At their latest home-city concert on Friday 28th February, I got the chance to watch four-piece band The 1975 in Manchester. The 1975, made up of guitarists and keyboardists Adam Hann and Ross Macdonald, drummer and producer George Daniel and singer Matty Healy, opened with the high-energy song People setting the mood for the night. The setlist included a combination of hits alongside some unreleased songs.
It was amazing to see all of my favourite songs being played right in front of me but this was heightened by the incredible lights and projections making the performance visually stunning as well as musically. The band’s entrance was signaled with a glitching of the bright, white spotlights facing the audience, grabbing the crowd’s attention. This use of lighting to add to the overall performance was continued through the night, with these visuals giving context and meaning to each song. More and more, songs from The 1975 are stylized, and using projections to give a different character created an engaging performance. The stage set was composed of moving boxes and rectangles, a reflection of the band’s former rectangle box branding.
Each song was performed with intensity and passion; it is clear that the band cares about creating incredible music and live performances to go with them. Despite Matty’s injury at a previous show, he performed with infectious energy. The 1975’s music is not only memorable but also takes growing inspiration from societal issues. Their last album A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, released in 2018, tackled the influence of technology on relationships. Some songs on this album delved into more political themes, for example the song I Like America & America Likes Me which expresses anti-gun sentiments, connecting with American school shootings. Recently, lead singer Matty committed The 1975 to only play gender-balanced festivals, after there was criticism of the Reading and Leeds festival for its majority male lineup. The soon-to-be released Notes on a Conditional Form seems to be continuing The 1975’s trend of music addressing political and global issues.
Some new music was interspersed during Friday’s setlist; their new song If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) is so catchy that half the crowd know the lyrics even though it is unreleased. Personally, I think it’s one of The 1975’s best songs and the other new song played live, titled Guys, was a sweet, nostalgic piece about the band’s love for each other. I especially loved the short clips and photos from previous years shown in this song. This tour is promoting The 1975’s upcoming album Notes on a Condition Form, the second album in the so-called Music for Cars era of The 1975 music. All of the music on their third album, A Brief Inquiry, was produced by George and Matty from the band and just a few days ago, they received the Self-Producing Artist of the Year Award at the MPG Awards.
For me, the best moments of the night had to be when the recently released The 1975 (NOACF) was played. The 1975 normally begin their albums with a variation of a track titled The 1975 and has always had identical lyrics. However, in this album, the focus is thrown onto the climate crisis with words of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg played over music. The crowd was asked to be respectful while the track played and her words were heard but with her final statement, ‘It’s time to rebel.’ the crowd burst out into noise — full of rebellious energy. This provided a burst for the final part of the set, which included 1975 classics, like Chocolate and The Sound and ended the show on a high.
I am so excited to see what sort of music The 1975 make next; protest tunes, catchy pop, punk or a combination of all. Whatever they create, you can be sure that it will be innovative and emotive, and just as creative in performance as the studio records are. I am already looking forward to another chance at seeing The 1975 and I would highly recommend that you watch them perform live too!
Show: The 1975 Date: 28 February 2020 Venue: Manchester Arena
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