The 1975 Birmingham Institute

by Charl Pearce

I’ve waxed lyrical about The 1975 on my blog before and unless you’ve been living on the moon where there’s no radio, you’ll probably know of them or have at least heard their break out single “Chocolate”.  “Chocolate” has fast become “that” song that you sing along to in the car or on the radio in your kitchen.  With its catchy guitars, heavily pop influenced chorus and the unmistakeable voice of lead singer, Matt Healy, “Chocolate” is just a taster of the veritable smorgasboard of deliciousness that The 1975 have to offer. With several sold out venues on their 2013 tour, more dates added to said tour “due to popular demand”, slots at some of the UK’s biggest summer festivals, 3 (count em) 3 EP’s under their belt and a debut album out in September, this 4 piece from Manchester  (made up of Matt Healy lead singer and guitar, Adam Hann on guitar, Ross Macdonald on bass and George Daniel on drums) show no signs of slowing down and are picking up fans on their rise to the top like the Pied Piper – only with no pipe and better hair.

Thanks to a guardian angel, I managed to bag myself a ticket to their sell out gig at the HMV Institute in Birmingham. the1975birminghaminstitutepngLet me put this out there first: there is nothing I love more than live music. Listening to music at home or through your headphones when you’re out and about is all well and good, but when its live music there’s just no other feeling like it. I’m not sure whether its the adrenalin rush that you get from being in licking proximity of people you’ve never met before, all moving as one, dripping of sweat and beer that has been thrown at you in a plastic cup or that sick in your throat/butterflies in your belly feeling you get when the buzz of the music vibrates through the speakers and infects your whole being – its unbeatable. If I could spend my whole life at a gig, I would (I’d want decent toilet facilities and comfortable shoes though).

The 1975 as a recording group are amazing and its under that medium that I fell head over brogues in love with them. Streamed through my laptop, phone, iPod or on the radio, they’re awesome and by that I mean “I’ve listened to them constantly and at that loud a level that my ears have wanted to bleed and my neighbours have wanted to kill me”. But live?

Nobody told me how incredible these boys are live. I thought they’d be good, expected them to be amazing – but in reality they were f*cking electric. Goosebump material.  Something about their music grabs you by the balls (or metaphorical ones in my case), screams in your face and charms the pants off of you.  It finds the one person in that room who isn’t getting off and makes them get off. Matt Healy as the front man is the personication of “stage charisma”. In person you wouldn’t think he was capable of the stage performance he puts on, but (not to go all Simon Cowell on you) but “he commands that stage” with the same ease as I do being horizontal in bed – SLEEPING.  Dirty rats.the1975eppngThe 1975’s debut album will be released on September 9th (you can pre order it here) but if you need something to wet your appetite until then, check out their EP’s and then when you’ve become as addicted to their sound as I have, head on over to Ticketmaster and book tickets for their tour in September.

1 Comment

  1. Stephanie

    I seen them at the weekend at the Radio 1 big weekend and they were amazing! They were on the smaller stage yet almost everyone had crammed in and the crowd singing chocolate was almost as loud as the boys! Trying to get tickets to see them again as they are brilliant!

    x

    Reply

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  1. Ginger Girl Says | Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle Blog - [...] was my “get up” for The 1975 gig at the Birmingham Institute that I blogged about earlier.  I pulled…

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