The 1975
April 26, 2016
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – Portland, OR
After playing to a huge crowd at Coachella on Sunday, the english alternative rock band The 1975 and their opening act, Wolf Alice, had made their way up to the Pacific Northwest to play at a very extravagant venue in Portland, Oregon called the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The venue doubled in capacity from when they last played in Portland, which was last December at the Roseland Theater. Since then, the band has released their latest album I Like It When You Sleep and fans had been waiting for this day for months to hear songs from the new record live. By the time the doors opened at 7, there was over a thousand people eager to get into their seats to see the two english bands.
Prior to The 1975, an up and coming alternative band from Northern England called Wolf Alice played the stage. They had the crowd head banging throughout their entire eight song set. The crowd didn’t seem to know much of the band’s music, but that didn’t stop them from dancing along to the music from their debut album My Love Is Cool, which came out this past June, along with older songs such as music from their EP Creature Songs. They played their most known song Moaning Lisa Smile which hit #9 on Billboard this past summer, the crowd went wild realizing they recognized that song. It’s no surprise this band won iTunes “Best New Artist/Band” award last year; this female fronted alternative band is amazing live, and I can tell they had gained many new fans after this show.
It was finally the moment the crowd had been waiting months for, as the lights dimmed down and the stage lighting setup was revealed, you could hear thousands of young fans begin to scream at the top of their lungs as the drummer George Daniel, guitarist Adam Hann, and bassist Ross Macdonald walked out on stage. The last to walk on stage was singer, Matty Healy who strutted out in his high heeled boots with a cigarette in hand and a full glass of wine in the other while starting off the show with one of their (many) hit songs Love Me. The 1975 has one of the most amazing stage lighting setups known to all fans; Healy had the revelation one night as he had a bit to drink and sent a text to his manager that he wanted to “deliver light in a setting of reality, that reminds the viewer how they perceive light in a setting of non reality.” Somehow, they managed to pull it off, and for every song during the twenty song set the stage had a different lighting backdrop. The songs ranged from new to old, playing new songs from their latest album, like crowd favorites Ugh! & A Change Of Heart, but had a few older songs off of their Self Titled album such as Girls & Robbers. Healy would take moments to connect with fans, at one point he stated how “The venue was more posh than the band” and also mentioned how little phones were in the air, saying this crowd was doing the best out of any crowd they had seen. They usually ask the crowd to put their phones down during the song Me so that the crowd can live in the moment and not through a screen. They disappeared after they played Girls, a hit song off their first album, but came back shortly after for a four song encore. During the second to last song, they told the crowd to fuck it and leave their seats and get as close as possible and young fans rushed down to watch the last two songs The Sound and Sex. Fans left with biggest smiles on their faces – most of them getting to cross off seeing The 1975 in concert on their bucket list. If you have the chance to make it out to a show on this tour there is no doubt you will be uncontrollably dancing the entire night while watching one of the best bands around. No one could regret showing up to this show full of great sounds and great vibes.
Review by: Sarina Solem
The 1975
Wolf Alice
