitars/keyboards), and Edmund Irwin-Singer (bass/keyboards), the band took that gleeful crowd on a joyful ride for over an hour. Mixing their love of synth pop, R&B, and hip hop with Bayley’s lifelong thirst for American pop culture and music, they narrated a musical world that lifted the spirit of the whole evening.
Song after song rolled out; old hits like Youth, and Gooey mixed in with stuff like from the new record, Helium, Tangerine, and I Don’t Wanna Talk ( I Just Wanna Dance). Throughout the show, you could both hear and feel Bayley’s roots in the ’90s as he formed his musical ouvre.
The set had kind of a swimming pool, or maybe a rec-center look – complete with old-school video games, a basketball hoop, and loads of neon. Not only did Bayley, Irwin-Singer and MacFarlane enjoy running around in that set, they created an unforgettable experience in Denver for a lot of people.
