When Matty Healy states - half an hour into their headline performance at the Pyramid Stage tonight - that he struggles with sincerity, it’s easy to believe; yet, it's also hard not to. The frontman, who appears to revel in blurring the lines between pretense and genuineness, fully embodies this duality this evening: for anyone expecting The 1975 to deliver a typical rock show while headlining Glastonbury, they would be mistaken. Instead, in their first live performance in over a year, the band takes the audience on a meandering exploration of the highs and contemplative moments from their extensive catalogue, all enhanced by a stunning display of large screens, lights, and catwalks. In a clever move, Healy’s lyrics are prominently featured in various forms: the moody tones of 'Paris' see its lyrics glide across the video screens resembling an old-school screensaver, before Healy delivers a tongue-in-cheek monologue, declaring himself “the greatest songwriter of my generation, a generational poet,” as he introduces the hit from their debut album, ‘Chocolate’ (“I want you to keep this in mind when we perform the next song”), with the screens humorously scrolling through nonsensical phrases akin to his famously jumbled lines.
It is moments like these — along with the frontman’s genuinely surprised expression when the lights illuminate the crowd, or his distinctly Northern request to “put the big light on” — that genuinely endear him to their mission; a delightful breaking of the fourth wall in an eccentric yet brilliant fashion. However, things frequently take perplexing turns. For instance, Healy unexpectedly appears in the backseat of a car during ‘Somebody Else’ (which feels entirely out of sync with the evening's extravagant production), or he delivers an unsolicited commentary on the absence of political themes in their set (a “conscious” choice to maintain the band’s legacy focused on “love and friendship”) that is promptly followed by their intense and distinctly politically-charged track ‘Love It If We Made It’; it’s almost as if he didn’t need to mention it at all. But then again, that wouldn’t quite fit Matty Healy's style.
While their 2023 ‘At Their Very Best’ tour seemed like a true encapsulation of their talent to delight, astonish, and perplex simultaneously, it may be challenging for them to surpass that experience in the future. Tonight, however, they give it their all, knowing precisely how far to push the self-deprecating humor before launching into an anthemic banger to re-engage the crowd. Furthermore, as a band, they are incredibly tight and impressive, a detail that often gets overlooked amidst the sprawling themes. Was this the performance that we expected from The 1975 tonight? Not entirely, but their perplexing and thought-provoking commentary on entertainment will always spark conversation, and this occasion is no different.
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We're sharing all the highlights from the first complete day of music at Worthy Farm.