Playing to a packed-out CIA on Monday night, the stage set for The 1975’s At Their Very Best tour is striking: the group perform inside a house, atop a roof and even on a lamppost, using every inch of the stage to their advantage.
Musically speaking, the 1975’s tour set is split into two halves. The first showcases nearly all of their latest album Being Funny In A Foreign Language; curiously, frontman Matty Healy refers to the band as “the cast of this show,” with rolling credits appearing on the screens beside the stage. Drinking from a red wine bottle (that was probably filled with water), with (what appeared to be a fake) cigarette in hand, his vocal and lyrical talent shine through regardless. Part Of The Band, the album’s first single, energises an audience who may not have all known the entirety of Being Funny… – which the band supplement this with previous releases, keeping things fresh.
For those unfamiliar with Healy’s antics, the interlude (titled Consumption) is something like a fever dream – strange, in fact, even for those who’ve encountered him before. Televisions onstage begin to play a montage of controversial figures – Putin, Prince Andrew, Rishi Sunak – as the set changes, and we find the vocalist sitting next to an oxygen tank looking rather lifeless. He then proceeds to eat some raw meat and do a few push-ups. All of this is soundtracked by Mahler’s Symphony No.5, for some reason. Consumption finishes with Healy crawling into an empty TV set, ready to resume the set.
All The 1975 needed to do to get the audience going was play some of their hits, which proves to work a treat. The second half of their set comprises songs from every album, and the audience is having a collectively brilliant time, never more so than during Chocolate. Everyone mimics Healy’s dancing during It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You), which united the crowd shortly before the band split the room up.
This led to my main gripe with the gig, aside from the Consumption fever dream. Healy had the crowd choose between them playing Paris or A Change Of Heart – this reviewer’s favourite 1975 song, so you can imagine my despair at the crowd choosing Paris. Still, not a bad choice, and an interesting interactive gambit.
The final few tracks were well-loved, particularly Robbers and Sex from their debut album; the two-part structure of the set meant no encore, The 1975’s opening night in Cardiff closing with Give Yourself A Try. (Each night of the tour has a slightly different setlist, providing a unique experience for every audience.) Back and better than ever, onstage meat-eating and all.
The 1975, At Their Very Best, Cardiff International Arena, Mon 16 Jan
Also in the CIA on Tue 17 Jan. Tickets: sold out. Info: here
words RHIANNON FARR photos JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES
Want more food & drink?
The latest reviews, interviews, previews and features, from Wales and beyond.