The 1975 Live at Belfast SSE: The 1975 Bring Pop, Nostalgia and Importance.

The 1975 are back with another album and accompanying tour which kicked off in Belfast on 9 the January 2019. To say we were honoured to have them open the tour in Belfast is an understatement. While fans were already excited to have them return, things only got better during the show. 

 isabella Souza McLaughlin

Here is a little rundown:

No Rome opened the show, displaying an energetic performance with much gratitude being expressed. However, it was a shame that much of his performance was missed by much of the
audience who were still arriving at the venue. It cannot be denied, however, that what lacked in his opening performance, was made up for when The 1975 brought him on stage to perform his song ‘Narcissist’ in which The 1975 featured. The brotherly love between No Rome and The 1975’s lead vocalist, Matty Healy, provided warmth and fun to the performance. Pale Waves followed No Rome in opening the show. Their energy and passion ensured the crowd’s excitement for the headlining act. With strong vocals and an energetic performance, Pale Waves caught the attention of many who didn’t already know them and will find their way into the playlists of audience members guaranteed. 

It was then that the joy, excitement and tears of happiness began when The 1975 appeared on stage. It is no doubt that The 1975 demonstrate an incredible performance wherever they go. And they did just that yet again.

The 1975 are well known to make use of rectangles as part of their identity as a band, and this
concert kept that theme strong in its set design. There were rectangular screens displaying artwork and videos throughout the show, one in which Matty could be found standing above drummer, George Daniel, in the rectangular shaped cut-out in the main screen occasionally. Furthermore, talented dancers, the Jaiy Twins, whom with Matty Healy joined for choreography, allowed for a fun and enthusiastic performance. Adding a treadmill at the front of the stage would just tie it all together, don’t you think? Adding great visual impact during the song ‘Sincerity is Scary’ (in which he wore the bunny-ear hat and headphones from the relevant music video), Matty found himself walking along there quite often throughout the whole show. Overall, the set design helped in creating a story to which fans could connect and relate.

While the set design was great, the setlist was even better. Starting off with numerous hits from
their latest album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, as well as the previous album, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, including “Give Yourself a Try” and “Love Me”. The next section of the setlist included numerous songs from their first full-length self-titled album, “The 1975”, such as ‘Girls’, and the live debut of new songs such as ‘I Like America & America Likes Me’, making the concert increasingly special for fans.

While ‘Robbers’ brought much nostalgia when played in dedication of the fans, further nostalgia was felt around the arena during the encore, filled with some of their greatest hits, including ‘Chocolate’ and ‘The Sound’. To top it all off, the show was closed with an extraordinary performance of the fan favourite, ‘Sex’.

Highlights of the show ranged from the incredible live music from the band and their lovable personalities, to Matty’s charisma that has captured the hearts of fans over the years, which was evident throughout the entire show. To conclude, this article may seem biased as I am a fan of The 1975, however, I have been extremely fortunate to attend numerous concerts in previous years, and this concert greatly stood out to me. I am certainly not hesitant to place it in my list of favourites. I hope to see The 1975 return to Belfast again and I encourage anyone to attend one of their concerts. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.