You see a lot of strange things at music festivals. A glass of urine travelling over the heads of the crowd is, tragically, not an unfamiliar site these days (though we’re glad to say we saw no such thing across the weekend at Electric Fields in Drumlanrig Castle).
One thing we’ve not seen before, however, is a festival-goer clambering over rows of other revellers to shout in the ear of another: “Mate! Can I hold your pineapple for a second?”
And the answer coming back: “Okay. But only if you give it back after.”
It seems this sequence of events is fairly standard practise at a Glass Animals gig, however.
The English indie-pop quartet arrived on the Electric Fields main stage with a giant, golden pineapple spinning behind them at the back of their stage. The crowd before them, equally bizarrely, was filled with audience members holding pineapples up to frontman Dave Bayley like they were catholic parents trying to get a blessing for their child from the Pope.
Glass Animals had a smaller, real-life pineapple sitting on one of their amplifiers, just below their stunning, giant shrine-apple in centre stage. There were blow-up Pineapples in the crowd too. And electronic pineapples. One guy even had a pineapple hat on.
Safe to say that Glass Animals were one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the festival, then. And that they have a very loyal cult following.
The fandom over the exotic fruit comes from a lyric in the band’s hit single ‘Pork Soda’ which reads “pineapples are in my head”. Glass Animals closed out their set at Electric Fields with the same song, no doubt answering a lot of questions for those who were previously unfamiliar with the group in the process.
One thing we’ve not seen before, however, is a festival-goer clambering over rows of other revellers to shout in the ear of another: “Mate! Can I hold your pineapple for a second?”
And the answer coming back: “Okay. But only if you give it back after.”
It seems this sequence of events is fairly standard practise at a Glass Animals gig, however.
The English indie-pop quartet arrived on the Electric Fields main stage with a giant, golden pineapple spinning behind them at the back of their stage. The crowd before them, equally bizarrely, was filled with audience members holding pineapples up to frontman Dave Bayley like they were catholic parents trying to get a blessing for their child from the Pope.
Glass Animals had a smaller, real-life pineapple sitting on one of their amplifiers, just below their stunning, giant shrine-apple in centre stage. There were blow-up Pineapples in the crowd too. And electronic pineapples. One guy even had a pineapple hat on.
Safe to say that Glass Animals were one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the festival, then. And that they have a very loyal cult following.
The fandom over the exotic fruit comes from a lyric in the band’s hit single ‘Pork Soda’ which reads “pineapples are in my head”. Glass Animals closed out their set at Electric Fields with the same song, no doubt answering a lot of questions for those who were previously unfamiliar with the group in the process.
They’re also likely to have turned a lot of those new faces into fans. It was a terrific performance - and impressively engaging for a band whose distinct brand of pop is really-quite electronic. Drew MacFarlane was on top of speakers playing his guitar, Edmund Irwin-Singer was having a great time on bass and keys, and drummer Joe Seaward’s pine-apple shaker did not go unnoticed.
The band’s setlist was a brilliant mix of electronic basslines and instrumental work made for a dance and the impressive vocal work of the aforementioned Dave Bayley.
It was slightly difficult to hear the lead singer’s vocal talent over the initial drone pulsing of opener ‘Life Itself’, but as the set got under way (and the sound guys worked a few things out) Bayley really came into his own as a vocalist - with a great range.
It’s easy to see why Bayley and his band have amassed such a cult following too. The lead singer is captivating on stage, as charismatic as he is energetic. The epitome of this being when he achieved the (as far as we know) Electric Fields-first of jumping off the main stage, over the barriers and singing the vocals to the song ‘Gooey’ from the middle of the crowd.
The fact he managed to get every word of it out and hit the notes in time was nothing short of a miracle given that he was getting mobbed by adoring fans on every side. It was a moment that won’t be forgotten by the Electric Fields fans any time soon.
The fitting conclusion came with ‘Pork Soda’, and though Bayley would throw his on-stage pineapple (a weird sentence, still) to a random chap on the shoulders of a friend, that pineapple would soon make its way into the hands of a toddler on the shoulders of her father, to both the toddler’s and the crowds’ delight.
A fantastic performance from Glass Animals. Lively, entertaining, and wonderfully bizarre.
Stuart Kenny
The band’s setlist was a brilliant mix of electronic basslines and instrumental work made for a dance and the impressive vocal work of the aforementioned Dave Bayley.
It was slightly difficult to hear the lead singer’s vocal talent over the initial drone pulsing of opener ‘Life Itself’, but as the set got under way (and the sound guys worked a few things out) Bayley really came into his own as a vocalist - with a great range.
It’s easy to see why Bayley and his band have amassed such a cult following too. The lead singer is captivating on stage, as charismatic as he is energetic. The epitome of this being when he achieved the (as far as we know) Electric Fields-first of jumping off the main stage, over the barriers and singing the vocals to the song ‘Gooey’ from the middle of the crowd.
The fact he managed to get every word of it out and hit the notes in time was nothing short of a miracle given that he was getting mobbed by adoring fans on every side. It was a moment that won’t be forgotten by the Electric Fields fans any time soon.
The fitting conclusion came with ‘Pork Soda’, and though Bayley would throw his on-stage pineapple (a weird sentence, still) to a random chap on the shoulders of a friend, that pineapple would soon make its way into the hands of a toddler on the shoulders of her father, to both the toddler’s and the crowds’ delight.
A fantastic performance from Glass Animals. Lively, entertaining, and wonderfully bizarre.
Stuart Kenny
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