by Ben Darnell
The 1975 (credit Ben Darnell)
The 1975 is a four man group hailing from Manchester, UK, who just recently broke out onto the American music scene. Don’t be fooled however, even though their first album is due out in September, this band has been playing together for a decade. During this time, they have clearly found their sound by mixing smooth synths and high pitched guitars for something truly noteworthy. They opened their set with “Head.Cars.Bending”, and quickly moved into their first hit single “The City”. Once the crowd was warmed up, vocalist/guitarist Matthew Healy announced they would be playing several songs off their unreleased self-titled album.
Although feeling “a bit ill,” Healy still sang perfectly, belting out highs and lows and bringing his all to the microphone. Their set ended with the song “You”,which also became a bit of a jam session, and Healy even jumped on George Daniel’s drum set and kicked the symbols while finishing out the song. The band then quickly left the stage and left me wanting more, but I suppose I will have to wait until October, when they will be back to play Union Transfer again.
The Neighbourhood (credit Ben Darnell)
In a dark purple haze, The Neighbourhood appeared and began playing their unique mix of dark, entrancing music to an excited crowd. Feeding off the their energy and even reaching out into the crowd, lead singer Jesse Rutherford grabbed the audience’s attention right off the bat. Throughout the show Rutherford kept the audience involved by asking them to help sing the chorus to several of their songs such as “W.D.Y.W.F.M.” and “Everybody’s Watching Me (Uh Oh)”, a crowd pleaser for sure. Between the heartfelt lyrics, Rutherford’s rhythmic swaying, and smooth melodies, The Neighbourhood put on a show not soon to be forgotten.
