5 Magic Moments From Glass Animals at Usher Hall
Glass Animals stormed Usher Hall on Monday night with their infectious pop psychedelia. Dropping temperatures were left outside for an audio-visual feast, the stage decked out in tropical iconography, warm red and green lights, and frontman David Bayley in nought but a T-shirt. Here are 5 magic moments from a gig that took us all on a Summer holiday.
by Chris Henson
Opening Act
A definite highlight, Biig Piig opened for Glass Animals. The Irish singer, real name Jessica Smyth, backed by a three-piece band, proved an excellent opening act. With a low-fi, bass-heavy production, infused with swirling saxophone solos and an engaging and assured stage presence from the 23-year-old Smyth, Biig Piig did everything you wanted from to get the audience warmed up. The R&B and Blues inflections got heads bobbing as they shuffled in or waited in the drinks queue, I went away with a new act to add to my Spotify heavy rotation and, crucially for a first course, the show did not go on too long nor over-indulge.
2. Production Values
The idiosyncratic musical stylings of Glass Animals are reliant on their production values. A lot is often happening all at once, with guitar and keyboard solos underpinned with steady electronic percussion or varying other beeps and whistles. Given the nature of the venue, with a large portion of the standing audience positioned beneath the overhanging seats, one might be sceptical that the sound could carry and remain clear towards the back and around the edges. I am happy to report that, such was the quality of production and acoustics in the venue, that the warm reverberation was able to run right around the standing area, drawing the cheap seats, nosebleeds, and standers into the show.
3. Musicianship
For a four-piece, Glass Animals pack a lot in. The band begins with a drum kit, a keyboard and two guitars. The members kept switching between their weapons of choice, jumping around on stage enthusiastically. Lead singer Dave Bayley and guitarist Drew MacFarlane led from the front with ear-bending, high-energy and crackling guitar licks whilst never going out of control or indulging themselves in solos that threatened to become overindulgent and, at worse, prog-ish. Between the four of them they blew the room away and proved to be every bit as phonetically provocative in person as through your headphones.
4. Vibe
If you haven’t heard, let me enlighten you: live shows have hit a few snags in recent times. You (as in I) might have been forgiven a healthy scepticism when waiting in Shakespeare’s (the under-staffed pub beside Usher Hall, where the drinks may not be cheap but at least the décor is) for the queues to die down for you to take your place. I had my concerns about being in a near sell-out crowd, in an enclosed space, listening to a dance-heavy set surrounded by masses as merry as acceptable on a Monday night. I am happy to report, however, that the atmosphere was only ever engaging and encouraging. People seemed aware of their, and others, space even among the dancing bottlenecks. The emphasis was on the music. The audience was diverse, of all backgrounds and ages, from middle-aged couples to trust funded English Literature freshers: a good time was had by all.
5. Venue
A final word, then, on Usher Hall – a perfect venue. Easily accessible from within the city and without, the early queues for the 7pm doors went all the way to Glasgow, but once they had died down the entry, patting down, vaccination passport inspection and wrist-band application processes could not have been quicker nor more friendly. Staff were helpful, sympathising with those of us who joined the drinks queue in the hope that it might move quickly – reader, it does not. The stalls and the seats were packed, but the open hall never leant itself to claustrophobia. If one instance summarised the strength of the venue, and the night as a whole, it was a moment before the encore, when Glass Animals wrapped up one of the brightest, most kinetic and high-quality hours of live music I have been lucky enough to witness. When they returned to stage, every seat was standing. Everyone was dancing and happy. As was I.
3 Glass Animals Tracks to Check Out: