Still... At Their Very Best

Still... At Their Very Best was the fifth concert tour by English indie art pop band the 1975 in support of their fifth studio album Being Funny in a Foreign Language (2022), and a follow-up of their acclaimed At Their Very Best world tour "featuring newly expanded production".[3]

Still... At Their Very Best
Tour by The 1975
Teaser poster
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated albumBeing Funny in a Foreign Language
Start date16 September 2023 (2023-09-16)
End date24 March 2024 (2024-03-24)
Legs2
No. of shows60
Supporting act(s)
Websitethe1975.com/tour
The 1975 concert chronology

It commenced in September 2023 with a North American leg across arenas in the United States and Canada, marking their biggest tour yet in the region.[4][5][6] In 2024, the band staged the world's first ever "carbon-removed" events across their four shows at the O2 Arena in London.[7]

Background

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In May 2023, during the band's headlining show at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Scotland, frontman Matty Healy was noted to wear a lab coat with a "Matty" name tag which was a departure from his At Their Very Best tour wardrobe.[8] By June, the band's social media accounts posted promotional materials about a new concert tour including a poster of Healy kneeling on a patch of grass wearing a lab coat.[9][3]

The fourth episode of the band's A Theatrical Performance of an Intimate Moment short film webseries shows Healy in a laboratory discarding a lab coat with the name tag "Truman Black",[10] a known alias of Healy's, and choosing to wear the lab coat with the name tag "Matty".[11] On 23 September, Healy posted a political campaign-type of video centering on redemption to promote the tour.[12]

World's first "carbon-removed" events

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The band's four shows at the O2 Arena in London in 2024 marked the world's first-ever carbon-removed events.[7] This involves CO2 generated by the events – from the light show to the audience – being physically sucked out of the air, as well as more traditional techniques such as planting trees and spreading CO2 absorbing volcanic rock on farmland, where it also acts as a fertiliser.[13]

Concert synopsis

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The show, written and directed by Healy, is an expansion of the band's previous tour, reusing the same house-like set design by Tobias Rylander and following a similar premise and two-part structure.[14] Additions to the show include a large LED screen behind the house set that displays concert visuals, as well as a second, smaller stage at the center of the concert venue, which resembles a square patch of grass. After crawling through a television screen on the main stage during the "Consumption" interlude, Healy emerges on the B-stage for the show's middle act (titled "Matty's Nightmare"), where he caresses and lays next to a naked wax replica of himself. The replica is then lowered beneath the stage and replaced with a guitar and microphone for Healy to perform an acoustic rendition of the track "Be My Mistake" from the band's third album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. Healy returns to the main stage afterwards to perform the rest of the set, but reemerges on the B-stage during the encore to perform "People", and is sometimes joined by other members of the band.[15][16]

Some shows contain a second interlude titled "Social Media Pandering Parody", where Healy projects trending news clips onto the screens while reading satirical commentary on current events from a cellphone to the audience.[17] At the October 29, 2023 show in Chicago, Healy ate a prop cellphone onstage as part of the parody segment.[16] Meanwhile, at the October 10, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas, Healy delivered an impassioned 10-minute speech defending the band's pro-LGBT demonstration during their performance at the 2023 Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia, where they were subsequently banned from performing. Healy particularly criticized the "liberal outrage" against the band after the incident, which he perceived as hypocritical in light of Malaysia's widespread anti-LGBT laws, and further refuted accusations against the band of "cultural insensitivity" and "colonialism", stating, "[liberals'] unconditional belief in inclusivity and tolerance has led them to indirectly support a government which is intolerant of their own existence."[18]

Tour dates

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List of 2023 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and opening act[19][3]
Date City Country Venue Opening acts Attendance Revenue
16 September 2023[a] Atlanta United States Piedmont Park
23 September 2023[b] Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas
26 September 2023 Sacramento Golden 1 Center Dora Jar
28 September 2023 San Jose SAP Center
30 September 2023 San Diego Pechanga Arena
2 October 2023 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
5 October 2023 Glendale Desert Diamond Arena
7 October 2023 Greenwood Village Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
9 October 2023 Fort Worth Dickies Arena
12 October 2023 New Orleans Smoothie King Center
14 October 2023[c] Austin Zilker Park
17 October 2023 Miami Kaseya Center Dora Jar
18 October 2023 Tampa Amalie Arena
20 October 2023 Charlotte Spectrum Center
22 October 2023 Nashville Bridgestone Arena
23 October 2023 St. Louis Enterprise Center
25 October 2023 Kansas City T-Mobile Center
26 October 2023 Minneapolis Target Center
28 October 2023 Milwaukee Fiserv Forum
29 October 2023 Rosemont[d] Allstate Arena
31 October 2023 Detroit Little Caesars Arena
2 November 2023 Indianapolis Gainbridge Fieldhouse
3 November 2023 Columbus Nationwide Arena
5 November 2023 Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena
7 November 2023 Newark Prudential Center
8 November 2023 Baltimore CFG Bank Arena
10 November 2023 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
12 November 2023 Boston TD Garden
14 November 2023 New York City Madison Square Garden
15 November 2023
17 November 2023 Montreal Canada Bell Centre
18 November 2023 Toronto Scotiabank Arena
20 November 2023 London Budweiser Gardens
22 November 2023 Grand Rapids United States Van Andel Arena
26 November 2023 Salt Lake City Delta Center
27 November 2023 Boise ExtraMile Arena
29 November 2023 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena
1 December 2023 Portland United States Moda Center
2 December 2023 Seattle Climate Pledge Arena
List of 2024 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and opening act[22][23]
Date City Country Venue Opening acts Attendance Revenue
13 January 2024 Anaheim[e] United States Honda Center[24]
8 February 2024 Glasgow Scotland OVO Hydro The Japanese House[1]
9 February 2024
12 February 2024 London England The O2 Arena
13 February 2024
14 February 2024
17 February 2024 Manchester AO Arena
18 February 2024
20 February 2024 London The O2 Arena
21 February 2024 Birmingham Resorts World Arena
26 February 2024 Lisbon Portugal Campo Pequeno Been Stellar[25]
27 February 2024 Madrid Spain WiZink Center
1 March 2024 Paris France Le Zénith
2 March 2024 Amsterdam Netherlands AFAS Live
3 March 2024 Brussels Belgium Forest National
5 March 2024 Hamburg Germany Barclays Arena
7 March 2024 Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum
8 March 2024 Stockholm Sweden Tele2 Arena
10 March 2024 Copenhagen Denmark KB Hallen
12 March 2024 Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena
13 March 2024 Warsaw Poland Torwar Hall
14 March 2024 Prague Czech Republic Sportovní hala Fortuna
16 March 2024 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
18 March 2024 Munich Germany Zenith
19 March 2024 Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
21 March 2024 Frankfurt Germany Jahrhunderthalle
22 March 2024 Cologne Palladium
24 March 2024 Amsterdam Netherlands AFAS Live

Notes

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  1. ^ The concert on 16 September 2023 at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, United States is part of Music Midtown.
  2. ^ The concert on 23 September 2023 at Downtown Las Vegas in Las Vegas, United States is part of Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival.[20]
  3. ^ The concert on 14 October 2023 at the Zilker Park in Austin, United States is part of Austin City Limits Music Festival.[21]
  4. ^ Promoted as Chicago
  5. ^ The concert on 13 January 2024 in Anaheim, California is part of iHeartRadio's AlterEgo.

References

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  1. ^ a b Skinner, Tom (12 January 2024). "The Japanese House confirmed to support The 1975 on 2024 UK tour". NME. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Been Stellar: "europe w/ @the1975"". www.x.com. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Shanfeld, Ethan (13 June 2023). "The 1975 Announces North American Fall Tour". Variety. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  4. ^ Kress, Bryan (13 June 2023). "How to Get Tickets to The 1975's 2023 Tour". Consequence. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  5. ^ Duran, Anagricel (13 June 2023). "The 1975 announce 'Still ... At their very best' 2023 North American Tour". NME. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  6. ^ Spanos, Brittany (13 June 2023). "The 1975 Are Still at Their Very Best for New North American Tour Dates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b Dunworth, Liberty (7 September 2023). "The 1975 to stage world's first "carbon-removed" event at The O2 in London". NME. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  8. ^ Royce, Aaron (28 May 2023). "Matty Healy Suits Up in Tie, Lab Coat and Laced Sneakers for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2023". Footwear News. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  9. ^ "The1975: Live on stage in show and concert". Instagram. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. ^ "The 1975's Matty Healy on Michael Jackson, The 1975's first gig and Googling himself". 14 October 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2023 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ The 1975 add more shows to fall tour (Newark's Prudential Center included), 14 August 2023, retrieved 15 August 2023
  12. ^ Bashforth, Emily (23 September 2023). "Matty Healy announces 'presidential campaign' announcement and fans are baffled". Metro. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  13. ^ Bawden, Tom (5 September 2023). "The 1975 to stage world's first 'carbon-removed' gig at the O2 Arena". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  14. ^ Reilly, Nick (27 February 2023). "Go behind the scenes of The 1975's ambitious 'At Their Very Best' tour". Rolling Stone UK.
  15. ^ Wilson, Ava. "The 1975 "Still… At Their Very Best" Concert Review".
  16. ^ a b Benkendorf, Julia (8 November 2023). "Unpacking the surrealist introspection of The 1975's 'Still…At Their Very Best' Tour". North by Northwestern.
  17. ^ "REVIEW: The 1975 are "Still… at their Very Best" - The Miami Hurricane". themiamihurricane.com. 30 October 2023.
  18. ^ Kaufman, Gil (10 October 2023). "Matty Healy Addresses Malaysia Festival Ban & 'Liberals Outrage'". Billboard.
  19. ^ "The1975: "'Still … at their very best' North America Tour, 2023"". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  20. ^ Minsker, Evan (28 March 2023). "Kendrick Lamar, The Killers & ODESZA to Headline 2023 Life Is Beautiful". Billboard. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  21. ^ Kaufman, Gil (9 May 2023). "Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Shania Twain & More to Headline 2023 Austin City Limits Festival". Billboard. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  22. ^ "THE 1975 - Tour Dates". the1975.com. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  23. ^ Jones, Damian (7 September 2023). "The 1975 add new dates to 2024 UK and European 'Still At Their Very Best' tour". NME. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  24. ^ Mier, Tomás (14 October 2023). "Paramore, The 1975, The Black Keys Will Rock Out at ALTer Ego 2024". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Been Stellar: "europe w/ @the1975"". www.x.com. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
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