The 1975 are very seriously not serious about playing the role of a rock band. Since the UK quartet's Tumblr-core early days, they've worn the subtle sneer of an inside joke — either you get it, or you don't. On their latest tour however, these ironic impulses have evolved into singer Matty Healy eating raw meat or making out with fans onstage. While these antics keep the band in the music news cycle, they've shifted the spotlight from what is by far the 1975's highest concept stage production to date, solidifying them as real-deal rock stars — y'know, in an ironic way.
Opening for a band as all-encompassing as the 1975 can't be easy. Yet Dirty Hit lablemates Blackstarkids gave it their all while making their Canadian debut. The trio — TheBabeGabe, TyFaizon, and Deiondre, plus a live drummer and keyboard player — were hyped, and quickly drew the crowd in with their enthusiasm. Performing tracks like "Frankie Muniz" and "Jimmy Neutron,' the group's future-nostalgic take on '90s pop-punk and hip-hop proved surprisingly malleable in an arena setting. Yet even with the additional musicians present, they had to rely on backing tracks that could never match the organized chaos of their performance.
Billed as "the 1975 at their very best," the band's current tour has a whiff of circling the wagons, celebrating what they've accomplished over the past decade — which would match the (relatively) straightforward approach to their latest album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language. In practice, however, it's anything but straightforward. Band members entered the stage through the front door of a set mirroring a family home from an old school sitcom — decked out for the holidays to boot — turning on lamps and desk lights one at a time. Once everyone was in place, Healy started pounding out the opening chords of "The 1975 (Being Funny in a Foreign Language)."
The first half of their over two hour set saw them play almost every song from the new record, with Matty Healy performing the rakish frontman, smoking and drinking his way through the set. He sang "Happiness" from an armchair, watched himself in one of the many TVs peppered across the stage and even shouted from a literal rooftop during "I Like America and America Likes Me," a rare dip into the band's back catalogue during the set's first half. He was aloof with the audience during this part of the evening, at one point mumbling something about method acting being "not even really acting," suggesting that perhaps we should all be questioning what was being presented on stage.
It's to the band's credit that their fans were not only patient enough to sit through the entirety of a record that's barely two months old, but were actually quite happy to sing along to every song. The emergence of guitarist Adam Hann's wife Carly Holt to sing her part on "About You" was met with particularly rapturous applause.
This portion of the night ended with Healy singing Mud's "Lonely For Christmas" before stripping off his shirt, humping the stage and, finally, being "consumed" by one of the TV screens. He and the band — Hann, drummer George Daniel and bass player Ross MacDonald with four additional musicians on guitar, keys, saxophone and percussion — re-emerged dressed in the evening wear seen on the tour's press photo, Healy now inhabiting a more traditional frontman role, though still drinking copious amounts of red wine. Launching into "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)" there was a marked shift into a hit-packed second half of the evening.
Following a crowd sing-along to "Somebody Else," MacDonald requested that the band play "Chocolate," showcasing how even while operating at such a high level, the band can still turn on a dime. Healy's increasingly inebriated state similarly gave the show an edge as he questioned whether he should indulge a request from a fan in the front to spit in her mouth. He raged through "Love it If We Made It" diving into the crowd during its final crescendo. "Thank you to the fans, sorry to the boyfriends," he offered before the final stretch of songs that included "The Sound," "Sex" and finally "Give Yourself a Try" after which he collapsed in exhaustion.
Like most things the 1975 do, their current tour can be taken at face value: a popular band working at the peak of their powers, pleasing fans at every turn. But it can also be seen as Healy in particular questioning the underlying assumptions of fame, performance, and life in the twenty-first century. The band offered few clues as to where the truth lies, leaving it to the audience to decide. But, like, in an ironic way.
Opening for a band as all-encompassing as the 1975 can't be easy. Yet Dirty Hit lablemates Blackstarkids gave it their all while making their Canadian debut. The trio — TheBabeGabe, TyFaizon, and Deiondre, plus a live drummer and keyboard player — were hyped, and quickly drew the crowd in with their enthusiasm. Performing tracks like "Frankie Muniz" and "Jimmy Neutron,' the group's future-nostalgic take on '90s pop-punk and hip-hop proved surprisingly malleable in an arena setting. Yet even with the additional musicians present, they had to rely on backing tracks that could never match the organized chaos of their performance.
Billed as "the 1975 at their very best," the band's current tour has a whiff of circling the wagons, celebrating what they've accomplished over the past decade — which would match the (relatively) straightforward approach to their latest album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language. In practice, however, it's anything but straightforward. Band members entered the stage through the front door of a set mirroring a family home from an old school sitcom — decked out for the holidays to boot — turning on lamps and desk lights one at a time. Once everyone was in place, Healy started pounding out the opening chords of "The 1975 (Being Funny in a Foreign Language)."
The first half of their over two hour set saw them play almost every song from the new record, with Matty Healy performing the rakish frontman, smoking and drinking his way through the set. He sang "Happiness" from an armchair, watched himself in one of the many TVs peppered across the stage and even shouted from a literal rooftop during "I Like America and America Likes Me," a rare dip into the band's back catalogue during the set's first half. He was aloof with the audience during this part of the evening, at one point mumbling something about method acting being "not even really acting," suggesting that perhaps we should all be questioning what was being presented on stage.
It's to the band's credit that their fans were not only patient enough to sit through the entirety of a record that's barely two months old, but were actually quite happy to sing along to every song. The emergence of guitarist Adam Hann's wife Carly Holt to sing her part on "About You" was met with particularly rapturous applause.
This portion of the night ended with Healy singing Mud's "Lonely For Christmas" before stripping off his shirt, humping the stage and, finally, being "consumed" by one of the TV screens. He and the band — Hann, drummer George Daniel and bass player Ross MacDonald with four additional musicians on guitar, keys, saxophone and percussion — re-emerged dressed in the evening wear seen on the tour's press photo, Healy now inhabiting a more traditional frontman role, though still drinking copious amounts of red wine. Launching into "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)" there was a marked shift into a hit-packed second half of the evening.
Following a crowd sing-along to "Somebody Else," MacDonald requested that the band play "Chocolate," showcasing how even while operating at such a high level, the band can still turn on a dime. Healy's increasingly inebriated state similarly gave the show an edge as he questioned whether he should indulge a request from a fan in the front to spit in her mouth. He raged through "Love it If We Made It" diving into the crowd during its final crescendo. "Thank you to the fans, sorry to the boyfriends," he offered before the final stretch of songs that included "The Sound," "Sex" and finally "Give Yourself a Try" after which he collapsed in exhaustion.
Like most things the 1975 do, their current tour can be taken at face value: a popular band working at the peak of their powers, pleasing fans at every turn. But it can also be seen as Healy in particular questioning the underlying assumptions of fame, performance, and life in the twenty-first century. The band offered few clues as to where the truth lies, leaving it to the audience to decide. But, like, in an ironic way.