THE 1975 // THE SSE HYDRO, GLASGOW
With traction to be one of the most successful bands to come out of the UK in the last ten years, The 1975 took to the stage in Glasgow to a roar of applause.
★★★★☆
Opening the show, No Rome and Pale Waves filled the SSE Hydro with their Matty Healy-approved sound. Both bands are under the Dirty Hits Label that Healy runs, but manage to hold the attention of the ever-growing crowd as they filter into the venue.
Pale Waves have been taking over ever since their debut LP dropped in the latter half of 2018. From selling out venues in the UK and appearing on talk shows in America, they four-piece will no doubt be taking bigger strides this year. They manage to fill the massive venue with songs like Television Romance and Drive, they do suffer from not straying too far from the sound they’ve honed for themselves.
Taking to the stage as their signature opening track “The 1975”, the band launch into “Give Yourself A Try” bringing the sold-out venue to a peak. Complete with an innovative and dazzling production, a treadmill and even backing dancers, the band prove that they deserve to be on a stage as big as this. Utilising every bit of room to maximise the stage production with hanging screens and a stunning light show, it is by far one of the most amazing stage show I’ve seen in awhile.
Leaning heavily off of their newest album ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ with TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME sparking a venue wide dance with its infectious grooves. For a track I was ambivalent about when it initially dropped as a single, it has grown on me quite a bit. Performing all of the singles from this album, it is a solid display of craftsmanship from the Mancunians. With the breezy jazz shuffle of Sincerity is Scary to the anthemic It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You), the band are clearly incredibly talented individuals that put this talent to use. Not just another throw away pop fad, this element of solid songwriting is something that sets them apart from their contemporaries.
With this set the band play a lot of material from their sophomore record ‘I like it when you sleep…’, their debut material is somewhat neglected. Sticking to the big hits from their self-titled LP (Robbers, Girls, Chocolate, Sex) some fans may have felt a bit cheated not getting to hear the likes of Heart Out or Settle Down. At this stage, with a massive amount of material to choose from, it’s no wonder they choose to favour material from their most successful albums. With tracks like UGH! and Somebody Else still igniting the crowd in a mass sing-a-long, they can maybe be forgiven.
Opening their encore with a furious rendition of Love It If We Made It, the song lays waste to the venue. In my opinion, one of their best tracks they’ve released, it combines politically charged lyrics that are spat out by Healy with one of the best hooks the band have produced. When the song kicks into action for its first chorus, their is not a single body not moving in the entire venue. Finishing their set as always with Sex, the 1975 have come a long way from a headline show at King Tuts and deservedly so.
SETLIST: | THE 1975 : SSE HYDRO, GLASGOW - 12.01.2019
TAPE : LOVE THEME
TAPE : THE 1975 - (A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships verison)
Give Yourself a Try
TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME
She’s American
UGH!
Sincerity Is Scary
It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)
Loving Someone
The Ballad of Me and My Brian
A Change of Heart
Narcissist (No Rome cover) - (with No Rome on stage)
How to Draw / Petrichor
TAPE: An Encounter
Robbers
fallingforyou
Paris
I Like America & America Likes Me
Somebody Else
Girls
I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)
ENCORE:
Love It If We Made It
Be My Mistake
Chocolate
The Sound
Sex