THE 1975 // OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW
Part performance art, part album showcase, and part greatest hits set, simply put, it’s The 1975 At Their Very Best
★★★★★ (5/5)
THE 1975 ON THEIR AT THEIR VERY BEST: WORLD TOUR
PHOTOCREDIT: JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
For a band that has been around as long as The 1975, it’s no surprise to see them trying something new with their live shows. However, had you somehow avoided any videos from other nights on the tour, what unfolded over the 2-hour plus set might be one of the most unique experiences anyone lucky enough to be inside the venue is ever likely to have witnessed.
The 1975 are undoubtedly one of the biggest and most important bands of this generation. Simultaneously, the most hated and most loved band in the country, and after 5 consecutive UK number 1 albums, including their most recent "Being Funny In A Foreign Language", it seems like that level of division is here to stay, undeserved as it is. Just over 3 weeks after finishing a 6-week tour of the US, The 1975 returned home for the UK leg of the "At Their Very Best" tour, beginning in Brighton on the 8th of January and ending in Belfast on the 30th of that same month. On Thursday, January 19th, it was Glasgow’s turn to experience the Manchester band's complex take on what a live music performance is in 2023.
THE 1975 ON THEIR AT THEIR VERY BEST: WORLD TOUR
PHOTOCREDIT: JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
It may well be 2023; however, as soon as the curtain covering the stage dropped, you’d be forgiven for believing it had transported you back in time. The whole stage of The Hydro had been transformed into an elaborate 1970s-esque two-story house, complete with distinct rooms, working doors, and even a spiral staircase. This felt more like a sound stage for a TV sitcom than a backdrop for one of the biggest bands in the world. It wasn’t long, however, before each member of the band slowly entered through the house doors to loud cheers and took their places on stage. Once the lights had come on, frontman Matty Healy was revealed to have been there all along, resulting in possibly the most deafening cheers, you could ever have heard.
After pouring himself a drink and lighting his obligatory cigarette, Healy took his seat at the piano in the living room of the house and began playing the "Being Funny in a Foreign Language" version of the band's usual set opener, simply titled "The 1975". The lyrics of the song are delivered like a stream of thoughts running through the mind of the charismatic frontman. Amongst these thoughts are the double standards experienced by women, getting sucked into a black hole of excessive phone scrolling, and having regrets about things you may have done or said in your 20s. The issues brought up here are all likely to have affected everyone in the crowd in some way or another, really heightening the connection between the thousands of devoted 1975 fans in the crowd and the band on stage. By the time the song had finished, the anticipation was palpable for the show to kick into full gear.
THE 1975 ON THEIR AT THEIR VERY BEST: WORLD TOUR
PHOTOCREDIT: JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
As has been the case throughout this current tour, the first portion of the show is devoted to showcasing the band's 5th studio album, "Being Funny in a Foreign Language" with almost every song from the album being played here, more or less in order. The decision, however, to switch around the placement of "Happiness" and "Looking For Somebody (To Love)" from the album order proved to be an excellent one, as the latter is like a burst of pure energy that gets the entire crowd singing and dancing along to every word. "Happiness" kept spirits high with its infectiously catchy lyrics: "My, my, my, she’s insatiable, that’s what she is." "Part of the Band" was another crowd favourite and might well be the most musically interesting piece the band has ever released. "Oh Caroline" and "I’m in Love With You" delivered some of the most memorable pop hooks the band has to offer.
It was at this point that Matty Healy began to speak to the audience. Explaining how the performance all seems loose, but is in fact all very rehearsed and, as he put it, "Meta". It was difficult to decipher what was real and what was part of the performance as Healy explained how the tour had been taking its toll on him, even stopping to have a mug of lemsip. "Stop" came out the frontman’s mouth, and everyone on stage, band members and stage technicians alike, all froze in place whilst he spoke until he uttered "carry on" and they all went about their duties again. It wasn’t long until one of said stage technicians, equipped with a clapperboard, shouted "action" and the performance resumed.
"All I Need To Hear" was an opportunity for everyone to take a breather. A piano ballad with some of the saddest lyrics Healy has ever written somehow sounded even better live compared to the studio version. Both "Wintering" (Denise Welch is probably delighted) and "Human Too" are left off of the setlist in favour of a few of the band’s older tracks. 2013's "Fallingforyou", from the "IV" Extended Play, fits perfectly in its place on the setlist and invoked images of a much younger, much longer haired Matty Healy from when the band had first garnered some popularity. "I Like America & America Likes Me" gave Healy the opportunity to scale up to the roof of the house engulfed in spotlight and beg the audience to "Please Listen". A surprise on the setlist was "Sincerity is Scary" which made a rare appearance on this tour, much to the crowd's delight.
"About You" and "When We Are Together" bring the "Being Funny in a Foreign Language" showcase to a close. "When We Are Together" offered a fitting end to a showcase, just as it did to the album, that cannot be faulted in any way. A masterclass in performance from beginning to end, and a fitting way to further cement the legacy of "Being Funny in a Foreign Language" as perhaps the band's best work to date.
THE 1975 ON THEIR AT THEIR VERY BEST: WORLD TOUR
PHOTOCREDIT: JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
After the band concluded playing "When We Are Together" Healy was left on stage by himself. It was here that the performance took a bizarre turn, with Healy stripping off his suit jacket and shirt before sitting down in front of a TV that was in the house's living room and taking a few bites of a raw steak that had been brought out to him. A few push-ups in front of the TV before crawling through the screen, akin to something seen in the classic horror film "The Ring", and the performance was over. It’s hard to put into words how watching this made the audience feel, but the unusual behaviour from Healy, coupled with the haunting sounds of Gustav Mahler's “Symphony No. 5”, which was played in the background, ensured that no one would forget what they had just witnessed.
Once the band had returned, they wasted absolutely no time in rolling out The 1975's greatest hits. The next hour of the show was a conveyor belt of non-stop indie pop perfection. Up first was "If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)" and it became immediately apparent that, on the off chance anyone in the room wasn’t a fan of the new album, they wouldn’t be leaving The Hydro disappointed. Another fan favourite, "TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME" was up next and gave Healy the opportunity to amuse the crowd with another auto-tuned rendition of "don't throw menthols on the stage". One of the band's biggest hits, "Chocolate" delighted the crowd, as it’s a song that doesn’t always make it onto the band's set-lists these days. "It’s Not Living (If Its Not With You)" resulted in one of the loudest sing alongs of the night, particularly when Healy asked the crowd what Danny was doing working in a petrol station, "Selling Petrol" the crowd screamed in unison. "Paris" was the winner in an audience vote between it and "Change of Heart" where the crowd's cheers were measured at 110 decibels for "Paris" and 109 decibels for "Change of Heart".
THE 1975 ON THEIR AT THEIR VERY BEST: WORLD TOUR
PHOTOCREDIT: JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
A short interlude, "An Encounter" preceded one of the real highlights of the night, as "Robbers" brought one of the best sing-alongs the Hydro is ever likely to have witnessed. Unlike earlier in the tour, there were no audience members taken onto the stage by Healy, probably for the best. "Somebody Else" remains one of the band's best songs to hear live, whilst "I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)" starts with Healy simply on acoustic guitar but finishes with the entire band producing one of the most massive sounding songs in the band's extensive catalogue. "Love It If We Made It" delivered a message of strong hopefulness, despite the issues faced by the modern world. "The Sound" provided the best visual from the night as the entire crowd was instructed by Healy to jump on the count of 4. An instruction they followed to a tee. "Sex" is one for the older fans in attendance, who would no doubt have experienced strong feelings of nostalgia throughout the song and probably had them yearning for it to be 2014 again. The set was closed by the frenetic "Give Yourself a Try", the perfect way to end the night, with its message of just going for it no matter what you have going on, which sent the crowd home desperate for more.
Fans of The 1975 are amongst some of the most loyal and devoted out there. The band could have played any combination of songs from their discography, and the crowd would have screamed along to every lyric and guitar riff. At times, The Hydro can feel like a massive venue when the crowd is not 100% invested in the performance happening on stage. The connection between the band and the crowd made the venue feel much smaller and more intimate than it really is, which only made the performance that bit more special.
An outstanding showcase of what was one of the best albums of 2022, and a second half of the show that delivered some of the best and most popular indie pop songs in recent years, ensured that everyone lucky enough to be in attendance went home with memories of an iconic performance that won’t be quickly forgotten. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones who had the pleasure of being at the hydro, or if you were there and just want more, you’ll be pleased to know you won’t have long to wait as The 1975 return to Glasgow in July to close TRNSMT Festival. If they put on a show half as impressive as this one, it could be one of the best that the festival has seen thus far.
THE 1975 ON THEIR AT THEIR VERY BEST: WORLD TOUR
PHOTOCREDIT: JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
REVIEW BY: ROSS MUNRO
SETLIST:
OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW
THE 1975
LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY (TO LOVE)
HAPPINESS
PART OF THE BAND
OH CAROLINE
I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU
ALL I NEED TO HEAR
SINCERITY IS SCARY
FALLINGFORYOU
I LIKE AMERICA AND AMERICA LIKES ME
ABOUT YOU
WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER
IF YOU’RE TOO SHY (LET ME KNOW)
TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME
CHOCOLATE
IT’S NOT LIVING (IF IT’S NOT WITH YOU)
PARIS
AN ENCOUNTER (INTERLUDE)
ROBBERS
SOMEBODY ELSE
I ALWAYS WANNA DIE (SOMETIMES)
LOVE IT IF WE MADE IT
THE SOUND
SEX
GIVE YOURSELF A TRY