As I wake up on the 6th of December, I notice the brisk sunny weather on this Tuesday morning. Moments of calmness quickly end when I realize what today is – it is the day I have been anticipating since middle school.

Picture 16-year-old Brighid, a sophomore in high school who is ready to see her favorite band since seventh grade at what is arguably the best venue in the world – Red Rocks – on a gloomy Tuesday. During 6th period – the last class before she can begin her adventure to the show – she gets a dreadful notification on her phone from Twitter. The snow cancelled the show.

Five years, later, the opportunity came again to see them on a Tuesday. But this time there were many changes – a pandemic, a new home, and this time, sunny weather.

I couldn’t focus all day. Of course, there was a part of me that worried it would be cancelled or my tickets would not be confirmed, but I was mostly too excited to pay attention to anything else. Class went by as slow as it could – the content being taught that day is still blurry in my mind now. But as soon as the clock hit 4:45, I was out of my seat and ready to go.

The sun had already set by the time we got down to the venue – Mission Ballroom. The unknown area to me was making me nervous, but a good kind of nervous. I wanted to park and find my way to the tickets since the first opener was already on. Sometimes, I do have good luck in the universe, and the process went smoothly – the next thing I know I was taking in the large yet intimate venue with the crowd going crazy for Neon The Bishop.

I was unfortunately only able to catch the last song of their set, but I could tell they really got the energy up in the crowd. With more people gathering in and a quick 30-minute break, Lovely the Band came on.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed that they were headlining the show. Everyone knew the words while also cheering them on like no other. They ended their set with their popular song ‘Broken,’ and to my surprise, I knew the chorus. With the whole venue jumping and singing their last song – the energy was even higher while waiting for the main act – which would be on in a short 20 minutes.

The curtains drop, and their logo gets projected while the crowd goes wild. Time seems to go by so fast that the next thing I remember is the curtains being dropped and the set design being revealed for the first time.

It was an open house layout, showing a living room, roof, bedroom and kitchen – with the band pulling up in a car – honking their horns and their front lights turning off. The band enters through the front door – and from side stage the one and only Matty Healy enters dramatically.

He sits down in front of the TV, lights a cigarette, takes a swig from his flask and begins to sing their first track off their new album, ‘The 1975.’ The crowd immediately screams it back and that begins my middle school dreams. The band plays their tracks off of “Being Funny in a Foreign Language,” traveling through the house, with a special version of “Be My Mistake,” with Matty singing with an acoustic guitar and no microphone to a quiet audience. The band then leaves the house for a quick outfit change.

They change their tuxedos to an all black look and begin their old hits with the classic “If You’re Too Shy,” which happens to be one of my favorites. With tears in my eyes, I dance like no one is watching, making the middle school me make sure this is truly everything I could have ever imagined.

“Love it if We Made it,” “Robbers,” “It’s Not Living if it’s Not With You,” and “The Sound” were classic songs I have been listening to for years that I was very excited to hear, which they completely delivered.

The live band was very impressive, every musician truly showed that they cared about their craft and took it as art. The levels were very clear and it was a performance. Matty was acting on stage to certain songs, and the band sounded very professional live – almost the exact same as on streaming platforms.

I cried many times during this show. The 1975 really know how to preform, and know how to make their crowd relive their childhood times. Their music has been with me through my ups and downs in life. Though the first time I was going to see them was considered the “dreadful Tuesday” in my history – this concert changed it to the “best Tuesday of my life.”

More information, merch and upcoming shows by The 1975 can be found on their website.
Article and photography by Brighid Bandel, who can be reached at music@kcsufm.com.