After seeing The 1975 put on an impressive set at Reading that had girls screaming, crying and fainting the next step was to see the band in a more intimate capacity. Luckily the chance came sooner rather than later as they were playing one of best venues near my town, the Wolves Civic, which provided me with the best opportunity to see the lads exactly how I wanted to.
Manchester act Y.O.U were one of the support bands and they provided a great opening set as they slowly built the place up with energy as people began arrive and fill the room up. The band looked confident and comfortable which is good to see from a support act because it shows they’re not fearful of a crowd.
The crowd were then treated to Circa Waves as their other support act and they were treated because they put on a blistering performance which won a lot of the crowd over by the end. Their upbeat indie songs managed to get the crowd geared up for The 1975 as well as earn them some well-deserved likes on Facebook.
Once the Circa Waves vacated the stage the wait was on, and everybody was eager to see a glimpse of Matty Healy’s perm bouncing around on the stage.
The 1975 have one of the best build ups to walking on stage ever , the room gradually turns slightly darker and the walk-on music slowly builds up without you really noticing, then a beaming light shines through and long the wait is over. It doesn’t sound half as good when reading about it, but when you experience it, you will understand.
The band burst on to the stage like a bunch of seasoned veterans as they soak up everything the crowd have to offer before bursting into their opening song ‘The City’. The song is a perfect opener because it crashes in and you’re immediately taken back and ready for whatever the band have to throw at you throughout the night.
The gig flows through like a dream as there’s no dead space in the set because everything is covered so expertly. If it’s not a small instrumental it’s Matt addressing the crowd, if it’s not Matt addressing the crowd it’s the synth going off, and if it’s not the synth going off it’s the lads playing through a catchy number.
Each song received an amazing reception because everyone in packed their was just that into them, however fan favourites ‘Settle Down’, ‘Heart Out’ and ‘Girls’ received a heightened reception due to their prominence on the album.
They effortlessly switch the pace throughout the set and for most acts that wouldn’t work, but The 1975 have found a perfect blend for their setlist because it just flows due to the continuous quality in each of their songs. For example they would be playing through the slow-pace ‘(So Far) It’s Alright’ and then burst into the louder and faster-paced ‘TALK!’.
The set has this healthy blend of songs from their popular debut album and their less popular EP’s ‘IV‘ and ‘Music For Cars‘, which keeps the set fresh because a lot of people haven’t heard that material and they will actively go back and listen to it so they can be part of the communal singing.
For as long as the band go on, I can never see them finding a better combination of encore songs because ‘Robbers’, ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Sex’ are too big and far too good to be substituted. Those are the songs that keep the crowd anticipated because they’re gagging to hear those songs and when they’re played it’s like the entire crowd have forgot who they are because they’re just purely in the moment.
The 1975 proved to me once again that they’re not just hollow pop band that sing about girls, but they’re a serious band with some credible songs in their arsenal. Of course they will never get everyone on side because for some reason those people can’t get passed their songs like ‘Chocolate’ or ‘Sex’ ,but once you do get past those and listen to the other songs and find out the meaning behind them there’s something special and relatable there for everyone.
Words by Alex Wise @al4563
Words For Music - New Music Reviews 