At Their Very Best was the fourth concert tour by English indie art pop band the 1975 in support of their fifth studio album Being Funny in a Foreign Language (2022). It had a total of seven legs with 93 cumulative shows across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Written and directed by frontman Matty Healy, the show received unanimous critical acclaim, with praise on the concept, production, boundary-pushing staging, and Healy's performance. Rolling Stone declared it as "a defining blueprint on how to do arena shows" and "the most impressive live show" of 2022. A follow-up tour, with newly expanded production, commenced in arenas in North America in 2023 titled Still... At Their Very Best.
Background The band was set to embark on the 2021 shows of Music for Cars tour but ultimately cancelled the entire tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they have confirmed that they have been working on their fifth studio album. On 29 June 2022, the band announced the album titled Being Funny in a Foreign Language, releasing it on 14 October the same year.
The group announced the tour along with its North American dates on 3 August 2022. It was followed by UK and Ireland tour dates, announced on 1 September 2022.
On 13 February 2023, the group announced a headlining concert at the Finsbury Park, deemed as their "biggest UK headline show ever".
Concert synopsis The show was written and directed by frontman Healy. The set, modeled after the interior of a suburban home, was designed by the band's frequent collaborator Tobias Rylander, and is adorned with antique furniture, bedside lamps, and old televisions embedded with LED screens to display concert visuals. On one end of the stage is a large spiral staircase, while the other end is covered by a roof atop which Healy performs the song "I Like America and America Likes Me". At the center of the stage is a large door frame that evokes the rectangle symbol present across the cover art for the band's early discography. The set is also surrounded by windowsills through which more stage lights are projected, as well as a large streetlamp that hangs over the roof of the house. Rylander cited Stanley Kubrick as an inspiration for the set, aiming to create a contrast between the "cozy" suburban backdrop and the darker undertones of Healy's performance onstage.
The show is split into two parts: the first half (The 1975 Presents: Being Funny in a Foreign Language) was characterized by The Observer as "part performance art, part stage play, part Charlie Kaufman movie about a rock star in crisis," and the second half (At Their Very Best) as a traditional concert that incorporates more of the band's past discography.
The two halves were separated by an interlude titled "Consumption" where Healy depicts masturbation, eats a raw steak, and delivers 20 press-ups in immediate succession in front of television screens showing news clips, which he then appears to climb into. In the US leg of the tour, Healy got a tattoo on stage that read "iM a MaN". Healy has also invited both male and female members of his audience to kiss him during his performance of the song "Robbers" and, on one occasion, sucked a fan's thumb. The Guardian said it sparked conversations regarding consent, fantasy and art in 2022, and noted that Healy asked for fans' permission first.
Set list This set list is representative of the show on 8 January 2023 in Brighton, England. It does not represent all dates throughout the tour.
"The 1975" (Being Funny in a Foreign Language) "Looking for Somebody (To Love)" "Happiness" "Part of the Band" "'Oh Caroline" "I'm in Love with You" "All I Need to Hear" "Roadkill" "I Couldn't Be More in Love" "Fallingforyou" "I Like America & America Likes Me" "About You" "When We Are Together" "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) "TooTimeTooTimeTooTime" "Chocolate" "It's Not Living (If It's Not with You)" "Paris" "Robbers" "Somebody Else" "Love It If We Made It" "The Sound" "Sex" "Give Yourself a Try"
Special guests Phoebe Bridgers performed The 1975's "Milk" during the concert on 28 November 2022 in Inglewood, California. Jack Antonoff and Zem Audu performed a medley of Bleachers' "All My Heroes" and "Rollercoaster" during the concert on 29 November 2022 in San Francisco. Taylor Swift performed The 1975's "The City" and a debut live performance of her single "Anti-Hero" during the concert on 12 January 2023 in London, England. Charli XCX performed "Vroom Vroom" during the concert on 20 January 2023 in Manchester, England. Tim Healy performed a cover of "All I Need to Hear" in Newcastle, England, then reprising this performance for the band's Finsbury Park concert. Lewis Capaldi performed covers of "Antichrist" and Taylor Swift's "Love Story" during the concert on 25 January 2023 in Newcastle, England.
Reception The show received unanimous critical acclaim with five star reviews from the Rolling Stone, NME, The Observer, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, and Metro, among others. Rolling Stone declared it as "a defining blueprint on how to do arena shows" and "the most impressive live show" of 2022, with the Evening Standard declaring the 1975 as "the most compelling pop band on the planet".
Clips from the show went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms, prompting wide media coverage of his onstage actions. In Rolling Stone's review of the performance, the magazine stated that Healy delivered "a subversive and surreal take on modern masculinity [that] when viewed in isolation on social media, that all-importance nuance is entirely absent."
On 21 July 2023, while performing in Malaysia, the organisers of the Good Vibes Festival forced the band to prematurely end their performance under pressure by the authorities after Healy criticised the country's widespread anti-LGBTQ+ laws and kissed fellow bandmate Ross MacDonald. Healy stated that he "made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn't looking into it. [...] So I pulled the show yesterday and we had a conversation, we said 'you know what, we can't let the kids down because they're not the government'". Malaysian authorities forced the organisers to immediately halt and cancelled the rest of the three-day festival citing that Healy's "controversial conduct and remarks" are "against the traditions and values of the local culture". Human rights and LGBT activist Peter Tatchell, writing for The Guardian wrote that criticism of Healy and the band "deflect attention from where the criticisms should be most urgently directed: against the homophobia of the Kuala Lumpur regime." He also expressed that Healy is no white saviour for showing solidarity to the community as "queer rights are a universal human right, not a western one". On 23 July 2023, the band announced the cancellation of their concerts in Jakarta and Taipei, citing "current circumstances" that made it "impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows". Accordingly, this made Singapore the only stand-alone Asian stop for Leg 6.
Broadcast The sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on 7 November 2022 was livestreamed globally on Twitch, presented by Amazon Music. A live recording was released on Amazon Prime Video and premiered on 6 January 2023.
Gallery
Photos taken on the tour's 14 December 2022 sold out show in Minnesota depicting a partial view of the stage design modified with Christmas lights.
Tour dates + List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and opening act Date City Country Venue Opening actsLeg 1 – North America3 November 2022 UncasvilleUnited States Mohegan Sun ArenaBlackstarkids4 November 2022BostonMGM Music Hall at Fenway5 November 20227 November 2022 New York City Madison Square Garden9 November 2022 Camden Freedom Mortgage Pavilion10 November 2022 Washington, D.C. The Anthem12 November 2022 Atlanta State Farm Arena13 November 2022 Nashville Municipal Auditorium15 November 2022 Grand Prairie Texas Trust CU Theatre16 November 2022 Houston 713 Music Hall17 November 2022 Austin Moody Center20 November 2022 Mexico City Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 23 November 2022 PhoenixUnited States Arizona Financial TheatreBlackstarkids25 November 2022 Paradise The Theater at Virgin Hotels26 November 2022 San Diego CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre28 November 2022 Inglewood Kia Forum29 November 2022 San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium1 December 2022 Portland Moda Center2 December 2022 Seattle WaMu Theater4 December 2022 Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale Beach rowspan="2" 6 December 2022 Denver Mission Ballroom8 December 2022 Independence Cable Dahmer ArenaBlackstarkids9 December 2022 Chicago Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom10 December 2022 Milwaukee The Eagles Ballroom12 December 2022 Toronto Canada Scotiabank Arena14 December 2022 MinneapolisUnited States Armory16 December 2022 Newport MegaCorp Pavilion17 December 2022 Moon Township UPMC Events CenterLeg 2 – Europe8 January 2023 BrightonEngland Brighton CentreBonnie Kemplay9 January 2023 Bournemouth Bournemouth International Centre10 January 2023 Exeter Westpoint Arena12 January 2023LondonThe O2 Arena13 January 202315 January 2023 Birmingham Resorts World Arena16 January 2023CardiffWalesCardiff International Arena17 January 202319 January 2023 Glasgow Scotland OVO Hydro20 January 2023 ManchesterEngland AO Arena22 January 2023 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena23 January 2023 Leeds First Direct Arena25 January 2023 Newcastle Utilita Arena26 January 2023 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena29 January 2023 Dublin Ireland 3Arena30 January 2023 Belfast SSE ArenaLeg 3 – Latin America18 March 2023 San Isidro Argentina Hipódromo de San Isidro rowspan="8" 19 March 2023 Santiago Chile O'Higgins Park21 March 2023 Luque Paraguay Parque Olímpico23 March 2023 Sopó Colombia Campo de Golf Briceño25 March 2023 São Paulo Brazil Autódromo de Interlagos29 March 2023 GuadalajaraMexico Arena VFG30 March 2023 Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes1 April 2023 Monterrey Fundidora ParkLeg 4 – Asia-Pacific4 April 2023 Pak Kret Thailand IMPACT ArenaWallice8 April 2023 PerthAustralia Red Hill Auditorium10 April 2023 Adelaide AEC Theatre11 April 2023MelbourneRod Laver Arena12 April 202314 April 2023 Sydney Aware Super Theatre15 April 2023 Brisbane Riverstage16 April 2023 Sydney Qudos Bank Arena19 April 2023 WellingtonNew Zealand TSB Bank Arena21 April 2023 Auckland Spark Arena24 April 2023 TokyoJapan Tokyo Garden Theater rowspan="7" 26 April 2023YokohamaPia Arena MM27 April 202329 April 2023 Nagoya Aichi Sky Expo30 April 2023 Osaka Osaka-jō Hall3 May 2023PasayPhilippinesSM Mall of Asia Arena4 May 2023Leg 5 – Europe27 May 2023 Dundee Scotland Camperdown Park rowspan="4" 2 June 2023 Aarhus Denmark Eskelunden3 June 2023 Warsaw Poland Tor Wyścigów Konnych Służewiec5 June 2023 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle7 June 2023 Dublin Ireland Saint Anne's Park Matty Healy9 June 2023 Hilvarenbeek Netherlands Beekse Bergen rowspan="3" 10 June 2023 Hradec Králové Czechia Festivalpark11 June 2023 Manchester England Heaton Park13 June 2023 Cork Ireland Musgrave Park Caroline Polachek15 June 2023 Oslo Norway Sofienberg Park rowspan="7" 16 June 2023 Neuhausen ob EckGermany Take-off Gewerbepark18 June 2023 Scheeßel Eichenring23 June 2023LuxembourgChamp du Glacis26 June 2023 Bucharest Romania Romexpo29 June 2023 Werchter Belgium Festivalpark1 July 2023 Stockholm Sweden Gärdet2 July 2023 London England Finsbury Park Cigarettes After SexBleachersThe Japanese HouseAmerican FootballPretty SickThe Life6 July 2023 Madrid Spain Villaverde rowspan="4" 9 July 2023 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow Green12 July 2023 Paris France L'Olympia14 July 2023 Lisbon Portugal Praia do MecoLeg 6 – Asia18 July 2023Singapore Sands Expo & Convention Centre rowspan="3" 19 July 202321 July 2023SepangMalaysiaSepang International CircuitLeg 7 – North America4 August 2023 ChicagoUnited States Grant Park rowspan="6" 6 August 2023 Honolulu Waikiki Shell13 August 2023 San Francisco Golden Gate Park
Cancelled shows