WHEN: THE 1975 LIVE IN MANILA 2014 / BIGGER VENUE FOR GROWING FANS

THE 1975 LIVE IN MANILA 2014 / BIGGER VENUE FOR GROWING FANS

  

I was fortunate to hear The 1975's Manchester accent live as they answer questions from last week's press con, but due to weekend events I was not able to hear them sing live... which is  probably more divine!

Covered up, The 1975 fan Ara shares to Faudible her experience during The 1975 Live at Ayala Malls performance in Trinoma last March 29, 2014...

The 1975 left aspiring musicians some thoughts to ponder upon and also reveals their appreciation to random artist, including Ashanti, during their press con at the Fairmont Hotel! 

Now comes the best part, their concert as told by Ara Santiago:

The 1975, a four-man indie pop rock band hailing from Manchester has finally set foot in the Philippines! They performed exclusively at the Ayala Malls for two days (March 28 and 29) showcasing their mesmerizing beats to the satisfaction of us, the overjoyed fans.

I, alongside a friend, snagged tickets for their Trinoma show upon learning the how-tos of the promo. Much to our dismay, it was an SRO (standing room only). But we’ve been waiting for Matt, George, Adam, and Ross to visit the Philippines for a full year now so we still pushed-through.

My friend and I met up at around 10 in the morning and we were greeted by the ridiculously long line at Trinoma’s activity center; fans were piling up! Crazy! Wanting nothing more but a great view inside the event area, we lined up without really knowing what was happening. Apparently, not everyone in the queue has tickets and some were just trying their luck. Long story short, the line was trimmed and we were left to wait for the gates to open at 5 in the afternoon.

Fast forward to when we were already inside the activity area: IT WAS A MOSH PIT. We were well-aware that only 400 persons can watch the band up-close but we did not expect Trinoma to cram us up! The non-VIP area was too small of a space for 400 people to have fun, jump, and dance to the music.

To Trinoma or any Ayala Malls thereof: If you already have a head-count per division of the concert area, please make sure that there’s still room to breathe. I understand that we are not VIPs, but a little bit more room wouldn’t hurt. I mean, you know that there will be 400 of us, right?

Rant aside, the band arrived an hour early which not only made us scream but definitely made a handful of us have a mini heart-attack. I was able to see George’s head (who wouldn’t? The guy is a giant) when they went backstage. And at exactly 7, all four of them were right before our eyes.

Starting off with The City, the band was unstoppable! They gradually eased in opening riff after opening riff and we were all left breathless (aside from the fact that there was no air to start with).

Songs performed (not entirely sure of the order, was too busy having fun and tiptoeing):

- The City

- Milk (Not included in their self-entitled album, even in the     deluxe edition

- M.O.N.E.Y

- Talk!

- Settle Down (they started to play Robber’s intro but then changed)

- Heart Out

- Pressure

- Menswear

- Robbers (which was hard to sing live, according to Matt, but still exceptionally performed      it)

- Chocolate

- Girls (the crowd went unbelievably wild)

- You

- Sex

Matt was such a darling all throughout. He was talking to the fans, replying to banners, and he even reached for one fan’s Go Pro and started pointing it at himself and the others. He also said that they’ll come back next year which I hope is a promise not just a “want”, if you know what I mean.

I’m not sure if this really happened or my eyes just tricked me, but I think Matt tripped backwards and George laughed at him. I didn’t even see if Matt fell on his butt because I was holding my camera up. If you saw this as well, please comment to validate it or tell me otherwise.

Proving themselves out of the label “studio band”, The 1975 did more than just exceed my expectations. They gave us one hell of a show that we’ll never forget and they made us fall in love with their songs all over again.

Bless you, The 1975, you’re a legend.

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Ara Santiago usually listens to indie pop rock bands. She also writes about book reviews, events and places on her blog arasantiago.wordpress.com.