Following the release of their most recent album I Love You So F***ing Much, Glass Animals stopped in Chicago for two nights on their Tour of Earth world tour. Kevin Abstract provided support both nights.
Starting his set in the last row of the stadium seats, Kevin Abstract stunned the crowd as he swiftly walked down the stairs and started a dance party in the middle of the general admission crowd during his first song. Similar to his day’s in the boy band BROCKHAMPTON, Kevin Abstract kept the audience amazed with his high energy performance and constant engagement with the crowd.
Playing a mixture of solo work, as well as a handful of tracks from his boy band days, Kevin kept the crowd on their feet for the duration of his performance. He even invited dozens of fans on stage for several of his songs, making sure to spend extra time with the handful of younger fans and showing them how to dance to his music.
Next up was Glass Animals. Known for their highly energetic performances and elaborate stage setups, the fans made sure to match the space aesthetic of the tour by dressing up in alien-esque outfits, even bringing small blow-up aliens to toss around the crowd. The stage was built to look like the inside of space ship and had a large orb in the center that displayed different graphics throughout the night. After a brief transmission over the Jumbotrons teasing the start of the show, the four members of the band took to the stage and immediately got to work.
Over the next hour and a half we were taken on a journey through the galaxy known as Glass Animals. Whether it was the intense vibrations of Edmund Irwin-Singer’s bass emanating through the speakers, or frontman Dave Bayley’s intoxicating movements over every inch of the stage while he seamlessly sang his lyrics, it was hard to pick a favorite moment as the entire band was mesmerizing.
They soared through all but two of the tracks from their newest album, but still managed to scatter several of the crowd favorites from their previous albums, such as “Tokyo Drifting,” which featured a graphic of featured artist Denzel Curry performing his verse through the orb on the middle of the stage, “Pork Soda,” featuring a real life pineapple that was handed to the crowd (I’m still wondering what the fan did with the pineapple for the rest of the set), and their record breaking single “Heat Waves.”
Much like Kevin Abstract did during his opening set, Glass Animals also interacted with the audience numerous times throughout the night, with Dave Bayley even running to the middle of the crowd and performing “Gooey” from a little platform between the fans after taking a few minutes to talk to everyone around him and playfully wear their hats as they tossed them to him. The biggest highlight of the night came as a surprise to the band as they geared up to play “Creatures in Heaven.”
Before the show started, a group of fans worked together to hand out purple and green colored paper stars to every fan, even taping them to the seats, with instructions to hold the star in front of your phones flash light while they played that song. Just as the band started to play it, all of a sudden they saw a sea of green and purple lights shining towards them, prompting Dave Bayley to question what was going on and try to figure out who organized it before saying that he was going to “have a hard time singing this song now,” due to the sense of shock and amazement they felt for the crowd. Witnessing that moment happening live is something everyone will remember for years to come.
Glass Animals continues their Tour of Earth through the end of the year, hitting various countries along the way.
KEVIN ABSTRACT
