.png)
Stretching over two nights due to popular demand, the 1975 took centre stage at the newly renamed Cardiff International Arena last week. As part of their “The 1975 - At Their Very Best” worldwide tour, the audience were treated to a night of extravaganza, eccentricism and ear-shattering levels of music.
All stemming from their frontman enigma Matty Healy, the concert is less a mere showcase of music and more a live spectacle in what arena rock can be. Although it can most certainly range into the quite frankly utterly bizarre (such as when Healy goes topless and consumes raw meat on stage to a symphony of classical music), the 1975 certainly do not put on a forgettable show.
Apart from all the viral bits, jokes and political statements, obviously the main reason people went is for the music. Well that did not disappoint either, from the crowd singing the emotional ballad “Be My Mistake” to the happy-go-lucky songs of “Chocolate” and “Happiness”, there is a distinct range in their discography on show.
Although the setlist does change night by night to ensure each crowd gets unique experiences (and a great marketing move to generate as much buzz as possible from Healy’s world class onstage persona), for this tour the 1975’s show is generally split into three parts, all (largely) contained in the mock-house set.
The first part, where they perform songs off their current album “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” (BFIAFL) did at first seem like a drunken and erratic mess. Especially considering Healy struts and stumbles around stage with a prop bottle of wine whilst seemingly to constantly light up cigarettes. However, the vocals, the instruments and everything music wise, although borderline deafening at first, were completely on point.
Halfway through this first segment, on Cardiff’s first night (the show which this reviewer attended), Healy stopped the drunken mirage and broke the fourth wall. In a moment of continuity from the old time Hollywood, opening credits introductions to each member of the band; extras in white lab coats and directors with movie clapper boards swarmed the stage as Healy talked directly to the audience through the camera. He described how the show was all tightly scripted before showcasing this through “freezing” everyone on stage with a click of his fingers. Just like the internet’s famous “mannequin challenge" all the way back in 2016 and 2017, impressively everyone stayed perfectly still in place as Healy and the crowd joined together to perform the emotional ballad “Be My Mistake”.
Although my own photography skills may be lacking here (goodness knows why I kept my phone portrait the whole time!), the moment certainly was not. A truly touching moment, alongside the performances of “About You” and “When We Are Together” (and later “FallingForYou”), that truly summed up what makes the band so appealing, their distinct combination of mass appeal and relatable humanity.
However, although the show was seemingly perfect, it did have its quirks. The pathetic grown men fighting during “Chocolate” on Cardiff Night One do not reflect the band in any way but did ironically serve as an important reminder that absolutely no one looks cool fighting at a gig. From the actual show perspective though, the part where Healy touches himself up on the sofa was, in my opinion, predominantly just weird and uncomfortable to watch. Yes it is part of the show, but unlike the meat eating part, where he then does push ups in front of various TVs switching through an array of figures from Prince Andrew to Rishi Sunak to Logan Paul; it felt less like artistic statement and more like walking into the wrong room of someone’s house. That being said, great art is meant to divide opinions and be controversial, some clearly loved it, some did not; but the 1975 have never shied away from speaking their minds, nor have ever filtered their artistic vision into corporate blur. Love it or hate it, they are who they are.
The final act, filled with less touching, raw meat and more music, was nothing short of spectacular. Although the middle part did have some great songs played in between the on stage antics, such as “FallingForYou” and later “I like America and America Likes Me” which is performed on top of the house set. The last part was the best part, or as they would say, when they were “at their very best”. Reeling off past hit after hit, from “If you’re too shy (let me know)” to “Love It If We Made It” to “Give Yourself A Try”, Healy commanded the stage in a performance for the ages. The amount of crowd interaction was simply incredible, and as expected by Healy at this point, wrapped up in a ramble on UK democracy, the crowd got to vote whether to have the band either perform “Change of Heart” or “Paris”. Although the crowd chose the latter (much to my disappointment), the vote just goes to show how much the band cares about putting on the best show they can for the audience.
Overall, the 1975 “At Their Very Best” was a journey through time, politics and sheer absurdity; but most importantly was a great show. Matty Healy & co clearly thought through every last detail of the night, and just as much as the setlist was a showcase of their discography over the ten years since their self-titled debut album; the show encompassed everything great about the band too. Daring, creative and fun, the 1975 simply “just keep getting better and better baby”.
Comments