BINKI and Glass Animals
Brooklyn, NY // August 31, 2021
Photos and review by Jess Williams
The first cool day of the summer had finally arrived. I pulled up to the Prospect Park Bandshell on the southwest side of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The beautiful, festival-like venue sits, tucked away in the trees and is certainly one of the city’s hidden gems. That night, British indie-pop band, Glass Animals, would be bringing their Dreamland tour to the bandshell for a sold out performance. For many people in attendance, this was their first concert since before the COVID-19 pandemic began, so the excitement within the air was extra tangible.
I entered the venue, secured my credentials and immediately reunited with friends who I hadn’t seen in over a year. I looked around and saw that everyone else was doing the same, donning their Glass Animals t-shirts, everyone was hugging each other and it was certainly quite the reunion. Food trucks, merch stands and port-a-potties lined the outskirts of the venue, while the crowd began to fill in on the large grassy knoll in front of the stage.
BINKI
Indie rapper BINKI took the stage to open the show. Rocking a purple wig, he wasted no time and dove right into his set. The crowd was certainly feeling his performance as they danced amongst themselves, watching the flashy lights above them.
Glass Animals
Following BINKI’s performance, the stage was transformed in anticipation for Glass Animals’ set. The swimming pool-like set featured a diving board that almost reached out above the crowd, a large glowing basketball hoop and a variety of neon signs and palm trees. Lest we forget the most important part of any Glass Animals show — the pineapple. It was brought out just moments before the band took the stage, and when the stagehand placed the pineapple on the stage, the crowd went wild!
A massive screen at the bag of the stage that was built to look like a game on a computer circa 1985, began a countdown to the start of the show in the form of a download bar. As the bar approached full completion, the crowd began to countdown the few remaining percentages that were left before the download was complete and the stage lights went dark. Suddenly, the title track from Glass Animals’ most recent album Dreamland began to play and the band took the stage.
Assuming their positions behind their respective instruments, lead singer Dave Bayley began dancing and swaying across the stage. At one point, he approached the end of the diving board and kneeled down, smiling and pointing into the photographers’ cameras. Glass Animals’ performance that evening was certainly one for the books.
I’m no stranger to the band, having seen them several times over the last couple of years. But I promise you that this band gets better with each show. The stage lighting and set up was on point, achieving the retro look and feel that the Dreamland album exudes. The setlist was equally as insane (in a good way) as their performance. It was chock full of all the hits across their discography, including “Life Itself”, “Black Mambo”, “The Other Side of Paradise” and “Gooey” to name a few. Fans of all ages were having the time of their lives. Some opted to squeeze themselves into the crowd to feel the rush of live music again, while others opted to sit further back on their picnic blanket and take the whole show in.
What was perhaps my favorite part was Glass Animals’ encore performance. The band returned to the stage after a 15 song performance, to round out the evening with two of their biggest hits off Dreamland: “Tokyo Drifting” and “Heat Waves”. I watched as Dave and the band built up the energy to a maximum level just before the beat drop in “Tokyo Drifting”. Then, as an 8-bit car on the screen behind took off into the distance, the beat dropped and I watched Dave spin in circles across the stage, rocking a smile that could be seen for miles.
Glass Animals closed out their set with their smash hit “Heat Waves”, which they said was being recorded for a special surprise. The band thanked the Brooklyn crowd for being the best crowd yet on the tour, and promised to be back soon. So Glass Animals, I’m counting on you to hold up your end of that promise! Brooklyn loves you and wants to see you back so soon!
