The 1975 has proven themselves as a band that continues to be a force to be reckoned with a full ten years into their journey of releasing recorded music and 20 years as a performing band.
They had recently headlined Chicago’s own Lollapalooza in August and made a return at the end of October playing Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Even with some distance between the venue and downtown Chicago, fans from all over the city and suburbs filled the arena for a night of emotional release, nostalgia, and dancing.
I attended their show on October 29, after seeing the alternative band last year in Los Angeles. The basis of this second North American leg of their tour was similar to the first—it saw the return of their elaborate living room stage setup complete with windows, televisions, a dining room table, and a desk that doubles as a piano where frontman, Matty Healy, plays the anthemic first notes of their self-titled song from their most recent work, Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
Prior to The 1975’s two-hour show, opener Dora Jar took the stage with her three band members to sing six of her avant-garde-influenced pop songs about her life and her emotions. I stood in the pit and was in dire need of anything that could entertain me and Jar delivered, as she brought a quirky and playful energy to the show that made the crowd even more excited to see what was next. Jar is self-described as “an artist who refuses to be defined” which paired well with the alternative nature of The 1975’s performative style, signature sound and era-defining aesthetic.
Everything about the show and venue ran like a well-oiled machine. When 8:30 pm rolled around, the large curtain that covered the stage setup fell to reveal a projected night sky and a dark stage with each member of their band (the three main members plus two synth players, another rhythm guitarist, and their long-time saxophonist) milling around the set, which added to the performative nature of the show itself. Suddenly there was a knock on the door which guitarist, Adam Hann, answered, and to the fan’s delight, it was Healy himself wielding a bottle of red wine and his signature leather jacket.
As Healy played the anthemic first tune, the screens on each side of the stage introduced the members of the band in a sitcom theme song style, unlike any show I have previously attended. As the last line of the song “This is what it looks like” echoed through the large arena, fans of all demographics went ballistic as the band began to play their jaunty second tune from their latest album, “Looking For Somebody (To Love).”
The band ran through some popular singles from their latest album with fan favorites such as “Oh Caroline” and “I’m In Love With You.” Their guitar lines cut through the arena; The 1975’s trademark is their 1980s-esque guitar sound that is the one constant throughout their expansive discography. As the sign that says the name of this leg of the tour—Still…At Their Very Best—dropped over the stage, Healy’s smooth falsetto ran through their first-album classic, “Robbers” which is a tune that holds a lot of significance with the band and its fans alike. The audience singing the famous phrase “You look so cool” back at Healy is something that will stay with me for a long time.
There were many performance aspects of the show, which the band is very vocal about including. At the midpoint, a fan threw a (fake) phone on stage to which Healy discarded it in the trashcan and said, “What am I supposed to do with this?” After the song “About You,” he grabbed the phone out of the trash, knelt on the living room floor, and began to eat it. Any fan knows that this was a bit, but it added to the existential nature of The 1975’s music. At least it was not raw red meat, which I witnessed in Los Angeles last year… (it was not the most appetizing thing I have ever watched).
The set had a good mix of old and new, with selections from all five of their albums. There were fan favorites such as “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” complete with a saxophone solo, “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME” complete with Healy’s TikTok famous autotuned mic and “The Sound” where Healy effortlessly moves the audience to jump up and down for the song’s entire last chorus. Healy has always aimed to be interactive with his audience members, and even at the ¾ mark in the show took a fan request from the front row, to which the band played “Ballad of Me and My Brain,” a setlist rarity. He said “fantastic choice” to the girls who chose it, and the audience loved every minute of it.
As the show progressed, the setlist became grittier in lyrics and in tone, aligning with the band’s timeline. With the arrival of their third album in 2018 and subsequent fourth album in 2020, came a higher interest in grungy guitar tones and controversial lyrical phrases. Third-album favorite “Love It If We Made It” challenged Healy’s vocal ability live, and he delivered. The song (which is one on the more political side) was emotionally charged and high energy. The show’s closer “People” acted as an encore with the main members of the band leaving the main stage to perform on the B stage in the middle of the general admission pit.
I had been waiting for that moment for my entire life. “People” is their head-banger; showing The 1975 at their angstiest making it the best possible closer they could have chosen. As they played on the B-stage, audiences scattered, leaving a gaping hole in the front of the pit. I went with a close friend who was just as excited to hear the tune as I was — needless to say we ditched our second-row spots and danced for the song’s entire 3-minute run. It was euphoric and something I will remember forever.