What better way to spend a Friday night than at a rock concert? On the highly anticipated evening of November 4th, my boyfriend and I drove down to the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University to see an amazing band called The 1975. The 1975 headlined SU’s “Rock the Dome 2016,” with opening acts from hip-hop artist, 070 Shake, to alternative-pop duo, Oh Wonder.
In case you’re unfamiliar, The 1975 is an alternative indie pop rock band from Manchester, England. The band members consist of lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Matty Healy; lead guitarist, Adam Hann; bassist, Ross MacDonald; and drummer, George Daniel. The opening duo, Oh Wonder, consisting of Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, are from London, England. Let’s just say I got my fix of British accents during this show.
I’d never heard of Oh Wonder, and had to look them up to find their name. (The big OW lights on the stage weren’t easy to decipher if you didn’t know who they were!) I probably should’ve researched them before the show so I could’ve learned earlier how good they are! I found myself dancing along to every song because of the fun and mellow beats. Both the male and female vocals were unique and really complimented one another. I heard touches of Ellie Goulding in Vander Gucht, which I was a fan of. My favorite song of theirs was “Technicolour Beat.” It’s very pretty. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8fmOciEY8U.
After Oh Wonder ended their set and the crew set the stage for The 1975, a white noise crescendoed for about ten minutes, but in the moment felt like half an hour. The crowd went crazy when the band came out and opened with their hit “Love Me”, off of the 2016 album I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it. They played a lot of tracks off their 2013 self-titled album, including the hits “Chocolate,” “Girls”. I was impressed with the artistic instrumental songs, especially “Please Be Naked” which I heard a girl comment: “I want this to be played when I walk down the aisle.”
Matty Healy didn’t say much during the show, but what he did say resonated with not only me, but the audience as a whole. First of all, he recognized that he is not American, but a similar political situation to what we have now also happened in England. He described how the younger generation today is very accepting of diversity. Because of that, we should let our voices be heard, and what better way to do that then voting in the upcoming election? Healy stressed the importance of voting and the regret one might have if they are upset with the results, but didn’t participate.
There is no experience quite like live music: the saxophone and guitar solos took this show to the next level, as did Healy’s loose dance moves and sips of wine between songs. The band closed out the night with “The Sound” from I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it and Healy told the crowd to jump when the guitar solo began. It was the perfect ending to an electrifying performance. I was left with an image of SU students packed in front of the stage and bodies jumping together, which made me see the power in music and how it can be a wonderful emotional release.