The 1975 – Bournemouth International Centre – 21/12/16
Guns hidden under their Petticoats’ indeed, as who could have seen this level of amazing artistry coming during The 1975’s (10) live show in Bournemouth, bringing the venue to life through a mixture of colour, sound and imagery.
Their second to last night of their recent Tour goes off with a bang, starting with an all mighty ‘OH SHIT’ from Matty as the band and crowd erupt into song opening with ‘Love me’, sending the crowd into an almost frenzy of adoration as I feel over my shoulder from the pit, the screams get louder. With a burst of purple and pinks that meet your eyes after the seemingly dark ‘charge up’ of their introduction song ‘The 1975’ you certainly know exactly where you are and are greeted with this immediate satisfaction; You know what you’re in store for.
Song after song goes by with a flurry of hits that the band has made in such quick succession over the last couple of years, which is testament to how greater musicians they are, and complimented by such a diverse array of colour and lighting setups, from deep pinks, to cyans and greens, with the legendary black & white set from ‘The City’ that we all know and love.
After a couple of high octane songs, everyone was met with this sort of lull, a calm before the storm as Saxophonist, John Waugh erupts into a sexy and relaxing solo during ‘heart out’ completing this awesome performance of the hit song from the band that just keeps giving.
After my short job in the pit was done, amazed every second with different areas of the stage and band members to shoot, all looking equally incredible, I returned to my seat with some speed, as to not miss any of the action, and even from the main entrance of the venue you can feel and hear the chant of the crowd, singing, without fail each word of every song, showing how much love is present for this band and how much appreciation they receive from their fans. It isn’t short met with some loving talks from Matt Healey mid set talking about current events and the bands history, giving you a sort of personalised piece to the show, knowing that every viewing is different with ‘The 1975’.
The whole show is just pleasure to the ears of a fan, as the band plays the majority of their hit songs, from the likes of ‘Chocolate’, ‘sex’ and ‘Robbers’ which were the main songs than made the band who they were, to their newer songs, ‘The Sound’, ‘Love Me’, ‘UGH!’, and ‘She’s American’ and so fans new and old are catered for, and indulged in this amazing array of technical ability and aesthetic control in all aspects of the performance.
There was a point where you could feel the entire stadium, in synchronicity stamping their feet and the stadium sort of flexing under the weight, during I believe it was ‘She’s American’ as everyone’s singing along and just having a good time, which it is apparent, that that is what this band is all about.
With a glass of wine in hand, classic Healey style he cheers the crowd as the set closes to an end after ‘The Sound’ which seems to be a perfectly apt way to close one of the best shows I’ve ever seen performed. So much love for this band and what they do, and it seems that sky’s the limit to as far as they can go, as they always adapt and develop different angles for things, and so I for one am excited to see what the future holds for ‘The 1975’.
Check out more live shots of this show here!
Photography – © Kane Layland
