The 1975

As a massive music fan (the blog tag line here being Good Food, Great Music), I’m excited to say that this week’s live music experience (see The Lexicon of Love) has continued.

There I was in the ADK Kitchen, working on my next post about a nice vegetarian soup, when a friend called with the offer of a spare ticket to see The 1975 at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham. I hadn’t heard too much of their music, but am always game to see a new band play live, especially one as globally successful as The 1975. Apologies – that soup recipe will have to wait until this weekend, folks!

With my apron hung on its peg, and the spatula in the dishwasher, we headed off in my friend’s car towards the M40.

We weren’t disappointed – The 1975 were very good.

The stage was set extremely stylishly (see my photo above), all in white and, for the first part of the show, decked out like the cool interior of a chic apartment. Warmly illuminated in changing pastel shades, the coffee tables, lamps, armchairs and TV sets created a relaxed feel, against which the band played great music and their engaging frontman, Matty Healy, acted out his inner angst.

I am still not sure whether Matty really is the chainsmoking, hip flask swigging, tortured romantic soul that comes across on stage, or whether this is just a character portraying the emotional vulnerability that runs through the lyrics of so many of the band’s songs. The answer, I suspect, is somewhere in between.

Track after track of their brand of soulful pop rolled out across an adoring audience – some of their biggest songs, like Oh Caroline and I’m In Love With You, included.

They’re clearly a band that like their performance art, and this is stepped up in the middle part of the show. With the band off for a break, Matty, alone on the stage, sinks to his knees before a bank of TV sets, fizzling with snippets of newscasts reporting global issues of concern. I won’t say any more for fear of spoilers, but what happens next is fascinating.

Some people in white coats swarmed on to the stage. No, not to take Matty away – it was the stage crew, who proceeded to rearrange the set for the second half of the show while the band played on. It reminded me of how the road crew build Talking Heads’ set from the floor up, track by track, during the great concert movie, Stop Making Sense.

The final hour of the set was a joyous celebration of the band’s best music, including Tootime, The Sound, Love It If We Made It, and People. It brings pleasure to the whole of a packed arena. Heck, it even brings a smile to Matty’s face.

All in all, a thoughtful, considered, ever changing, engaging and very entertaining performance. I now consider myself a fan!

Here’s one of my favourite tracks that they performed live. The 1975 with It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You).

I’ll be back at the weekend with, er, some soup.