This was, without a doubt, the best concert I have ever experienced in my entire concert journey. And up to this day (two years after LOL), I can attest that this statement still holds true. I was on a high from start to finish. The whole experience felt like a drug directly injected into my bloodstream, as pure euphoria overpowered my whole being during the entirety of this concert. 😍
It's with The 1975 that I kickstarted my solo concerts journey back in 2015 and I have never been the same since. This was the fourth time I was seeing them live in concert -- the second time was in 2016 during the In the Mix concert, and the third time in 2019. I have never been prouder to be a loyal fan right from the start. I have seen them develop their craft, and see their fanbase grow along that journey.
This concert, that I attended in May 2023, was to promote their new album entitled "Being Funny in a Foreign Language." They didn't have a concert tour dedicated to their previous album "Notes on a Conditional Form" because of COVID, but for this concert, they focused on promoting their latest album. I purchased VIP floor seats. 🎫I don't usually buy standing tickets in concerts (LOL if you are millennial you know HAHA) but for this band, I was ready to be physically tired. Besides, I knew I won't be sitting anyways😆
Over the years, I have observed the change in popularity of this band; they are now more famous, which is why the concert venue is more packed than usual.
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At least the fans received the memo. 🖤 |
Since I got floor tickets, Pulp PH, the concert organizer, gave away freebies! I claimed a photo card of the band before the start of the show. I was given a wristband that says "Floor B." It is now one of the collectibles that I treasure and keep in my memorabilia box inside my cabinet. I was so happy to get my photo card. 🥰
Entering a concert venue when you have floor tickets never not takes my breath away. And this was exactly my feelings when I stepped into the arena.
At first, I was on the left side of the stage, but after some calculations, I saw that there were fewer people on the right side. And so I made my way to squeeze myself into the crowd. This was in 2023, and there was still the crisis of COVID, so I went to the concert wearing a mask. As a solo concertgoer, it can feel a bit awkward because you don't have someone to talk to, but I was used to it, so I just minded my own business.
The opening act was Wallice. Her music style reminded me of Pale Waves. After their set, I saw her go to the tech booth area to watch the rest of the show. I was very near the tech booth, and I saw some people taking photos with her.
After a few minutes, it's showtime!!! I found it amusing that during the opening, they showed footage of the band coming out of the backstage, riding electric scooters shaped as animals that were obviously small for them to ride on. 😂
I was not focused on taking photos for the blog or concert photography like I had done before, since I have seen this band many times, anyway. Instead, I focused on enjoying the show, and what a show it was. It was truly one of the best concerts I have ever attended, setting a high bar for me.
Matty Healy looked incredibly handsome; this was the best version of him I have seen live. This is significant because I have seen him during his struggles with addiction, but now he appears to be clean, and I am proud of his progress. Sometimes, I forget that we are the same age, having been born in the same year. 😅The timing of their concert coincided with rumors of him being connected with Taylor Swift. These are just rumors, but his market value certainly went high due to this speculation (and looking at everything that happened in retrospective, boy were the rumors so true 😆).
I watched some of my clips from the concert, which I have not played since the event. I just looked at a clip of them performing "Looking for Somebody (To Love)," one of my favorite songs from the album. It’s a banger, but if you look closely at the lyrics, it has a very gloomy message. The goosebumps I felt during their energetic performance are evidence of my appreciation for it.
One remarkable experience at this concert was that they played all the songs I love!!! As in there was no dull moment -- it was banger after banger after banger of songs. This was the perfect set, the heaven-sent 1975 set. That really sent me to eargasm heaven. 😍🎵 It was also wonderful to see the rest of the band members; it felt like family. It was heartwarming to be reunited with them and see them perform on stage.
One thing I noticed immediately on stage was that it was not as large a production as the other stage setups for this tour. I did not watch any videos of their show before my concert day to maintain an element of surprise, but based on the photos I have seen, the stage I saw during their concert here was more minimalist, unlike those I have seen online wherein there were even rooms of a house on stage. Perhaps due to logistics constraints, they opted for this kind of setup.
Going back to the setlist, the sequence of all those great songs created an adrenaline high for me; I felt euphoric during the show. I was jumping around (even though my knees were hurting LOL). And the crowd was hyped, just like me! If you look at the video footage I got, my camera was shaking because I was jumping all over the place. HAHAHA.
Before they sang About You, I noticed Matty mouthing some words to the camera. Little did I know that this was a crucial moment for the Healy-Swift romantic arc that will commence a few weeks from this moment. 😅
This moment went viral, especially in the Swiftie universe, and I am proud I had firsthand experience of this. 😆
"The Sound" will always be a vibe to be seen performed live. I am so happy to be part again of the crowd that jumped on cue when Matty shouted "1, 2, 3, let's jump now!" Oh, but my knees were not cooperating. I wanted to raise my vibrations, but I think my knees won’t allow it anymore. 🥲 I remember wearing a mask that kept slipping down my face because I was dancing and getting sweaty, but I didn’t care. I was truly having a good time during this concert.
They sang twenty songs in total. They didn’t have an encore, but wow, solid twenty songs, and each one was a favorite of mine. It was truly a night to remember. I went home alone, but I didn’t care much. I really enjoyed that night, and even now, looking back, I’m so happy I was able to be there on day one of the concert.
Reliving that night was incredibly fun. I really missed the vibe and am happy to finally write about it on my blog. It was truly a night to remember, and it will be difficult to surpass. While I could talk about my experiences with Taylor Swift and IU, they just don't compare. The 1975 is a different breed of band, and attending their concert for the fourth time says a lot about me as a fan.
I love them and am grateful to have seen them. I hope they tour again, and I hope to have the resources and opportunity to attend with someone by my side next time. Regardless, I will continue to enjoy their music. They were at their very best that night; they truly delivered. ❤️🔥