August 31, 2024.

Thank You So F***ing Much, Glass Animals.

Seeing Glass Animals for the third time in my life did not disappoint. I saw Glass Animals for the first and second time eight years ago during the summer after my freshman year of college. Their first album, Zaba, came out just a few years earlier and their second album, How to Be a Human Being was set to be released a month later. At the time, they were a much smaller band, playing Sokol Auditorium n/k/a The Admiral in Omaha and as a non-headliner at the Buzz Beach Ball Festival in Kansas City. The Admiral provided a smaller, much more intimate viewing experience as compared to the Buzz Beach Ball Festival in 2016, or the Azura Amphitheater this year. After the concert at The Admiral, while walking to the car we literally ran into Dave Bayley in the parking lot. My friend and I freaked out and of course asked for many selfies and phone case signatures that eventually washed away. Dave Bayley was down to earth, friendly, and willing to spend time with fans, which is not always easy to find in lead singers.

Me and Dave Bayley on July 21, 2016 outside of Sokol Auditorium (n/k/a The Admiral)

Fast forward to 2024, Glass Animals is performing at Azura Amphitheater in Kansas City. Azura Amphitheater feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere. Hang a left into a tree covered entrance, drive 2 miles down a long road with 9 million other cars filled with people excited to see the same show, and take a left into the wide open field for parking, and you’re there. No city in sight, just thousands and thousands of people. Azura Amphitheater can fit 18,000 Glass Animals fans without feeling too crowded in the assigned seats. It’s only a mad house near the merch tables and women’s bathrooms, as is to be expected at such a large venue. When we arrived, we of course took a beeline to the merch tables. After waiting in line for thirty minutes, the goods were secured. With two black Glass Animals t-shirts with the tour schedule printed on the back in our hands, we headed for our seats. The merch designs are creative and fun, but I wish the quality of the t-shirts—the material and the screen print—were of better quality for $40 a piece. Despite the minor downsides, I look forward to adding this shirt to my tour t-shirt collection.

We chose to sit in the assigned seating rather than standing for hours in the pit with achy legs (even though we stood the whole time anyway — and at an incline no less!). We typically prefer the assigned seating option at Azura, however this time we sat a little too far away from center stage. Set off to far left stage, the sound quality projected from the massive speakers straight forward, rather than projecting to the entire width of the amphitheater. Despite the slightly muffled sound, Glass Animals put on an incredibly energetic and creative show. Their set, a faux-mission control transported fans to a space ship outside earth’s orbit. Small planet cartoons provided comic relief before the show and prior to the encore, and Dave Bayley jumped around the stage all night long while singing his heart out.

They filled the setlist, linked below, with a good mix of oldies and newbies. I sang my lungs out to Space Ghost Coast to Coast (third album), How I Learned to Love the Bomb (fourth album), Gooey (first album), and Life Itself (second album). I do wish that they would have included some bigger hits, like Tangerine, Black Mamba, or even White Roses from their newest album. Overall, I left satisfied and not longing too much for more. It was astonishing how long the setlist lasted with only 17 songs, but by the time the final song,Heat Waves played, it felt like the blink of an eye. After a night filled with dancing, singing, and lots of laughter, I would gladly see Glass Animals for a fourth time.

OVERALL RATINGS

Venue: 7/10

Setlist: 7.5/10

Sound Quality: 5/10

Merch: 6/10

Vibes: 10/10