Glass Animals: Live in the Internet

As artists adapt to a post-live show musical landscape, concerts are being held over livestreams and in living rooms. As part of Alumni Programming Day, KXSC DJ alum Rose Bueno writes about the recent Glass Animals concert, held over stream.

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There is one thing Glass Animals and I have in common—we both did not expect their third album, Dreamland, to be released during a global pandemic. However, the genre-mixing, Oxford bred band, known for their ingenuity and adaptability, rolled with the punches. Thus, “Glass Animals: Live in the Internet” was born.

Colloquially known as “Streamland” by both the band and its passionate fans, “Glass Animals: Live in the Internet” was an opportunity to both capture the spirit of live music while also embracing the digital sphere’s limitations and unique abilities. The result was a high-production performance that had fans dancing and singing along from the comfort of their homes to the band’s dreamy set-up.

After a cheeky welcome video modeled after their nostalgia-heavy, open-source website, frontman Dave Bayley smiled to the camera before singing the airy, opening verses of “Dreamland”. Like us at home, Bayley watched the performance of himself and his bandmates on-screen—drummer Joe Seaward, bassist and keyboardist Edmund Irwin-Singer, and guitarist and keyboardist Drew McFarlane— before launching into a high energy performance that lasted the entire set. New music from the album, including “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” and “Your Love (Déjà Vu)”, alongside old favorites like “Life Itself” and “The Other Side of Paradise” populated the show’s setlist. 

In addition to their energetic performance, the band also utilized visuals from Sila Sveta, special guests, and social media to make the show a unique experience. The wonderful Arlo Parks appeared onstage alongside Bayley for “Tangerine”, providing a dreamy verse that cuts to the core of the song’s message; movement artist Kanah Flex from the band’s music video “Hazey” performed a stellar dance performance in the midst of the stage’s palm trees; and of course, Florida’s Denzel Curry rapped his astounding verse remotely for the beat-heavy “Tokyo Drifting”.

The most special guests, of course, were the fans. Through Zoom calls, social media, and the true power of the Internet, fans across the world saw themselves sing along to “Heat Waves” and watched their home videos project on stage during “Youth”. Although the audience’s absence for breakout hit “Gooey” was palpable, Bayley assured us to sing along at home and that we would be doing this again soon. 

However, the true knockout of the show was the arrangement of the band’s songs. From an extended chorus introduction for “Tokyo Drifting” to the absolutely mesmerizing transition from Black Mambo to Hot Sugar (bonus points for Bayley’s pool floatie singing in the digitally projected pool!), Glass Animals captured the unique energy, nuance, and collaboration that comes to playing music live. Like for many, these versions will be playing in my head for a while, and I can only hope a “Live from the Internet” album will be released soon. 

The concert would not be a Glass Animals concert, however, without pineapples and “Pork Soda” closing out the night. Following tradition—harkening back to the early ZABA touring days—Bayley threw a pineapple into the crowd, where it landed in the computer set-up and promptly “crashed” the performance. With that, Glass Animals “Live in the Internet” was complete; a wonderful show that sent us all into the beautiful world of “dreamland”, even if it was for a brief moment. 

— Rose Bueno, Alum

Alumni Programming Day is a part of KXSC’s biannual fundraiser, which can be found at kxsc.org/donate.