August 8 — Beginning the first of two sold out nights at The Brooklyn Mirage, UK pop-synth band Glass Animals brings Dreamland, their third album, to vivid reality.
Transforming the Brooklyn venue into Dreamland: Real Life Edition, the team created activations of Pacman playstations, clouds, and other neon displays to enter into the world of the album. Setting the immediate scene as concertgoers passed through the exhibition area and entered the massive event space, they were greeted to a huge panoramic computer display that provided the backdrop for the show. Graphics ala Windows-98 continued the nostalgic journey until a countdown signified the band’s entrance a little after sundown.
Glass Animals has their roots in the UK, forming in Oxford in 2010 and is made up of members: Drew MacFarlane (guitar), Ed Irwin-Singer (bass), Joe Seaward (drums), and frontman Dave Bayley (Wavey Davey).
The energy of the crowd and the band was palpable, squeezable even like fresh squeezed orange juice… Or should I say “Tangerine.” I almost want to apologize for that joke, but alas, what is written can’t be undone, so onwards we go!
Concertgoers donned pineapple paraphernalia, signs, sunglasses, shirts… you name it in support of the band’s beloved trend. A pineapple sat perched on the stage for most of the set, before Dave passed it off to a fan in the front during the song “Pork Soda.”
Plugging in an encore extension into the Windows display screen, the group came back to close out the night with “Tokyo Drifting” and “Heat Waves.”
Throughout the group’s electric performance, the packed crowd mirrored their energy: shouting back lyrics, arms swaying, and dancing along in rhythm, enamored by the electrifying visuals of the Dreamland world created by the band.
The Dreamland album, written by Bayley, was the most personal album yet, reflecting on his past and memories that led them here. The autobiographical album is vulnerable, inviting listeners to enter and embrace this vivid world.
This was no normal show, this was a spectacle that teleported to a headspace of the ether. A portal at the reconnaissance of past and future, one that could exist only in the present moment where you were able to see the past objectively and a future wide open, expansive, and, at once: hopeful. The entire night felt like a release, and walking out of Dreamland on Monday night, felt like reentering the world with a new fresh breath.
