The 1975 LIGHT UP THE NIGHT

It was a rainy Thursday in the capital, but The 1975 was lighting up the stage.  First to hit the stage was London, UK band,  COLOURING. Their fresh sound, and stage presence got the crowd on their feet, and singing along. With tunes such as, Symmetry, Heathen, and About You blaring through the arena, not one person were still on their seat.

After a short intermission, female fronted alternative rock band Pale Waves, kicked off their set with some well known tunes. Such as Television Romance, My Obsession, New Years Eve and a few more killer tunes.

The band is signed to The 1975’s label Dirty Hit, in fact their first single There’s a Honey was produced by Matty Healy and George Daniel. Lead vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie’s raspy undertones to her already powerful vocals brought every tune to life, and the audience singing along.

Their set wrapped up shortly before 9pm, and with a short intermission as fans were impatiently waiting for the main act of the night. Once the lights dimmed and the humming of guitars were heard all over the arena, fans jumped to their feet.

The band kicked off their set with The 1975 as fans danced and sang along to every word. Their indie rock tunes and phenomenal stage presence shined through, as Matty and the boys rocked every tune and had the whole arena captivated through every word.

Hailing from Manchester UK, Matty and the band played songs from their debut album released in 2013, and their current album “I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It”.

The band’s high energy and crowd engagement brought every tune to life with frontman Matty Healy engaging with the crowd through movement. Even lighting up a cigarette a couple times during the show, after nodding to the crowd that they were cool with it.

After belting out some hits such as A Change of Heart and Heart Out, Matty began to talk about his home. He discussed how it is angering and saddening that such tragic events take place in the world. How people go to concerts to get away from the world, and how we should be spreading love instead of hate.  Then jumping into their rock ballad Loving Someone with the audience singing along with him.

With some more grit in some tunes, the audience never lost focus. The strobe lighting and stage effects brought the show to a new life with each song, as they continued through their set. Before kicking into a couple tracks from their first album such as Sex and Girls.

As they closed off their main set, fans were eager for just a few more tracks. It was only a brief moment before they got back on stage to close out the night.

Playing songs such as I Believe In You and Chocolate giving fans a lasting memory as ended their show with The Sound, one of their singles from 2016, which made it to number 9 on the US rock charts.

The band rocked the stage, and considering audience’s reaction and interaction to their visit to the North, this won’t be the last we will see of them in Canada.