Live Review: The 1975 at Motorpoint Arena – 14/01/19

By Indigo Jones

The music of The 1975 creates a sense of nostalgia for fans, as it brings back memories of 2013 listening to ÔÇÿChocolateÔÇÖ during break time before having to prepare for double science lessons. This nostalgia is what makes the band so popular. Although IÔÇÖve been a fan for years I havenÔÇÖt listened to their newer music as much. I didnÔÇÖt originally book tickets to the concert, I bought my ticket off a friend who was unable to attend so I was therefore incredibly open to what kind of concert it would be.

The two support acts No Rome and Pale Waves were of a similar style to The 1975 as their music is a mixture of genres. They have been described as being indie rock, indie pop, pop rock etc. ItÔÇÖs impossible to put a finger on exactly what genre their music is, but perhaps that is what appeals to their fans; it means fans of different genres are brought together by their music. The first band No Rome although I had never heard much of their music before I enjoyed their set especially the song, ÔÇÿSeventeenÔÇÖ. A nice feature of the concert was during The 1975ÔÇÖs set the lead singer of No Rome came on to perform the song ÔÇÿNarcissistÔÇÖ with the band which was a surprise to the fans which added another dimension to the set.

The second band that performed, Pale Waves, who is fronted by a lead female singer brought an upbeat component to the concert as their song ÔÇÿEighteenÔÇÖ had the crowd singing and dancing along ready for The 1975.

As for The 1975 themselves and their setlist, I couldnÔÇÖt believe how memorable their songs were considering I was unfamiliar with their newest album. But each song whether it was upbeat, emotional or acoustic had the audience singing along passionately or when needed a lot of jumping, encouraged by Matt Healy during ÔÇÿThe SoundÔÇÖ.

Healy rarely spoke during the concert, and when it did it was the usual, ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm so happy to be here with all of youÔÇØ. But he sounded sincere with his exclamation of how happy both he and the band were to be in Cardiff.┬á His sincerity came from the passion fans felt towards the new album, ÔÇ£A Brief Inquiry Into Online RelationshipsÔÇØ. This was confirmed as Healy performed an acoustic version of ÔÇÿBe my mistakeÔÇÖ which the audience sang along to, with Healy unable to conceal how happy he was to have this support.

The best moment of the show would definitely be the moment the band performed ÔÇÿSincerity is scaryÔÇÖ in which they replicated the style of the music video, where Healy wore the iconic hat and rucksack. They also incorporated a treadmill which Healy could walk and dance on to truly mirror the music video, which added to the familiar and alternative feeling of the concert.

The set itself emulated the history, present and future of The 1975 as the stage featured pink lights to suggest their album, ÔÇ£I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of itÔÇØ. They would then feature an assortment of colours to mimic their most recent album. These constant reminders of past music as well as their newer songs is what helps create this nostalgia for fans.

Their songs brought back so many memories for me personally, and their more recent songs created new memories of dancing along on the night of the concert which will be remembered for a lifetime.