Alena Suleiman

Curtains draw back, revealing a stage decorated as a typical suburban house. The 1975 set up their instruments and chatted with one another like characters on an idyllic sitcom.

Gasps erupt throughout the audience as a nude Matty Healy body double rises from a disguised B-stage in the middle of the stadium. The real, half-clothed Healy follows closely behind. Climbing on the platform, he approaches his counterpart, feigning curiosity. Healy leaves the stage only to return moments later, guitar in hand, launching into the aching chords of “Be My Mistake.”

English pop rock band The 1975 performed at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sep. 28, marking the fourth show of their fifth concert tour Still… At Their Very Best. Founded by four childhood friends in 2002, the band includes lead singer and guitarist Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald and drummer George Daniel. On this tour, vocalist and guitarist Polly Money joined, singing the bridge on the band’s viral song “About You.”

Since the band’s debut, Healy has teetered on the border between online cancellation and widespread adoration. In January, Healy engaged in racist and mocking comments toward breakout drill rapper Ice Spice. He later apologized during a performance in Auckland, New Zealand, but continues to draw attention periodically with controversial takes, often political. The band as a whole is known for incorporating political themes in both their music and sets on tour. As more recent fans, we were excited to see what the group had in store and hoped to be thrilled by the boldness of their work.

After an opening set by bedroom pop musician Dora Jar, curtains drew back, revealing a stage decorated as a typical suburban house. The band set up their instruments and chatted with one another like characters on an idyllic sitcom as Healy ambled to the piano, launching into their eponymous track of the band’s latest album, “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” (BFIAFL). 

“The 1975” is a half-sung, half-spoken introspective view into Healy’s development from a brash teenager to pop music superstar. Eager fans sang along as Healy announced, “It’s about time / And this is what it looks like.”

Upbeat tracks from BFIAFL such as smash hits “Happiness” and “Oh Caroline” followed. As Healy climbed on the roof of the false house, the crowd shouted the lyrics as if they were competing against the SAP center’s massive speakers. 

All BFIAFL tracks built up to the band playing “Robbers,” arguably one of their most recognizable songs. Healy, near screaming, sang of the magnetism in toxic relationships: “I’ll give you one more time / We’ll give you one more fight.” Healy then crooned the lovestruck track “Fallingforyou,” followed by the ethereal “About You,” joined by Money for the famous bridge.

Suddenly, the band rushed off the stage, revealing Healy in a new outfit: a pink satin shirt and dress pants. Just as the crowd reached peak excitement during “Robbers” earlier, we all reached peak confusion. Healy began doing pushups while the screen above displayed photographs of female celebrities, clips of political pundits debating and other internet content. He then climbed through the screen of an empty television, disappearing from the stage entirely. 

The lights dimmed as a platform rose from the stadium floor. The aforementioned body double sequence occurred, and Healy began to croon the somber “Be My Mistake” as fans waved their phone flashlights in unison. 

After Healy descended again from the B-stage, a satirical presidential campaign advertisement played on the large screens behind the main stage. The montage showed scenes of Healy, who hails from the UK, in front of American flags, conversing with construction workers, and, once again, doing shirtless pushups.

Ecstatic shouts rang through the silent stadium before the band rushed back onstage and played hit after hit, including “It’s Not Living If It’s Not With You” and “Girls.” 

Healy then paused to clarify his words from two nights earlier at Sacramento when he said the band planned an “indefinite hiatus.” The band would not break up but rather pause touring at the end of the current run, he said, prompting the most raucous cheering of the night. 

The band then played popular tracks from all of their records, such as “Love It If We Made It” and “Somebody Else,” as the previously calm set flashed pop culture images with political undertones accompanied by neon lyrics.

The show ended with two lesser known tracks: “Give Yourself A Try” and “People.” While the two hail from different eras of The 1975’s career, they share one message. Both tracks encourage listeners to look around and move through the world with purpose, a stark contrast from the laid-back teenager Healy described himself as in the opening song of the night. With an emphatic finish, the band exited the stage, two hours after their entrance.

As new listeners of The 1975, we could have never anticipated that a band with upbeat car karaoke songs could put on such a compelling show, in both stage presence and content. Being able to experience such a performance and absorb the band’s messages was a truly magical experience.

This is what it looks like!