In terms of spectacle I have never seen anything like The 1975’s live show a combination of clever visuals and impressive imagery the performance is all encompassing and can only truly be appreciated live.
The show is very much an extension of the band, progressive and showy and ultimately the pretty visuals match the pretty synth-pop which the band have perfected since the release of debut EP, Facedown in 2012.
However, to dismiss The 1975 as being simply one thing would be to do them a discredit which was proven through their opening track, People which shows the bands confidence and competence in making music.
The song opened the live show in raucous fashion with the lyrics from the band’s frontman, Matty Healy reflecting the feelings of many young people regarding the state of the world and the music encompassing those feelings.
The aggressive, distorted guitars did not get lost within the echoey arena with the yellow visuals and the sirens reflecting the warnings which are made within the songs lyrics.
This combined well with one of the band’s biggest hits ‘Sex’ which always goes down well live with the band dipping into indie rock and finishing the song with a big finish splashing the words ‘Rock and Roll is Dead God Bless The 1975’ across their jumbo screens, a huge statement in which to open a show
The rock energy of ‘Sex’ contrasted greatly with their third track ‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’ from the band’s critically acclaimed third album which acts as a celebration of pop music with the catchy hook of the song and pulsating pianos which would not be out of place on a top 10 hit.
The track went down well in the arena with the band using the visuals of their set to their advantage with a crawling Star Wars-esic title crawl to the song blending perfectly with the opening of the single.
The 1975 then progressed to their most recent single the ‘Me and You Together Song’ which sees the band dip into their past to provide a cute love song which sounds a bit like early noughties pop punk band Busted in all the right ways.
The introduction of front-man Matty Healy’s now famous treadmill and hat combo during ‘Sincerity is Scary’ went down with screams from adoring fans with the forementioned treadmill providing some excellent visuals in front of the moving street from the video.
Through it did cause an uncomfortable/funny moment when the hat was thrown back from the crowd which was quite bizarre.
The next song ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ is the best song the eighties never got. You get the feeling if the single had came out in 1985 it could have been a number one with the perfect pop hook to go with an amazing riff which combines reverb, chorus and distortion to create that typical eighties guitar sound.
The song always goes down well live especially with the Jaiy twins providing an amazing onstage performance to compliment the song’s danceable quality.
This progressed into new unreleased song ‘If You’re Too Shy Let Me Know’ which had an amazing operatic beginning to the track which I hope will be included in the album version. The track begins with some very 1975ey (I know it’s not a word) guitars in the intro. Ironically this song sounds like it could be a sequel to ‘It’s Not Living’.
The chorus of the song sounds like the eighties exploding however could not come from any other band than The 1975 who have perfected their craft in making addictive pop songs. Overall, the song went down well with the crowd despite it not having been released with the band adding another set of cool visual in the shape of old timey TV’s which littered the back screen.
The band continued with 2015’s ‘Love Me’ which still sounds great today featuring some of the band’s best lyrics revolving around narcissism and fame.
The group took it down a notch with ‘I Couldn’t Be More In Love’ sparking lighters and phone lights to go up around the arena to the Michael Jackson-esic track.
The band then played another new song ‘Guys’ which was written about the group by frontman Matty. The song comes off as a love-note not just to the group but to the band’s fans as well who are amongst the most loyal in music.
The song is very meta and could come across as a little wanky to those who aren’t as invested in the band however the song is cute and personal if any band can get away with it, it’s The 1975.
‘Robbers’ followed which is a fan’s favourite evident due to the reaction in the arena.
The song is perhaps too over-dramatic but in the heighten emotional landscape which is an arena gig this works for the song.
This beautifully faded into ‘fallingforyou’ a beautifully constructed love song which packed just as big a punch as ‘Robbers’ did.
The mood was lifted as the band went into ‘Milk’ which shows the band can do indie if they wanted to. The track is a short burst of energy which was much needed after a slow section of the show.
‘Lostmyhead’ on paper seems a baffling choice to do live when band don’t play ‘She’s American’, ‘Girls’ or ‘Settle Down’ some of the groups most popular cuts.
However, once you see it live you realize how wrong you were. The song featured some of the best visuals of the night featuring Matty Healy melting into the jumbo screens. It is the most impressive thing I’ve seen at a gig from a technological standpoint.
October’s ‘Frail State of Mind’ followed, an excellent song showing how the band can mix genres with ease with garage beat adding to the night time aesthetic to the song.
The song tackles social anxiety in an amazing way in the lyrics showing just how the band can tackle issues in society. The song translated well live with the frantic visuals on the jumbo screens reflecting chaotic nature of the song.
The social commentary continued with ‘I Like America & America Likes Me’ confronting gun culture in the United States as well as the state of the modern world with the band bringing the energy to the arena as the screens projected various images onto the backdrop creating a powerful moment.
The pink box then descended for perhaps the band’s most famous song ‘Somebody Else’ which went down well with the crowd.
The band then finished for the encore with ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’ which sees the band dipping their toes into Britpop with a dramatic cinematic feel to the track, making this the perfect ending.
During the encore, the group played their collaboration with Greta Thunberg in full which provided a thought provoking moment despite many in crowd playing up which is to be expected at an arena show.
This went perfectly into ‘Love It If We Made It’ which carried on many of those themes.
The 1975 then swapped out ‘Paris’ for ‘Medicine’ in a slot which looks like it will change nightly. The song worked incredibly well and I didn’t mind the swap despite me not being a fan of different setlists every night.
However, for those who are attending multiple dates this will reward them for their loyalty which I suppose is nice for them.
The crowd went to new levels for ‘Chocolate’ where I was in the middle of standing overall I felt the atmosphere where I was seemed lacking at periods however it did pick up for the encore.
‘Give Yourself A Try’ and ‘The Sound’ really did go off and it was an amazing feeling to see the entire arena bouncing.
The 1975 continue to prove themselves as innovators pushing the boundaries of what is possible for a band to do at a concert as well as providing a stellar setlist.
Glastonbury couldn’t do much better than to get them as their third headliner.
Humbug North East 