The 1975, Still... at their very best - 13/02/24

This concert took place at the o2 arena on the 13th of February 2024. They had an incredible opening act of The Japanese House who started at 7:30pm. They played a total of 8 songs in a span of 30 minutes, 6 of which being from their most recent album "in the end it always does". The Japanese House (aka Amber Bain) is extremely close with the 1975 and their front man Matty Healy with him even appearing on some of their top hits like "Sunshine Baby" so it was no big shock to fans when they were announced as the official openers for the UK leg of the 1975s tour "Still.. At Their Very Best". Because of their close connection most of the crowd new some if not all the songs! This was a great way to get blood pumping and really was a statement of how much fun I would have in the next 3 hours.

I would split this 1975 gig into three parts :

• BFIAFL era

• Matty's nightmare

• At their very best

But what do they mean? Let's go through them!

BFIAFL ERA

This part of the concert lasted 6 songs. All 6 songs come off their newest album titles "Being Funny In A Foreign Language" hence the BFIAFL era. Despites its elaborate title its one of their most cliché albums, simply about love. This is most obviously presented in songs like "When We Are Together", "I'm In Love With You" and "About you". It's an extremely different sound from their past 2 albums "Notes On A Conditional Form" and "A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships" with the most similar part of all records being their extremely long and different titles. In the face of its differences this part of the show was a statement to almost the whole tour, there is truly no better way to start a show then playing the first song on your most recent album which is self titled after the band. It carries a similar theme throughout all six songs my favourites being "I'm In Love With You" for its amazing acoustics and "Part Of The Band" for its genius lyrics and different instruments which makes it sound straight from an orchestra.

MATTY'S NIGHTMARE

Was this part of the concert or was it it's own theatrical performance? Matty's nightmare lasted the whole of 9 songs and kept and had a heavy theme of slow love songs. The album most featured here was their first "The 1975" yes a self titled album (which is iconic in itself) songs from this record promoted in Matty's nightmare to name a few are "fallingforyou" which is self explanatory from the name "Robbers" which is a song about a toxic relationship where all they do is take from each other and "You" which is all about Matty's frustration with a lover, where he's in a relationship of no enjoyment. After this section of the show the whole main band and featured members, including backing guitarist Polly Money and percussionist Gabi King exit stage one by one while Matty is the last to go and performs his nightmare which features modern media and politics. This extremely theatrical part of the show is loved and hated by people around the globe. I for one was a fan of the message it was sending, and enjoyed how Matty wasn't scared to be potentially controversial to send a message with him even eating raw meat in some shows.

AT THEIR VERY BEST

Potentially fans favourite part of the show is this, at their very best. This part of the show contained 12 of the band biggest hits, which is them at their very best. These hits came from all albums ticking every sing one off the list. The band starts by re entering the stage one by one kited in black suits and ties with crisp white shirts. They most commonly start their section with a song titled "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)" from their fourth album "Notes On A Conditional Form". This song is all about Matty's relationship with a girl off the internet and his infatuation with said girl. This part of the show is extremely up tempo and doesn't let down a single bit throughout the whole performance, it's tune after tune and has something for every fan of every era/album. This is less about sending a political message, although some songs do, and just enjoying the show while you're there and I for one did. I can happily say my voice was completely gone on the ride home and day after the shown

FINAL THOUGHTS

A great show all the way through, a rollercoaster of emotions and extremely hard hitting, important, political messages. The 1975 cannot disappoint when it comes to a live show! 11/10