Live Review: The 1975 turn back time with intimate hometown show at Manchester’s Gorilla
Manchester is a city synonymous with great music. For decades, the city has helped mould musicians into a shape that represents their own before releasing them out into the wild, enriching culture with their art in the process. With bands, there’s a clear trajectory from the likes of Joy Division and The Smiths to The Stone Roses and Oasis, and while The 1975 don’t fit into that linear path, they are hometown heroes for an entirely new generation.
Less than a fortnight ago, The 1975 were back in Manchester to perform to a sold-out crowd at the AO Arena as part of their headline-grabbing world tour. During that run of dates, frontman Matty Healy caused considerable controversy for his frenzied on-stage behaviour as he portrayed an exaggerated version of himself. However, on Wednesday night at Gorilla, he stripped things back from the rockstar caricature, looking at home on the more modest stage.
Anywhere they visit in the world, The 1975 exclusively perform for thousands of screaming fans. Witnessing them in a 500-capacity venue was a privilege. The concert arrived in support of important cause, War Child, a charity designed to help children affected by war across the globe. Tickets were raffled off for the organisation as part of their collaboration with BRITs Week, with demand far outweighing supply.
The performance marked the smallest show by the band in several years, and fittingly, it took place in Manchester. Although The 1975 originated from Wilmslow, the nearby upmarket Cheshire town, it is the city of Manchester where they cut their teeth by playing at independent venues such as Gorilla while embedding themselves into the scene.
As the concert was a throwback to their early days, it was only fitting that The 1975 chose to revisit the box aesthetic from their debut album for their stage show, transporting back to 2013 by starting the set with an airing of the record in full. While the show wasn’t advertised as a celebration of The 1975‘s 10th anniversary, that’s what the band delivered in electrifying style. Even before they stepped out on stage, the tension was palpable, and the occasion felt historic.
Fans had travelled as far as Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the show, which burst into life as they played ‘The City’ while Healy sipped away on a bottle of red wine. Until hearing the album live in full, I hadn’t fully appreciated how much that record influenced other bands during that era, and just how many hits they crammed onto the release.
For the first time on the current tour, The 1975 performed ‘Girls’ and ‘The City’, songs which sent the crowd into utter pandemonium. Other rarities that were given outing include ‘M.O.N.E.Y.’, which hadn’t been played since 2017, and ‘Settle Down’, performed live for the first time in seven years and recited word-for-word by the audience.
Healy wasn’t in the mood to play the pantomime villain and laughed when he asked fans if they enjoyed his acting performance on tour. The frontman appeared grateful to be on stage in such an intimate setting. His solo rendition of ‘Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You’, aided only by the piano, was a particularly emotional moment, with Gorilla acting as the perfect environment for the vulnerable material.
The latter stages of the set were packed with hits, including ‘I’m In Love With You’ and ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ which raised the screams in the venue to a deafening volume before closing the set with the melancholic anthem, ‘About You’.
While they remain a divisive outfit, The 1975 are undeniably Manchester’s most notable export of the last decade, and their show at Gorilla in partnership with War Child will be looked back upon for years to come. Without venues like this one, organic success stories like The 1975 simply don’t materialise, and their return proved the vital importance of local music.
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