Glass Animals Concert Review

My history as a Glass Animals aficionado goes back to when I first read “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding in my sophomore year English 10 Honors class with Mrs. Stindle. I watched a life changing “Lord of the Flies” animation to “Pork Soda” by Glass Animals while I was in my “Lord of the Flies” phase. I instantly became a Glass Animals devotee and was sold on the band. 

Ever since, I have listened to the band religiously. Needless to say, when the band announced that they were going to release a new album and embark on a tour for said album, I was more than ecstatic. The album, titled “I Love You So F***ing Much” was released on July 19, 2024 and promoted by the lead single “Creatures in Heaven.”

My Glass Animals concert experience was amazing, to say the least. I sat in row three of section C in the lower pavilion, in other words, incredibly close to the stage. One fan was handing out bracelets that she had made for the concert, all labeled with the names of different songs. I was bestowed with a pink one saying “Flip,” the opening song of the band’s 2014 album “ZABA.” 

The merchandise stand was stocked nicely, sporting hats, posters, bags, shirts, and even tapestries. I picked out a black bag labeled with green text reading “I Love You So F***ing Much” on the front and “Glass Animals” on the back, a red and white ringer t-shirt with the band’s name on the front, a poster for the tour and a shirt for the tour. I was also treated to frozen lemonade, which was delicious. 

Rapper Kevin Abstract opened for the band, performing both his songs and a few songs from his previous days in the

group BROCKHAMPTON. Abstract even sang from the pit of the pavilion a few times, walking around in the crowd. 

After he exited the stage, which was decorated nicely with a plethora of rocks, a crew member for Glass Animals put a pineapple out on stage, a classic symbol associated with the band. A short space-themed introductory video played, then, the curtain reading “I Love You So F***ing Much,” raised and Glass Animals opened with “whatthehellishappening,” my personal favorite song from their newest album. They then performed “Life Itself,” the first single off of their second album released in 2016, “How to be a Human Being.” 

The visuals for this concert were astounding. The set itself was space themed and intricately designed. There was something new to look at for each song. Directly after “Life Itself,” the band performed “Wonderful Nothing,” a song from “I Love You So F***ing Much” and “Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” a song from their 2020 album “Dreamland.” I thought that they sounded just as good, if not better, live as they do on their albums.

The band then moved on to “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” and “Creatures in Heaven,” two tracks that were debuted before the release of the latest album to promote it. “A Tear in Space (Airlock),” however, had to be stopped due to a medical issue just behind me. It is unclear why, but a woman had passed out and then was immediately escorted out by Ruoff staff. 

After “Creatures in Heaven,” they played “Youth” from “How to Be a Human Being,” during which I hugged my mother, as is customary during a song devoted to motherly love. “Lost in the Ocean” came next, during which the crowd waved their cell phone lights and the lead singer, Dave Bayley, was lifted above the rest of the band by a platform. 

Next, Glass Animals performed “Gooey,” during which band frontman Dave Bayley stepped out into the upper pavilion and sang surrounded by fans, illuminated by a fluorescent, purple spotlight. I was a little disappointed that this was the only song that the band did from their first album, “ZABA,” but this fact did not ruin my concert experience. 

Then, the band went on to perform “How I Learned to Love the Bomb,” “Show Pony” and “On the Run” back to back, all songs from their latest album.” “Show Pony” is another one of my favorites from this new album so I was very happy. In fact, in my opinion, there was not a bad song on this concert’s setlist. I loved and knew them all. 

“Take a Slice” from “How to Be a Human Being” came next, to my delight as I firmly believe that “How to Be a Human Being” and “ZABA” are Glass Animals’s best albums out of the four. The crowd enjoyed “Tokyo Drifting,” a song from “Dreamland” and lastly, Glass Animals performed “Pork Soda,” my absolute favorite song from their discography along with “Toes” from “ZABA.” I was so excited that I was screaming the lyrics, probably to the dismay of those around me; I get somewhat energetic at concerts. 

After “Pork Soda,” Glass Animals briefly left the stage, before being called back from the audience to do an encore. They

started their encore with “The Other Side of Paradise,” a beloved song from “How to be a Human Being” and then ended their performance with “Heat Waves,” by far their most popular song, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 12, 2022 in its 59th week on the chart. 

Somehow, I would say that Glass Animals was a better concert for me than Paul McCartney, though the two come really close. I think that is just because I was so close to the stage, though. I have been to a lot of concerts, but I have never had as spectacular of an experience as I had at Glass Animals. The next time that Glass Animals releases an album and goes on tour, I will surely be at that concert. If one is a Glass Animals fan and has not seen them in concert, I highly recommend them as they are incredible live.