Article and Photos by: Kristina Dawn
Portland, OR — Drones of pastel haired pop-punk junkies gathered at The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Tuesday night for the show of a lifetime. “The Schnitz,” a nearly century old, 2,700 person venue in the heart of downtown, literally shook from excitement as opening acts The Japanese House and Wolf Alice took the stage.
The Japanese House, hailing from London, England, entranced the audience with ambient synth-pop style beats, underlain with electric harmonies. Performing songs like “Letter By The Water” and “Still” from their 2015 EP’s Clean and Pools To Bathe In, The Japanese House sent the packed Portland crowd into a hypnotic state of euphoria.
Next up, fellow London natives Wolf Alice (who two days prior were gracing the Coachella stage) had every living creature in the building head banging to their 90’s infused grunge hits. Sporting a vintage denim jacket and a sleek black-on-black Fender Telecaster, frontwoman Ellie Rowsell could put any alt-rock frontman to shame. Shredding just as hard (if not harder than) some of the most famous alternative bands to ever grace Portland with their presence, Wolf Alice punched through an eight-song set. Ranging from the classic underground guitar heavy hits “You’re a Germ” and “Lisbon” from the 2015 LP My Life Is Cool, to throwbacks like “90 Mile Beach” from the 2013 EP Blush, Wolf Alice rocked their way to Portland’s hearts.
After the fastest stage transition on the face of the planet, a quick blackout signaled the moment everyone had been waiting for… THE 1975. Silhouetted by neon pink LED’s, drummer George Daniel, guitarist Adam Hann, and bassist Ross MacDonald took their places on stage. Bloodcurdling screams signaled the arrival of frontman Matty Healy, strutting out in five inch leather boots with a full glass of wine in hand. Blasting off the night with the funkified “Love Me” and “Ugh!” from their February 2016 release I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, The 1975 had everyone (including security) losing their minds (or brains rather).
Not even fifteen minutes into the show Healy graced a lucky fan with a partially drank water bottle (considered the holy grail for The 1975 fans). With a stage persona more like a longtime friend rather than an international rock star, Healy casually conversed with the nearly 3,000 person crowd during brief song breaks, even telling the crowd to “sit their tired tuckuses down,” followed by an “Oh f*** it!” erupting the concert hall in dance.
Nearly halfway through their twenty-song set, the band took to a softer side of their debut 2013 self titled album with “Me”. Healy, starting the song off with a speech: “Let’s just take this moment to be here together, no phones or camera’s, we brought enough screens with us here on stage, look as those instead, just be in this room with one another and sing this song with me.” Surprisingly, for the next five minutes there wasn’t a cell phone in sight.
Closing with the dancy pop-rock hit “Girls,” The 1975 swiftly ran off stage, but with the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs begging for more, the band returned for a four song encore. Kicking things off again with a fully unbuttoned jacket, and an empty glass of wine, Healy smashed the gospel style “If I Believe You,” passionately flailing about the stage.
With an aesthetically perfect stage design, ranging from the three hollow lit rectangular accents weightlessly floating above the stage, to the cityscape LED backdrop, The 1975 mesmerized. As the show came to a close with crowd favorites “The Sound” and “Sex,” Healy urged fans to flood the aisleway, leaving security baffled as thousands of people danced and sang together at the top of their lungs.