Written by: Shay Coulson | Photo(s) by: Matt Dippel
Welcome To Dreamland: Glass Animals Sends SLC On Dreamy Sold-Out Sunday Night [Photos]
Salt Lake City sparkled through Sunday night with a sold-out show by indie-pop band, Glass Animals.
This much-anticipated show has been sold out for months, and if you skipped it, well you basically missed out on a really good time. Although a dreary cold rain stormed across the valley, a near 3,000 fans filled up the Union Event Center for what would be a “dreamy” night with the British-based quartet.
After a genre-defying set by neighboring Glastonbury duo Sad Night Dynamite, Glass Animals strode onstage to deliver an electrifying 90-minute “Dreamland” set to SLC’s roaring crowd. A tangy opening beat to “Tangerine” got the crowd dancing before frontman Dave Bayley sent the crowd back to 2016 in The Undertones lyric influenced “The Other Side Of Paradise.”
After additional renditions of fan-favorites from their latest Dreamland album, a sprinkle of the band’s “Hot Sugar” was the perfect topping ahead of a sulty sweet dish of the 2014 hit, “Gooey.” A scratchy percussion opening led the group for a perfect set ending in “Pork Soda” as Bayley and band members Drew MacFarlane, Edmund Irwin-Singer, and Joe Seaward harmonized on the lyrics “pineapples are in my head.” Catchy lyrics to get stuck in your head for sure.
The show wasn’t complete of course without a two-song encore, and Glass Animals didn’t disappoint to send fans off on the highest note possible. The venue erupted into fan-led cheering chaos as the opening beat to the Denzel Curry collab “Tokyo Drifting” rang from the stage. “Heat Waves” marked the final song of the night, backed by a vocalized word-for-word singalong from the crowd to make sure we think of this show for the rest of the week, if not for the rest of the year.
Scroll down to see a full photo gallery of the show, courtesy of photographer Matt Dippel. Glass Animals will continue their Dreamland tour tonight at Denver, CO’s Mission Ballroom, making their way across the U.S. and Canada this Spring before heading overseas for a series of summer shows. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit the band’s website.