Festival Hall hadn’t experienced so many hysterical teenage girls since The Beatles played the venue in 1964. The level of fandom by the predominantly young females in attendance was second to none, and it’s something The 1975 are certainly aware of.
Fellow Brits Circa Waves kicked things off with a ridiculously tight half an hour set that saw one catchy tune after another enrapture the audience. The infectious Liverpool outfit are a band to watch over the next year; they appear to be the heir apparent to The Kooks signature Britpop sound.
A short gap between sets, the Manchester four-piece walked onstage to a rapturous applause and pubescent screams shrill enough to curdle milk. They opened with one of their debut and only album’s strongest tracks The City, a song that brought the band to widespread attention due to its inclusion in the always brilliantly curated soundtrack of FIFA 14. They tore through 14 more songs before they departed for their obligatory encore.
Singer and part time guitarist Matt Healy knows just how much the female contingent love him, and the 25 year old gives them what they want. Well, maybe not quite, but he uses pretty much everything at his arsenal to please them. He has his shirt undone from the second song; showing off a large chest tattoo, nearly always has a bottle of red wine in hand when not requiring it to play guitar in certain songs. He then flouts the laws against smoking in live music venues by lighting up several times onstage. He plays the rebel while also coming across like a rather camp and flamboyant Russell Brand-type figure.
The band sound good live, they’re tight as a unit, however they have a tendency to draw things out. While the young girls like it, for the older or males in the audience Healy’s antics can distract from the good music on show. It really does distract from overall enjoyment of the set. It makes Circa Waves’ opening set seem even tighter by comparison and far more enjoyable.
After the crowd whipped themselves into a frenzy, the band returned to the stage for the encore. It was generous in length with five more songs including their two biggest hits, which they chose to finish with. Chocolate and Sex were high notes to finish the night on. Despite frontman Healy constantly perpetuating the “too cool” à la Julian Casablancas persona several times in the set, particularly at the end, he made a real effort to thank the crowd which was appreciated.
The 1975 play their songs well, they just need a fine tuning and be careful not overplay their trump card too much.
BY ALEXANDER CROWDEN
Photo by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: The atmosphere during the encore/Circa Waves.
Hated: Playing up to the fangirls too much.
Drank: Larger, sometimes cider.
