The 1975 - A San Francisco Concert Review

The 1975 at Rickshaw Stop

     Yesterday, we visited Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, again. This time the band of interest was The 1975 from Manchester, U.K. It was another good experience (although this venue does start shows later than any other SF venue).

      We admit to being less enthusiastic about the concert after seeing the performance of The 1975 on Conan earlier this week. That performance is embedded below. During the late night appearance, the band didn’t show the energy we expected. The energy level wasn’t bad; it just did not match our expectations. Happily, it was a different story at Rickshaw Stop.

     Maybe the increased energy was a result of getting some quality sleep. Touring can be exhausting. But where’s the fun in that explanation? We are going with the “reverse Samson effect.” The Book of Judges tells the story of Samson, who lost his supernatural strength when Deliliah cut his hair. Well, in the couple of days between the Conan premier and the show we attended, the lead vocalist (Matthew Healy) received a haircut. The top was still long, but the sides are now both closely cropped. IT WORKED! He had electrifying head banging energy throughout a majority of the performance. The other members of The 1975 are Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums) and Ross MacDonald (bass). 

     Last night, conspiracy theorists would have enjoyed themselves. The air conditioning was turned off during the strong opening performance by Bad Suns (from Los Angeles) and during the set change. It was very uncomfortable. The air conditioning remained off during the start of the first song in the set by The 1975. But when the song went upbeat, the sudden triggering of the air conditioning seemed too perfect to be coincidental. Regardless, the crowd reacted positively to the combination. Couldn't have been any better timing as it brought life to the audience.  During their song "Chocolate" (an obvious audience favorite), Healy let us sing portions of the song.  You could tell they were thrilled by the fan base they had in the U.S. and how well everyone knew their lyrics. They picked right back up with the chorus after the crowd participation was complete.

     The 1975 was engaging. The crowd was appreciative. And the evening was a positive experience. Trying to beat the rush to the door, we left the venue immediately after the regular set of songs. We risked missing a strong encore. But as we headed to the car, we saw the lead vocalist (Healy) and the drummer walking toward us after they exited through a back door.  It was comforting knowing that we didn't miss an encore and it was an unexpected bonus to the evening - telling them how great a performance they had just put on.  They seemed really appreciative to have played in San Francisco for the first time.

The 1975 at Rickshaw Stop

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/#!/the1975

Website - http://the1975.com/

Bad Suns at the Rickshaw Stop

Quoting the bio of the Bad Suns:

Bad Suns are a band from Los Angeles. The band's back history is minimal: founded at the top of 2012, and spending the majority of that year writing and recording. However, in the first month of the band's existence, after sending out a demo of the song "Transpose" to KROQ 106.7 FM, Kat Corbett decided to air the song on their Locals Only program. Much to the band's surprise, the song reigned in the top 5 of the show for nearly three months (reaching number one on three separate occasions.)

This was an encouraging response for only a demo. The band continued writing, and in June entered Infrasonic Studios in Los Angeles, with producer Eric Palmquist (Wavves, Aloe Blacc, Trash Talk). The band quickly began to attain a steady Los Angeles following, playing to packed houses within the area (The Troubadour, Viper Room) and generating local buzz. "Cardiac Arrest" was chosen as the first single from these sessions.

"Fast-forward to 2013, and [Chris] Bowman and pals Miles Kottak, Gavin Bennett and Ray Libby — still in their late teens — are Bad Suns, and they are looking and sounding a lot more grown-up. Their crackling radio rocker “Cardiac Arrest” was recorded at Infrasonic Studios with producer Eric Palmquist (Wavves, Aloe Blacc, Trash Talk) and reveals a sensibility far beyond the band’s years." --BuzzBands LA