I went to The 1975’s highly anticipated At Their Very Best arena show at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena

Matty Healy and co’s new theatrical arena show has become one of the most talked about live concerts in recent years, so I went to the Birmingham leg of the tour at Resorts World Arena to see what all the fuss is about
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The 1975 have been one of the UK’s defining and most polarising bands of the last decade.

Since their 2013 self-titled debut album, which was packed full of 80s inspired glistening pop tunes, the Manchester four-piece have gone from strength to strength with five UK number one albums on the bounce and a number one album in America, experimenting with different genres in the process such as indie pop, rock, dance, techno, and even punk.

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The band have certainly never been afraid to take risks, and their new arena show sees them at their most daring yet. Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at the band’s London show a few days earlier, and although the American singer didn’t make the trip up to the Midlands, thousands of excited fans packed inside Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena for the concert.

The 1975 live at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena on Sunday, 16 JanuaryThe 1975 live at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena on Sunday, 16 January
The 1975 live at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena on Sunday, 16 January

The first half of the show, which comes on the back of October’s chart-topping record, Being Funny In a Foreign Language, is more performance art and stage play than a classic rock or pop show.

The first hour sees the band members located in different areas of the stage’s television like designed set which includes a staircase and a two storey house. Healy strolls around the set putting on a performance which may help him land a few acting roles if he ever gets bored of the music.

As the show begins, the band members enter the stage door one by one, before Healy appears out of the dark, revealing he was there hiding on the set’s sofa all along.

The 1975’s At Their Very Best TourThe 1975’s At Their Very Best Tour
The 1975’s At Their Very Best Tour
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The singer then lights a cigarette and pours himself a glass of wine, kicking off a two hour performance which completely rips up the rule book of what a rock show should be.

Bizarre but captivating, the band work their way through their latest album, performing lead singles such as Happiness and the Bruce Springsteen inspired Looking For Somebody (To Love) while Healy plays the role of a troubled, slightly deranged rock star.

This theatrical side of the show sees the singer chain smoking and alternating between his bottle of wine and whisky flask, while using unique ways to address political issues as he begins doing press ups in front of television screens which show the faces of Rishi Sunak and Prince Andrew.

The 1975’s frontman Matty HealyThe 1975’s frontman Matty Healy
The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy

Healy has always been intent on making sure his music features lyrics which tackle the status quo, and he brings to life some of the themes on the band’s latest release such as masculinity and veganism.

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Healy’s on-stage persona and the show, which also features a number of white-coated technicians and stylists entering the stage at different times, takes some inspiration from the Talking Heads’ legendary 1984 film Stop Making Sense.

As bafflingly entertaining as the first half is, you get the sense that the audience are more than happy when the band reemerge for the second half of the show, which resembles something more akin to a rock concert.

The 1975 put on an incredible performance on Sunday night (15 January)The 1975 put on an incredible performance on Sunday night (15 January)
The 1975 put on an incredible performance on Sunday night (15 January)

The 1975 work then their way through the gears, performing pop hits such as the Tears For Fears inspired If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know), Love It If We Made It, Robbers and the brilliant Somebody Else, before belting out earlier favourites including Chocolate and The Sound.

Ever since the band released their second album, I Like it When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, some people have called The 1975 pretentious (I can’t imagine why) - but as this unique concert shows, they’ve never cared about that.

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Healy’s determination to push his band forward, jumping from genre to genre in the process and looking for new ways to develop the band outside of the studio, is what has elevated The 1975 above the majority of the other indie bands of the last 10 years.

This ridiculously good live show has certainly raised the bar, and will make many musicians think twice about their own live performances.

The 1975’s At Their Very Best tour comes to a close at the end of this month in Dublin on January 29. Click here to see ticket information and more.

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