The experience of attending The 1975’s concert at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena was unlike any other I’ve encountered: a blend of performance art, live concert, and hanging out with your edgy friends in their mom’s vintage British living room. If that sounds unconventional, it was, but in the most captivating way.

While many concert tours feature elaborate set pieces with stages spanning various heights, expensive visual effects, and an overwhelming sense of presence, The 1975 takes a different approach. They strip back the extravagance while maintaining meticulous attention to detail in their genuinely impressive and atmospheric stage setup.

The backdrop featured bookshelves, old VHS tapes, and a leather sofa with subdued brown hues that evoked nostalgic memories of a childhood home. The set included retro CRT (cathode-ray tube) television screens, in front of which the somewhat melancholic frontman Matty Healy sat with a cigarette in his mouth and a guitar in his hands.

As fans in sold-out seats screamed with joy, their favourite The 1975 songs were beautifully performed. The stunning jazzy sax solos by John Waugh, accompanied by the skilful lead guitar of Adam Hann, blended seamlessly with Healy’s wistful vocals, creating a state of somber contemplation. The television screens rapidly displayed compilations of the past year’s events, ranging from tragedies to controversies, with occasional digs at Matty Healy himself.

The climax occurred at the show’s midpoint when the lights of the ‘house’ were ceremoniously switched off. Healy began a monologue before breaking down in front of the now frenetic orchestra of televisions, evoking a sense of anxiety and panic before literally jumping through one of the screens.

This led to perhaps the most bizarre and thought-provoking set piece, as amidst the standing crowd Healy then appeared on a large grass platform next to a scantily clad (full-frontal) replica of himself, for a vulnerable acoustic rendition of the song “Be My Mistake”.

For fans of the band, this tour is a must-see. However, as of yet, this was their last performance in the UK, with their next appearance set in Lisbon on the 26th of February. If you happened to see it, perhaps you too can’t shake the image of a naked Matty Healy being lowered into a grave out of your head?