One of the highlights of my year in Spain so far has to be attending the 1975’s concert in Madrid with one of my closest friends. Being one of my favourite bands, their music always brings such a nostalgic feeling to any room and I was super excited to have the chance to see them live again for the second time in a year.
On February 27th, they performed at the WiZink Center in central Madrid, a relatively small arena compared to that of the O2, for example, but still much bigger than the arena in Exeter where I saw them last year. My friend and I managed to have some very reasonable seats and only for 62 euros (around £55). I didn’t know what to expect as it was only the second concert I would have been attending and the first in a foreign country.
Matty Healy, the main singer of the band has been sporting a new look on the band’s European tour so far. With a buzz cut hairstyle and sunglasses, it’s a far cry from the classic eyeliner and floppy, curly hair look we’re used to, so I was keen to see whether his persona on stage also changed because of this.
The concert opened as it usually does, with the members of the band all entering the stage with their own introduction, switching on lights and lamps as they take their place with their instruments. The crowd obviously went wild when Matty came on!
The band commenced as they usually do, playing their opening song “The 1975” followed immediately with the very upbeat “Looking for Somebody to Love”.
The energy was generally very high in the arena, with lots of Spanish chants flying around between songs. One thing I will say is that there appeared to be less crowd interaction from the band compared to the concert I attended in Exeter last year. There was less talking from Matty, which surprised me as he is known for his quick remarks and dry humour. He loves to egg the crowd on.
Despite this, I still had a fantastic time: they played all of my favourite songs and the energy was raised further during “The Sound” when Matty instructed everyone to start jumping on the count of four. There were screams and laughter and that kind of happiness is exactly the kind of feeling that the 1975’s music causes in me.
Being one of my favourite bands, their music always brings such a nostalgic feeling to any room and I was super excited to have the chance to see them live again.
Of course, there were also very cathartic songs playing too, giving the crowd the chance to bring out their phone torches and sway them while shedding a tear or two. It was during “About You” that I had this experience myself, and I took a step back to appreciate how lucky I was to be there, listening to fantastic live music on my year abroad with my best friend.
It’s a night I will not forget and I look forward to seeing The 1975 again live as soon as I possibly can!
