Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to see a very popular British boy band - no not that boy band. The 1975 made a stop in Phoenix for their 2014 North American Tour on November 22 and since my friend had an extra ticket, I was actually able to see them. The band from Manchester is probably most well-known for their song "Chocolate." They had two opening acts who had the same mellow vibe as The 1975 - Young Rising Sons and Cruisr.
Young Rising Sons + Cruisr
The first act of the night, Young Rising Sons, came on stage at 8 p.m. YRS is a band from New Jersey composed of Andy Tongren, Dylan Scott, Julian Dimagiba, and Steve Patrick. They were my favorite of the two opening acts. They were able to get the crowd - who was unusually less pumped than I expected them to be - to get up and almost get loud. The most memorable part of their set was when they covered Modern English's "I Melt With You" (I always associate this song with Sky High...).
In case you didn't know the band's name, it was spelled out on a giant banner behind the group and they made sure to mention that a few times while they were playing. Cruisr is an indie band from Philadelphia made up of Andy States, Jonathan Van Dine, Kyle Cook, and Bruno Catrambone. I felt bad during their set because the crowd was not animated at all. I just don't understand that. How do you not get excited when you're at a concert?? Despite the lack of emotion from the crowd, they still put on a great show. Very indie and very subdued kind of sound. Both of these acts were a good choice for the tour.
The 1975
The 1975 truly have a one-of-a-kind sound. I can't compare them to anything I have heard before. The British band comes from Manchester and includes Matty Healy (vocals, guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums, backing vocals), and Ross MacDonald (bass). Matty introduced the newest member of the band, John Waugh, a saxophonist.
Before they came on, it took the crew about 30-40 minutes to set up the stage and most of that time was spent pumping the arena with smoke. It was really annoying at first, but the effect it had was absolutely astonishing. You couldn't see the smoke until the lights hit the air at the right angle and somehow they were able to make the effect that there were clouds right about your head. You can raise your hand up through the smoke and it was one of the coolest feelings. From pictures, I could tell that part of a The 1975 show was the smoke, but pictures never caught the full effect. Just this detail was probably one of my favorite parts of the performance.
Opening with "The City," The 1975 make their way on stage. I'm not sure how to describe Matty, but he is what I picture a typical British indie rock star to look like. Loose white unbuttoned shirt, longish hair that falls in his face, tattoos that cover his torso, piercing eyes, the IDGAF expression on his face. He performs almost lazily, like he's in a dream. Their songs make you feel dreamy too and that's one of the things I love about their music.
Matty asked everyone to put their phones away during a song so they can live in the moment. "This is the first time I am ever seeing you and I want to see you, not your phone." Of course, I put my phone away and enjoyed every second of the moment. Later, once the song was done and people pulled their songs back out, Matty actually reached over the barrier to take someone's phone. He took pictures of himself and the crowd plus a few funny selfies and gave it back. What a lucky fan.
My favorite song of the night (also one of my favorite songs by the band) was "fallingforyou." Matty drank from a bottle of wine he was carrying around stage and softly sung the words to the crowd. When he actually talked, it was hard to understand a word because I couldn't tell if he was slurring or if his accent was just really thick (or maybe a combination of the two). It was one of the songs where the lights were positioned just right to create the cloud allusion. Another thing I found different about Matty's performance other than the drinking on stage was the smoking on stage. Both him and George Daniel had a few cigarettes that night and I can't say I have ever seen an artist do that. It kind of just fit with the atmosphere and their characters.
Apparently this was one of the largest crowds the band has played to on the tour and they made sure to make it extra special for the audience. Matty with cigarette in hand sat down at his piano and played "Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You" for the first time on tour. While the person behind me complained that they were falling asleep, I couldn't be more awake. Matty sniffled and you got the idea that he was crying a little bit and the entire crowd let out a simultaneous "awww." I'm happy that the band made the night extra special because hopefully they'll remember it just like I will.
The last four songs they played - "Girls," "Robbers," "Chocolate," "Sex" - were some of their most popular and it was a great way to end a great night. The lights got brighter and pulsed faster as they approached their finale. The crowd was more than awake now and everyone singing along was a beautiful sound. I know The 1975 will be busy in the studio after they finish this tour, but I hope they come back soon.
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Even though November has been one of the more stressful months of the year, it definitely had some of the most memorable moments. I turned 18. I got to see four concerts which in total included 14 incredible acts. I have met new friends. I have my best friend coming to live with me over winter break which is just a little over three weeks away. I'm more excited than I have ever been about my future career (even though from my gov project I have learned that it will be a very competitive field and I won't be making a huge amount of money, but I know it will be rewarding nonetheless). I know I'll be making even more incredible memories in December once Kaitz arrives. :)
Thanks for reading!
xx Nikole
**The pictures aren't uploading so I'll try to update this post with pictures tomorrow
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