musicismoonlight

The 1975 (and support; Wolf Alice and The Neighbourhood)

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing The 1975 in Sheffield, at the O2 Academy. Let me tell you, with a mixture of the lively support, tears on stage and the undoing and amelioration of my heart, it wasn't a gig to be missed.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD- I was a fan of this band way before I'd even discovered The 1975. So I was thrilled to finally have the chance to see these beautiful,talented, monochrome-clad Californians live! I may have been one of their few fans when I walked in, but when I walked out I was definitely amongst a vast number more.
The vocal quality of frontman Jesse Rutherford was flawless as he entertained the crowd.
Particular crowd pleasers included Sweater Weather, W.D.Y.W.F.M? and Let it Go. 

WOLF ALICE- accompanying The 1975 on the label Dirty Hit, Wolf Alice were known amongst most of the fans as they entered the venue. I'd not really listened to much of Wolf Alice before this gig. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Although the female vocals seemed to sometimes be lost within the music, the band seemed to be very comfortable on stage and engaged with the audience. Definitely ones to watch.

THE 1975- 
Standing in the crowd, after queing for nearly 9 hours (in the lovely, Yorkshire rain) ,pinned against the barrier I eagerly waited for the four boys to enter on to the stage. The room seemed to almost suddenly be flooded with dry ice. 'The 1975' began to play. Lights flashed and fluttered on the stage and then with the clash of a gutair and the beat of a drum the stage burst into life. 

The setlist of this gig was exquistantly put together- each song seemed to flow into the next without too much of a juxtaposition. Yet, all the corners of The 1975's music was explored- from Sex to fallingforyou to Robbers. The band opened with Matty Healy standing on a speaker, embracing the crowd and exceuting the poppy vocals with 'The City'. Tracks such as Milk, Head.Cars.Bending and So Far it's Alright really got the crowd going, even though these songs are some of their lesser known tracks. 
The track 'Menswear' gave musical genius, Adam Hann, the chance to show off his skills for two minutes before the vocals allowed the song burst into life. 
With track, such as, 'Girls', 'M.O.N.E.Y' and 'Talk!', Matty Healy seemed to fill the room with his enthusiasm. You felt as though his vocals were a catalyst for movement and excitement in the crowd, with every word he uttered and note he belted you could almost literally feelthe atmosphere in the room lifting everybodies spirits. As a frontman, he is a good as you can get. Cooly drinking from a bottle of red wine, spinning around the stage and iconically head banging to the genius being projected by his friends and fellow band members- George Daniel, Ross Macdonald and Adam Hann, aswell as now the newly added saxophone player, John Waugh. On the other hand, he managed to quickly quieten the crowd to almost silence in moving songs, such as Me and Fallingforyou. It was in these songs where you could see the raw emotion being emitted by Healy. He broke down crying at one point and the entire crowd seemed to respect him a musician, some people crying themselves and others closing their eyes and embracing the music.

Jokes were also shared amongst the crowd as Matty shouted, 'Seriously, this place is brimming with girls tonight. If you're a guy and you can't pull here tonight, somethings wrong!'.

My personal favourite song performed was also one of their oldest songs. Robbers. As the vocals, 'NOW EVERYBODY IS DEAD!' were screamed down the microphone I relieved a moment of happiness from the first time I saw them at Winter Wonderland 2013- which just goes to show that although a band may get more successful, they're always fueled by the same passion and driven by the same force. Which means, they will never really change.

Which brings me onto the next part of the review.
Before the gig, I had the honour of meeting The 1975 and I shared a special moment with Matty outside the venue.
Where I also got to hear The 1975 in soundcheck covering Jackson 5's I Want You Back! You can read about that, if you like, here!
(Here's a sample picture, hehehe!)