The 1975 Were Truly “At Their Very Best” at Madison Square Garden in NYC: Recap
The post The 1975 Were Truly “At Their Very Best” at Madison Square Garden in NYC: Recap appeared first on Consequence.
Leave it to The 1975 to call their new tour “The 1975 at Their Very Best.” After all, this is a band that does not shy away from hyperbole, theatrics, or reminding us how much they love being The 1975. In fact, they don’t really shy away from anything. Their new show is, without a doubt, their finest yet, and witnessing them headline New York City’s Madison Square Garden last night (November 7th) was watching a band that is truly in their prime.
“The thing about us, ladies and gentlemen,” frontman Matty Healy reminded the audience over an hour into the show, “we just keep getting better.” The audience roared in agreement, and the band immediately segued into the fan-favorite “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You).”
There was a palpable confidence emanating from the band last night, and especially from Healy: Throughout the show, he chain-smoked cigarettes, took dozens of swigs from not one but two flasks onstage, ate raw meat, sang a song on the roof(?), did pushups in front of a television before crawling inside it, certainly touched his… area more than once (“Sorry if you brought your Dad to the show and I was touching my dick,” said Healy after the intermission, “That’s your fault for bringing your Dad”).
But even before The 1975 took the stage, the tone for the evening was set perfectly by the band’s label mates and chosen opener for the tour: BLACKSTARKIDS. Having seen the trio open for fellow Dirty Hit artist beabadoobee last year, I was no stranger to the band’s explosive energy — but that doesn’t always translate into a massive arena like Madison Square Garden.
It’s a tough task for any arena opener, especially when they begin their set with the house only half full, but BLACKSTARKIDS arrived with a visceral blast of energy. All three members of the band looked like they were having the time of their lives on that stage, and it proved to be a rousing and endearing set. If you’re planning on attending “The 1975 at Their Very Best” (and you can get tickets here, if so), be sure not to miss BLACKSTARKIDS — they might just be your new favorite band.
When BLACKSTARKIDS left the stage and The 1975 arrived, the curtain dropped and revealed a large set that resembled a house, complete with furniture, windows, separate rooms, a roof, and a dazzling spiral staircase. The show followed two fairly concrete acts of 12 songs each: The first act saw the band playing nearly every song from their brand new LP, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, while the second act was all killer, no filler hits from the band’s other four studio albums.
The 1975, photo by Jordan Curtis Hughes
The first act was much more serious from the band — if not serious, then more focused. Healy was much more consumed (and in many cases, doing the consuming) with the “performance” of Being Funny, saving all the crowd work for the second act. But seeing the first seven songs of Being Funny played in full, back to back, was a wonderful reminder of how much this band has grown since their scrappy early days. “Happiness,” “I’m in Love with You,” and “Oh Caroline” were already massive sing-a-long moments for the eager crowd, and they’re notable entries in The 1975’s now iconic catalogue.
The set began to deepen as Healy ascended to the “roof” of the set to perform “I Like America & America Likes Me” from the band’s third album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. A staple of their live shows since 2019, this heavily auto-tuned, wildly urgent number has never lost its unsettling power. You could still feel the desperation in Healy’s voice as he barked, “I’m scared of dying/ It’s fiiiiiiiiiiiine!”, his absurd vocal run becoming both disarming and appropriately over the top.
The Being Funny portion of the show concluded with the closers “About You” and “When We Are Together.” Healy introduced the band before being left alone onstage amidst a cacophony of noise, glitching television screens of unsettling news clips and images, and stage crew members in white coats removing the furniture of the house. Healy first enjoyed a cigarette on the couch (and I mean enjoyed), then knelt in front of a plate of raw beef and proceeded to take several bites.
The 1975, photo by Jordan Curtis Hughes
After the bizarre feast and several more swigs from his flask — which he explained later on was indeed real alcohol — Healy began doing pushups in front of the stack of glitching TVs. Fixated on their eerie glow, Healy moved closer and closer… before jumping into the television completely. The series of events seemed to be Healy’s meditation on the performance of masculinity, and throughout the show, he sarcastically referred to himself as being “a real liberal man.” It’s a fitting topic for Healy and the band, given the softer and more introspective energy of Being Funny. But it’s also classic Matty Healy to eat raw meat onstage, to play with the audience’s expectations, to perform “indulgence” with a wink and a nudge.
As the second act began, Healy returned in a new outfit, and the show kicked up a few notches. The band was definitely eager to keep the party going, and everyone began to loosen up a bit more. Healy began engaging with the crowd much more often, saying, “No more of the black-pilled performance art stuff, had to get that out of the old system,” and signaling that theatrics from earlier were, in fact, just theatrics. Drummer George Daniel demonstrated his usual air-tight, crisp style, and brought even more energy to moodier tracks like “Somebody Else” and “Paris,” while bassist Ross MacDonald and guitarist Adam Hahn began to fly across the stage with joy and excitement.
Despite more than a couple cigarettes, Healy sounded brilliant all evening, seemingly capable of pushing his voice past a limit that few other vocalists can manage. When the band brought out both “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)” and “Love It If We Made It” back to back, Healy crooned, cried, thrashed, and bellowed, leaving everything out on the stage and connecting to his words in a physical and emotionally profound way. It was around this moment that it became clear — this is a band like no other.
The 1975, photo by Jordan Curtis Hughes
The 1975’s show last night was an example of pop art being done at an extremely high level. For every song that’s dressed in an ’80s pop style, for every sticky sweet, instantly relatable hook, there’s a deepening happening somewhere, somehow. There’s a thread between the sinister lyrics and bright sonics of “Looking for Somebody (to Love)” and the ecstatic-but-depressed style of “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You).” It’s difficult to even describe the catharsis offered by the band’s best song, “Love It If We Made It.” The flurry of references and urgent cries for hope are rousing, painfully vivid images of our modern world, and each opportunity to witness “Love It If We Made It” live is like an obligatory 1975 church sermon.
The show proved that Healy’s jagged, personal writing is lifted through the band’s infectious musical language, and the combination has taken them to massive heights. “We’re playing the Garden… We’re really big now,” said Healy last night. This may be The 1975 at their very best, but everyone at Madison Square Garden could agree with Healy’s boastful claim: They just keep getting better.
Note: you can catch The 1975 on tour this year. Buy tickets here.
The 1975 Setlist:
The 1975 (Being Funny in a Foreign Language)
Looking for Somebody (to Love)
Happiness
Part of the Band
Oh Caroline
I’m in Love With You
All I Need to Hear
Roadkill
fallingforyou
I Like America & America Likes Me
About You
When We Are Together
If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)
TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME
Me & You Together Song
It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)
Paris
Robbers
Somebody Else
I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)
Love It If We Made It
The Sound
Sex
Give Yourself a Try
The 1975 Were Truly “At Their Very Best” at Madison Square Garden in NYC: Recap
Paolo Ragusa
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