by Justin Trudell

It was to be expected The 1975 might be a bit off their game amidst the news that their hometown of Manchester was the target of yet another terrorist act. While lead singer Matty Healy did voice his frustrations with the world of today, ultimately, because of who they are and how hard they’ve worked, they knew the show must go on.

“Hey Detroit… How you doing?,” Healy half-heartedly asked the sold out Fillmore Detroit crowd. Eventually dropping the thin veil and letting us view his true emotions. “I’m pissed…I’m fucking pissed. I’m so tired of nationalism and everything that goes along with it.”

Healy then shared just how close to home the bombing actually hit. “There was a bomb that went off in a place that we used to hang out at. A bomb that killed a bunch of fucking kids.” Visibly frustrated, and understandably so, Healy continued. “I hate that we keep going on like this. It has to stop”. The 1975 then played “Loving Someone,” their anthem about peace, love and understanding. It was a nice contrast to the sobering reality of the world we live in, the fact that we can still dream of a world of acceptance.

Despite confessing towards the end of the set, “I’m sorry I’ve been so miserable, Detroit,” Healy and the rest of his bandmates certainly didn’t fall short on their performance. They played as well as I have ever seen them. They were hitting their marks with every guitar solo, even with a flair of showmanship to go with it. All the while integrating a decent amount of crowd participation. Perhaps their heart wasn’t quite 100% into this show, but it I couldn’t tell. “I’m feeling better now,” Healy mentioned, “and we’re going to still make sure we all have a great time. We love Detroit, we’ve been here loads of times and always have a great time.”

From that moment on, it seemed Healy hit another level and pushed through whatever frustrations he had been feeling about the situation in Manchester. The performance hit stratospheric heights, as is typical for The 1975. One of the coolest moments of the night was when there was a short musical interlude of somewhat unrecognizable music (about 10 seconds or so), then the sound of a popping soda can (or beer can if you’re over 21) resonated throughout the venue, which was immediately identified by the crowd as the bubbly pop hit “Girls”. Healy was as into it now as we were.

After “Girls”, a sexy saxophone solo during (appropriately titled) “Me” beckoned Healy to unleash his inner lead singer confidence. He stared out at the audience, dancing with a comfort and swagger only a frontman like him can possess. He continued to coax more and more screams of admiration at him as he swayed for their pleasure. I loved it, the crowd loved it, and Healy definitely loved it.

The night concluded with their typical closing duo of “Chocolate,” followed by their smash hit “The Sound”. During the final song he insisted “every man, every woman, everyone jump on the count of four”. We obliged. And The FIllmore began to visible shake from the overwhelming participating in Matty’s request.

It was an awesome night of music from performers who know what it takes to make it to the level they have. Some nights are harder than others to give the people what they want, but they know the show must go on.

Setlist

Love Me

UGH!

Heart Out

A Change of Heart

Loving Someone

She’s American

Please Be Naked

Lostmyhead

Somebody Else

fallingforyou

Medicine (Intro)

Girls

Sex

If I Believe You

Me

Chocolate

The Sound