Live Review: Glass Animals
14 June 2022 at the HBF Stadium in Perth, Western Australia
By Sheldon Ang
Photos by Sheldon Ang Photography
The bespectacled vocalist storms the stage with the effervescence of a teenage resident of Hogwarts. Draped in casual streetwear, he prances, hops and spins like Axl – minus the flannelette and kilt. Laughing to himself, he teases them through finger pointing, scrunches his face while eliciting a smile and poking out his tongue, oozing a cheeky countenance of hell yeah, look at me…you better believe it baby.
“This is our first headline show in Perth ever, it’s about bloody time!”
David Bayley – who once pursued a medical degree, has to be one of the coolest neuroscientist, an honorary validation endorsed and sealed by several thousand screaming fans at the HBF Stadium, backed by hundreds of million across the world.
It may be a wet and cold night in the middle of winter in Perth, but the night sizzled through eighty minutes of heat wave. The capacity crowd were dazzled by the cream of the British psychedelic pop/rap/rock. And psychedelia it was, as the music of Glass Animals snake through the sonic chamber of HBF Stadium, weaving through an eclectic temperament of modern synth, solid bass lines and beats, turning the cult-like craze into a dance festival on a night when shoulders became the viewing point for so many.
The build-up was scholastically (and geekily) themed. The LCD screen beamed the computer files transfer with “time remaining” as a metaphorical representation of the members of Glass Animals and their estimated time of arrival onto the stage. It was a time shift countdown, some going back to a year. As the seconds ticked to the final countdown the lights dimmed, unbridled chaos brewed as screams of hysteria echoed across the stadium. Dreamland has arrived, literally – with the stage transforming into a replica of the album cover with a neon lit of the basketball hoop, pyramid amongst the HOTEL, MOON and POOL neon signs.
The set kicked off with a short intro of Dreamland, the track title of their third and latest album of the same name released in 2020, followed by the dance beat of Life Itself and hip hop hit Tangerine.
Dreamland – the album, has the largest gold mine pit, and arguably the seminal piece of the Glass Animals’ discography, having received two nominations at the Brits Awards in Best British Rock Act (although the writer seems to be confused by the definition of “rock” of the modern era) and Best Single for (as you guessed it) Heat Waves. The Oxford band has also received their first nomination at the Grammys in the Best New Artist category.
So some might say that “Glass Animals” is perhaps the biggest band on the planet that most casual listeners have not heard of. But when Heat Waves is played to them, the track would invite a nod of familiarity, having been crowned as champion on the Triple J Top 100 in 2020. As Bayley said, “I remember being in lockdown in my undies back in England, unable to leave the house, to see videos of everyone enjoying the song over here, and it meant the world…and this is the first we are playing this song in Australia…”
The single also peaked at number one in the US Billboard 200.
But let’s not kid ourselves, many were here for Heat Waves – the track that amassed almost two billion (with a B) streams on Spotify alone. With the lyrics displayed on the large screen, HBF Stadium became a karaoke festival as soon as the trap drum and woozy electronic bass kicked in with three thousand backed up vocalist, as Bayley pointed the mic to the audience during some of the chorus.
To say Glass Animals is not all about Heat Waves is an understatement. As the night rolled on, fans were miming to the lyrics throughout the night such as The Other Side of Paradise, Tokyo Drifting, and Gooey – which went platinum in the United States and also scored a major spot on Triple J. First time listeners would find their songs undeniably catchy, usually accompanied by head bopping and hand rapping elements, with the entertainment score cards that are matched by the splendid live performance by the quartet.
And just like that, this writer becomes a fan of Glass Animals…and not just because of Heat Waves.
Click here for info and tickets of coming shows
The Writer would like to thank Laura Hughes of Xe54 and Georgia Old of Untitled Group and Triple J for the press accreditation.
About the Writer:
Sheldon Ang is the founder, photographer and journalist of Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022). Prior to launching SAM, he was the Chief Photographer and Principal Journalist for a WA based media platform (unfortunately that site has been annihilated from cyber space by the founder), where he had interviewed over 50 rockstars and affiliates and photographed over 50 concerts).
