Setlist
Tour Dates
10/23 Marquis Theatre Denver, CO
10/24 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT 10/26 Neumos Seattle, WA 10/27 VENUE Vancouver, Canada 10/28 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR 10/30 Independent San Francisco, CA 10/31 Observatory Santa Ana, CA 11/01 Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA 11/02 Vinyl Las Vegas, NV 11/03 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach, CA 11/04 Club Congress Tucson, AZ Read More
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After an album debut on the UK charts at #1 and a summer spent opening in stadiums for Muse and in Hyde Park for the Rolling Stones, you would think Manchester-based quartet The 1975 are the definition of an overnight success… except that it took them over ten years.
And now, they’re breaking in America, proved evident as a packed Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Monday night watched an engaging hour-long performance.
Formed in high-school back in 2002, the foursome (Matthew Healy - vocals/guitar ; Adam Hann- guitar; George Daniel - drums; Ross MacDonald- bass) refuse to define their music (though they liken it to somewhere in between GuitaR&B and ArtPop) or be hung up on categories or names; with the band’s name, after many previous incarnations, taken from a scribble in a book singer Healy found in Majorca.
In concert, the indie band came across part The Big Pink, part retro-electronic-funk; with a Pop Candy center inside all the fuzz and guitar wall-of-sound nougat on the outside.
After a short set by L.A.-based duo Linus Young (best known for their single ‘City of Sin’), the 1975 entered to their own eponymous intro music, on a darkened stage with only a white vertical rectangle illuminated in the background and to the shrieks of screaming females. ‘The City’ opened their set, going immediately into ‘Milk’, a non-album cut currently available on a split 7” with former touring mates, The Neighbourhood.
The piped-in harmonies of ‘M.O.N.E.Y.’ had the crowd swaying back and forth and while Healy didn’t talk much (“Minneapolis, Minnesota, nice to meet you!” was among the most uttered), he did endear himself to the city somewhat permanently; getting a chest tattoo (in tribute to his departed grandmother) from an establishment across from the venue, before the night’s show and after their earlier radio session.
Songs like ‘Heart Out’ and ‘Pressure’ shimmered with their pop sensibilities and the audience was made to wait until the end to hear the band’s two biggest songs- ‘Chocolate’ with crowd chanting the “never gunna quit it” chorus back at the band and ‘Sex’, with its grinding guitar riffs, manic tempo, and get-in/get-out short-but-effective running time.
A poignant ‘You’ ended the encore-less set, Healy singing “It’s my party and I’ll cry to the end”, using the selfless lyrical technique of writing about his own experiences from another person’s viewpoint of him. And with that, the stage darkened as in the beginning, white rectangle aglow above the hands and wails from the crowd below.
“And this is how it starts”, Healy begins the song ‘Sex’—this may also be how it starts for bigger and better things ahead for The 1975.
Two informational bits of note—1) The band has already pledged to return, booking a longer U.S. tour in April-July 2014, so expect to see them again soon; and 2) when asked aftershow if the Manchester band preferred either local soccer team Manchester City or Manchester United, Healy’s reply was “Newcastle”.
And now, they’re breaking in America, proved evident as a packed Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Monday night watched an engaging hour-long performance.
Formed in high-school back in 2002, the foursome (Matthew Healy - vocals/guitar ; Adam Hann- guitar; George Daniel - drums; Ross MacDonald- bass) refuse to define their music (though they liken it to somewhere in between GuitaR&B and ArtPop) or be hung up on categories or names; with the band’s name, after many previous incarnations, taken from a scribble in a book singer Healy found in Majorca.
In concert, the indie band came across part The Big Pink, part retro-electronic-funk; with a Pop Candy center inside all the fuzz and guitar wall-of-sound nougat on the outside.
LINUS YOUNG
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Matt Healy
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Songs like ‘Heart Out’ and ‘Pressure’ shimmered with their pop sensibilities and the audience was made to wait until the end to hear the band’s two biggest songs- ‘Chocolate’ with crowd chanting the “never gunna quit it” chorus back at the band and ‘Sex’, with its grinding guitar riffs, manic tempo, and get-in/get-out short-but-effective running time.
Photo of Setlist
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“And this is how it starts”, Healy begins the song ‘Sex’—this may also be how it starts for bigger and better things ahead for The 1975.
Two informational bits of note—1) The band has already pledged to return, booking a longer U.S. tour in April-July 2014, so expect to see them again soon; and 2) when asked aftershow if the Manchester band preferred either local soccer team Manchester City or Manchester United, Healy’s reply was “Newcastle”.
The 1975 at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (10/21/13) |