PH fans give their hearts out to The 1975

Matty Healy (Photo by Jasper Lucena for MMI)

A resurging wave of what has been touted as “British invasion” has hit our shores anew – following London band Bastille by a few weeks and preceding Brit pop group One Direction and English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran by only a few months.

Taking Manila by storm over the weekend, The 1975, an indie pop-rock band from Manchester, UK gave their Filipino fans an incredible experience. They opened their show with “The City,” a song with a driving drum into and an easy, head-bobbing chorus that made all the fans scream with excitement.

With his skinny ripped jeans, floral top, a bottle of wine and a cigarette in his hand, 25-year-old front man Matty Healy cut a remarkable figure on stage. As the bubbly crowd hailed their invaders, the band’s other members – guitarist Adam Hann, drummer George Daniel and bassist Ross MacDonald – appeared overwhelmed with the crowd that welcomed them.

It was only their second time here in the Philippines and, judging from the look on their faces, they had a grand time jamming with their fans, who sang their hearts out as the band performed hits like “Girls,” “Heart Out,” “Chocolate” and “Robbers.”

Whereas last year The 1975’s visit only let them meet their fans in five malls in the metro, the bigger venue they had for this concert not only let them see more of their followers but also gave them an experience of a lifetime. At the concert, Healy exclaimed, “This is our first time to hold a concert in an arena. This is a big (expletive) place… We’ve never had anything like this.”

At a time of instant connection – instant gratification, even – via social media, gadgets are naturally ever-present in events like this. Healy, however, knew a more meaningful connection could be had without having to filter it through the lens of a camera.

At one point in the show, Healy told the crowd, “For one song, put your phones away… I wanna see your face, not your phones,” before performing “Me.”

One of the night’s highlights came at the tail-end of the concert when the relatively young crowd began chanting, “We want ‘Sex’! We want ‘Sex’!” Healy responded with a tease, “Oh, you have no idea!” Of course, the crowd was referring to the band’s hit single “Sex.” It’s an upbeat, soaring number that ended the night on a high.

Healy said they will surely return to Manila upon release of their second album later this year. The band has been touring non-stop for the last two years, which only shows why they have been touted as one of the hardest working bands of 2014.

PH fans give their hearts out to The 1975

Source: Mb.com.ph (January 27, 2015 at 09:56AM)

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