Never has the name of a tour been such an appropriate forecast of what was to come – on 12th January at the O2 Arena in London, The 1975 were truly At Their Very Best.
I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of last-minute tickets a week before the concert and didn’t realise at the time just how much that decision would pay off. Having listened to The 1975 as much as any other chronically online teenager, falling in love with their first album and following them through subsequent years, I was so excited to get back into the room with them to hear their greatest hits, new and old.
Beginning with the top tracks from their recent release, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, the audience were captivated from the off, the anthemic “I’m In Love With You” and “Oh Caroline,” proving to be instant favourites. The set, a stylised house littered with televisions spouting political and cultural propaganda, was in keeping with the intimate feel created by the performance – even from afar, every member of the crowd was utterly entranced by the music.
A knock on the door when the new album came to a close sent silence through the arena, who erupted into hysterics moments later, when the band revealed unexpected guest star Taylor Swift. She treated us to the first ever live rendition of the instantly recognisable “Anti-Hero” and a cover of “The City,” a cameo that sent the Internet (and the 20,000-person capacity venue) into meltdown.
You may want to overlook some of the more abstract elements of the show (I was unsure where to look when Matty sank his teeth into a cut of raw meat between songs). However, this tour really does reflect the band in their prime, the setlist is meticulously curated to include a melange of the most stirring and electrifying music The 1975 has to offer. The energy persisted the entire way through, hitting a peak by “The Sound,” which had everyone in the room on their feet and jumping.
Anybody that has ever been a fan of the group will have the time of their life – you need a ticket to this show.
