Reviewed on Saturday July 10
Supporting any act with a great reputation for their live show is no easy feat. Surrounded by gear, solo act James Crooks multi-tasked to no end while facing the tricky task of opening for Glass Animals. The self-confessed bedroom beatmaker from Sydney juggled between at least five different tools to gradually bring the pace and room’s bubbling energy to the surface. Playing to backing tracks, Crooks’ surprising dance cover of British India’s ‘I Said I’m Sorry’ featured female vocals and upped the dynamics while his only single ‘Naturally’, featuring mysterious Melbourne singer Paige IV, capped things nicely with a solid trio of drums, keys and vocals.
With darkness and a computerised voice filling the room, the start of Glass Animals’ final show on their Australian tour arrived in direct opposite fashion to the set ahead – dark, artificial and empty. The quartet swiftly ensconced themselves in the Metro with the lively ‘Life Itself’ blasting into things and lead singer Dave Bayley capturing everyone’s attention, barely drawing for air and exuding energy.
While the show was down on the palm trees that decorated their stage of tours past, Glass Animals’ tropical vibes oozed through the bouncing bass and lighting accompanying tracks from 2014’s Zaba. ‘Walla Walla’ and ‘Hazey’ saw the crowd promptly take over vocals by the first chorus as a purple haze soaked the stage and Bayley jumped onto the drum kit for the first of many times. The antics were well appreciated if the amplified cheers were anything to go by.
Peeling his hardly practical, yet considerably cool printed jacket off just four tunes in, Bayley gave his best rap game for a bassy and moody live incarnation of ‘Exxus’ before those unmistakeable chimes of ‘Gooey’ rang out and the adoring audience roared.
Any act playing their biggest tracks before hitting halfway risks signalling a mass exodus, but for Glass Animals it was purely part of the magic, the crowd heaving and dancing non-stop as a result. By delivering some new tunes from impending second album How To Be A Human Being, their brilliant cover of Kanye West’s ‘Love Lockdown’, ‘Gold Lime’ – a clever mash-up of Erykah Badu’s ‘The Healer’ and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Gold Lion’ – and Zaba’s slinky ‘Cocoa Hooves’ and ‘Toes’, the group left the stage with everyone wanting more, even if there wasn’t much left to give.
Hinting they’ll be back “very soon”, Bayley and co. will need to expand to significantly bigger venues for any returning shows, regardless of the reception to their new album. These kinds of performances cement the reputation that precedes them.
