One week into 2014, and I was already seeing The 1975 live for the fifth time to date. Readers of my blog will be fully aware of how much I love this band and having been a fan since the early days of them playing under the pseudonym, Bigsleep; I almost feel like a proud mother witnessing how far they have come in the past twelve months.
At the bottom of the bill came Nashville quintet, Wild Cub, gracing the venue with their blissfully upbeat, slightly 80's resonant sound. Tracks like Wishing Well, Jonti and Shapeless braced the crowd for the main event whilst the obvious highlight from this flawless set was Thunder Clatter, a track you may be familiar with from the Bose advert a couple of months ago, and a beautiful track at that, one that is so infectious it hurts.
Then came the turn of Wolf Alice, a band that I have been impressed with over the past few months and they certainly did not disappoint with a short but sweet set of their delicate yet hard hitting sound. Leaving You, White Leather and Your Love's Whore amongst others pleased the crowd whereas my personal favourite track of theirs, Blush, sounded even more glorious played live.
Now for the main event. Matty and the boys instantly affirm their presence as soon as they step onto the stage, jumping straight in with the lead track from their first ever EP as The 1975, The City. Its distinctive introductory drum beat proving a hit with the crowd who wave their arms in unison. Unfortunately, less than 60 seconds in, a technical glitch causes the boys to stop playing followed by a declaration from Matty, "We've been on tour for a year and we've never messed up, but when we come to Manchester we mess up." Not the band nor the audience, for that matter, are phased by this as The 1975 start the track from scratch, with Matty's infamous hair flick taking centre stage in time with George's relentless crash of drums.
Next came one of my favourite tracks, a track that has not made an appearance on any of their EP's nor the album, Milk, with its energetic nature buzzing across the crowd, before primarily synth-ridden track M.O.N.E.Y descends upon the audience whilst the true fans spit every lyric of the rap-like verses, telling of drug fuelled partying.
So Far (It's Alright) and Head.Cars.Bending both prove to be massive crowd pleasers, which just goes to show the significance of the bands earlier EP's within their ever-growing back catalogue, whereas tracks from the album like Talk! and She Way Out create an equal amount of buzz, showing the fans' loyalties towards that number one album we all waited so long for.
Fallingforyou proves a clear highlight with its delicate vocals and that synthy, atmospheric side to The 1975 that is more apparent on some tracks rather than others. More fast paced album tracks follow such as Settle Down, Pressure and Heart Out, all of which keep the crowd moving as well as showcasing the band's actual talent. It is easy to just pass off The 1975 as 'just another synthy-rock-pop band' but they really are so much more than that. This is definitely exemplified by the crowd's reaction who all seem to be in awe from start to finish.
As the set powers on, the energy from previous tracks is put aside for the beautiful Me, taken from their Music For Cars EP. This truly does reflect the bands excellent live reputation as it sounds distinctively identical to the recorded version. My all time favourite track of theirs You follows with its angsty lyrics and climactic final section, proving a hit not just with me but also with every single member of the crowd who sing along, clinging on to Matty's every word.
Menswear is played before track of the summer Girls fills the venue with that 80's riff and blunt lyrics. This is definitely a favourite with the audience who dance and sing along all the while.
To the audience's absolute dismay, the boys vacate the stage which felt odd as out of all the times I have seen The 1975 play live, this is the first time they've done an encore. (success affirming shit) A minute or so later, they're back with the even more angst-ridden love song Robbers. Although I do prefer the ancient original version of this track, this does not take away from how wonderful it sounds live, still to this day, years after it was written.
Chocolate is next, a song that brought the Mancunian four piece mainstream success and allowed them to be the chart topping sensations they always deserved to be. Followed by the first track that brought this band to my attention, Sex. The first time I heard this song was in the tiny club academy in Manchester while they supported Little Comets. I remember thinking, 'right I need to google this band when I get home.' Now seeing it live at a massive sold out headline show at the largest of the three academies, it felt somewhat surreal. It's scuzzy guitars and seedy lyrics making for the perfect culmination to the evening.
Seeing The 1975 play a show this big was very odd for me and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it. (without sounding like a ridiculously lame fan girl) However, the boys impressed me as always and it makes me extremely happy that they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Keep doing what you're doing boys, I'll be seeing you at the Phones 4 U arena next, yeah?
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