The 1975 at their very best, honouring old and new hits outside the social boundaries of British indie-pop
The 1975 at their very best have a way of bringing together a diverse cast of people under one roof. A sense of community was already felt while queuing up outside the illuminated OVO hydro with groups of excited people ecstatically trying to guess the 1975’s unpredictable antics that would adorn the stage in later moments.
As the crowd filled up the arena, a mix of classical and ambient music welcomed each and every one (much like) reflecting peace before chaos. Subsequently, Scottish singer-songwriter Bonnie Kemplay opened the show with her soulful and melancholic vocals which wooed waves of people into naturally swaying their bodies to the rhythm of her songs. The lyrics had an element of wistfulness yet were hopeful which was coupled with mellow piano chords and soft guitar strums creating a soothing, woozy ambience.
The 1975 made us wait for what felt like a lifetime (but was only 30 minutes) before the curtains dropped (literally) revealing an elaborate set; all with a functional house, couches, lamps, doors and numerous televisions stacked on top of each other. The concert was divided into two segments with the first section being a show within a show. During this time, all band members were introduced one by one as cast members with dramatic cinematography for the big screens while the crowds were cheering deafeningly yet melodically. The main act opened with Matty Healy playing chopped up piano chords while singing the 1975 along with heavy instrumentation giving/ gifting the crowds a warm welcome.
This segment exclusively focussed on songs from their latest studio album: Being Funny in a Foreign Language with Matty Healy mixing nectar of the sickly aka Lemsip, a bottle of red wine and cigarettes with every song. This part of the show ended with Matty Healy alone on a sofa, stripping followed by eating raw steak, doing push ups and crawling into a TV while proclaiming that “nothing you see is real”.
The 1975 emerged as themselves for the later part of the show accompanied by suave outfit changes. All while performing some of their most popular numbers beginning with the synth heavy dance number If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know). Later, the prolific TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME was performed with everyone gleefully singing along. Matty Healy also gave the audience a chance to pick between a Change of Heart and Paris with the latter receiving more roars of approval.
They also performed Robbers, Chocolate, Sex and Somebody Else which left all die-hard fans in a daze. While nearing the end of the night Matty Healy commented in support of Scottish Independence stating that “it’s not a hot take, of course it (Scotland) should be!”. They wrapped up their concert by performing Give Yourself a Try; a fast-paced, hopeful rock number which left everyone singing “why don’t you give yourself a try?” long after the concert was over.
