Alice Chapter 3

see - The 1975. The Manchester Quartet, who had just released their sophomore
album several months prior, had everyone in attendance on their toes anticipating and
speculating which of the infectious dance-rock songs would be featured in the set. As
the lights in the pavilion dimmed the roar of the crowd grew to incessant amount of
screaming that would resemble what one could only imagine a Justin Bieber crowd to
sound like. Seconds later the entire display exploded with a hot, neon pink glow and
the moment some had waited all day for was finally here. Matt Healy, the band’s front
man, came dancing onto the stage in some way that any of the flower crown sporting
Instagram models in the crowd couldn’t resist but to scream louder. The band opened
with their song “Love Me”; the appropriately titled first single, which was debuted in
October of last year, focuses on the dynamic shift of the band’s lifestyle as their fame
has grown from the smallest clubs and darkest pubs to headlining arenas world wide,
all within the past three years. Although, anyone who had ever seen the band in
previous years could’ve argued there was nothing similar between the neon saturated,
dance crazed superstars and their former incarnation they didn’t fail to deliver the
crowd with a plethora of tracks from their initial, self-titled album. Including songs
such as “Heart Out” , “Girls”, “You”, and of course the song that seemed to start it all,
“Chocolate”. As the pavilion had filled shortly after their set began and Healy made
a gesture for the crowd located on the grass to “calmly” fill the seats below, those left
on the lawn seemed to have more fun than anyone else in attendance, dancing, jump-
ing, running and screaming their way across the muddy festival grounds; it was pure
bliss. Except, nobody had anticipated for the band to make the move they made next;
immediately after the quartet finished their guitar-pop smash, “Girls”, they decided
to slow things down a bit, with their neo-gospel atheist hymn, “ If I Believe You”, the
crowd was awe stuck. This was one of the first times many of them had seen the band
play the silky smooth, bass driven gospel song live. Half way through the song, John
Waugh, the band’s resident saxophone playing live member stepped out from behind
the glowing LED’s and into the spotlight to play his part, which he executed in a
flawless fashion. However, before anyone in the crowd knew it, the band was playing
their final song and it almost time to say goodnight.
Even though The 1975 was billed as the headliner, there was one more set of the
night. Halsey, Brooklyn’s indie-pop queen, took the Treehouse stage by storm. With a
stage full of pyrotechnics and a forest filled with mud covered festival goers the young
singer paraded all over the stage as if she had just sold out Madison Square Garden.
Because she did. The singer is due to play a sold out show in the iconic
midtown Manhattan arena in mid-August, one short year after her debut album hit
the shelves. A truly remarkable accomplishment for an artist of any genre. As the
night came to a close, and the pavilion grounds transitioned from a booming, millennial
filled, cultural snapshot, to a barren wasteland of mud and trash those in attendance
could definitely say, Sweetlife 2016 was a successful festival with a homegrown
feel.