After selling out the Grog Shop almost instantly, Glass Animals moved their show to the House of Blues, possibly the biggest venue they’ve headlined in the U.S. on the current tour. The place was packed last night as the floor was full of hippies, hipsters, teenagers and older adults alike. It seems like everyone wants a piece of what the British band has to offer. The look on Glass Animals’ singer Dave Bayley’s face the whole concert pretty much described the show: he was all smiles, with a look of wonder and awe.
The band’s recorded tracks are filled with perfectly produced sounds and everything is mixed to perfection, making it seem like a difficult thing to pull off live. On studio recordings, Bayley’s high-pitched, sultry voice sounds too engineered to be true. But their first song (and one of their first hits), “Black Mambo,” set things straight. Bayley made the liquidly, weird sounds on the recorded tracks with his guitar. His voice resonated throughout the club with the same subdued tone in all of his songs. The difference: it sounded a little raspier, making it even better.
The concert continued with the jungle beats of songs like “Psylla,” “Toes” and “Hazey.” Each song featured a transition from the produced noises to sounds on Bayley’s guitar. The band improvised during the songs to deliver little jam-like sessions, with guitar solos from Bayley and Drew MacFarlane and drum solos from Joe Seaward. But what stole the show was the performance of “Gooey,” their most popular song. Crowd members put their arms up in the air and sang the song's “peanut butter vibes” lyrics. Bayley looked astonished at the number of the people in the crowd and completely overjoyed with how far his music has gone.
For the encore, the band played a sexy, sultry version of “Love Lockdown” that would make Kanye jealous. Bayley sang the song from the middle of the crowd with his fans. For the final song, he played “Pools,” a mix of jungle drums and electric sounds that demanded a sing-a-long. Bayley got the whole crowd singing with him and dancing. He finished the show by saying, “Thank you Cleveland! You have truly been amazing tonight. We hope to be back soon. Cheers!” With their large following in Cleveland, Glass Animals are sure to come back. And we'll welcome them with open arms.
