Glass Animals brought their Tour of Earth to Austin’s Moody Center for the final North American date.
“This is kind of a hometown show” exclaims Dave Bayley, lead singer of indie-alternative band Glass Animals. The band took over Moody Center in Austin for a night of intergalactic fun and giggles to a nearly-packed crowd. After a successful run through their third album Dreamland, Glass Animals returned to the scene with a new album slightly different from their predecessors titled I Love You So F***ing Much. It was released on July 19th, 2024 and followed a space theme, which Bayley exclaimed was in response to the success of their Dreamland single “Heat Waves.” A full North American tour later, the band called it finished in Austin, Texas.
The night started with a few throwback tracks such as “Life Itself” from How To Be A Human Being, followed by “Your Love (Deja Vu)” from Dreamland and “Wonderful Nothing” from the latest album. Bayley jumped around on stage and told Austin to give it everything they’ve got. During the track “Creatures in Heaven,” fans were attempting to get Bayley’s attention with t-shirts and signs, but one stood out to the singer – a t-shirt with his beloved dog Woody’s face that said “I miss you so f***ing much.” The singer, teary-eyed, took the shirt and responded that he would give it to his dog, stating that [he] would love it. It was a great transition to the song “Youth,” which led to “Lost in the Ocean.”
During the track “Gooey,” Bayley entered the Austin pit crowd and interacted with everyone surrounding him. He did everything – from taking BeReals and video clips on fan phones, to wearing bracelets, merch and even Cowboy hats handed to him. The crowd sang the song word for word, and it felt surreal to hear everyone chanting “peanut butter vibes.” Glass Animals brought the crowd back to their new album, where they performed “How I Learned to Love the Bomb” and “Show Pony.”
Austin was set back when they performed their viral TikTok hit “Take a Slice,” where the guitar solos hypnotized the center. The band performed “Tokyo Drifting,” where they paid homage to their feature artist Denzel Curry with amazing visuals on the stage. The crowd immediately gave a standing ovation, in which Bayley stood in awe and exclaimed that there was no better way to end this tour than in Austin. The final song of the night was “Pork Soda,” where fans in the front row raised their pineapples and Bayley gave the final pineapple of the tour to a fan decked out in space gear. The band thanked the tour’s crew and walked away for the encore.
Glass Animals returned to the stage with an explosive performance of “The Other Side of Paradise,” and ended the night with their widely-successful single “Heat Waves.” The show never felt dull – with continuous fan interactions and ongoing homages to their previous albums, it felt like a perfect summary to their discography. While there were no surprises to the final date, the show felt extremely immersive at all times. Their eclectic and galactic set captured their latest album perfectly, making it a true TOUR of EARTH.
GLASS ANIMALS
Photos + Review by Keylee Paz | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!