Glass Animals @ U Street Music Hall [DC] - 2/25/2020
Glass Animals at U Street Music Hall (Photo by Mauricio Castro)
At least a dozen people stood outside U Street Music Hall on the night of Glass Animals’ show, one that sold out online in minutes. Some held signs for people entering the show, asking to pay top dollar for the rare opportunity to see a band who last played the venue in 2014 and have since moved on to bigger venues, like DC’s Echostage in 2016. Why play a show that many concluded would sell out like hotcakes? Drummer Joe Seward was hit by a truck driver while biking in Dublin in 2018, resulting in a fractured skull and a broken leg. They promptly canceled the rest of that tour as the band awaited Seward’s speedy recovery. In the band’s own words:
“Its been a while but we had to make sure joe was ready to be on the road again after his accident. We decided to do these tiny shows to remind us of what we almost lost.”
Their U Hall show was the first of their intimate US tour. Set opener “Tokyo Drifting” represented the high-energy, dance-inducing sound the band seems to be going for with their as-of-yet-untitled third album. “Your Love (Deja Vu)” is undoubtedly inspired by the 2000s Timbaland pop sound that defined Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado back in the day.
All the screaming and singing fans going wild at the barricades signaled that the band is on the right track. Singer/guitarist Dave Bayley was in-your-face throughout the set, placing himself within inches of the fans singing along. He hopped into the crowd and made his way to the U Hall bar to sing “Gooey,” sauntering back and forth atop the bar as the crowd sang the chorus.
The band has come a long way since their last appearance at U Hall back in 2014, but DC-area fans won’t have to wait much longer for a tour announcement. The band signaled they’ll be back very soon with a new album in tow...and a bigger venue to boot.
“Your Love (Deja Vu)” is out now through Wolf Tone Records/Universal Music, with a third album on the way soon.
