Niall Horan brought his intimate tour, “The Flicker Sessions,” to the Fillmore in Philadelphia on Oct. 29, 2017.
Despite the pouring rain and cold fall weather, fans lined up hours before the general admission concert to be close to the Irish singer-songwriter.
I had been waiting in line for two hours when the doors finally opened and I was allowed inside the venue. I was lucky enough to have a fairly close spot, right in the center of the stage. I had a perfect view of the Irish heartthrob.
One thing that I don’t always love about concerts is the opening act. However, Horan’s opening act, Irish singer-songwriter Gavin James, was absolutely amazing. Although I had never heard of him or listened to any of his music prior to the show, I was blown away by his talent, and I was not the only one. The crowd went crazy for James and made him feel right at home on stage. James was the perfect opening act for Horan because he had an Ed Sheeran/John Mayer vibe, much like Horan himself.
After James’ set was over (too soon if you ask me), fans anxiously waited for Horan to hit the stage.
Finally, a little after 9 p.m., Horan came on stage, and the crowd went wild. He opened with his upbeat, fun, new song “The Tide.”
Horan went on to sing every song from his debut album, including singles, “This Town,” and “Too Much Ask.”
He played guitar on every song during his set, prior to the encore, and seeing him in his element, singing his own songs made the whole crowd smile.
Horan discussed how important this album is to him and celebrated with fans the whole night because Flicker had officially gone number one in the United States.
Another thing that I loved about the show was that Horan remained happy and humble the entire time. He said that he couldn’t even describe how much he loved how quiet the crowds get during “Flicker” and how crazy everyone gets when he sings “Slow Hands.”
My personal favorite on the album, “Mirrors,” was one of the last songs that Horan performed. Before he (and the crowd) belted out the lyrics, he described the story behind the song.
Horan said that it was not a very personal track to write, however, he saw a girl in a coffee shop who looked sad and used this as inspiration to write a song. He laughed as he said she could’ve been the happiest girl in the world, even though she didn’t look it. As the crowd listened intently, he said that he knows girls all over the world struggle with feeling confident in who they are, and he wrote this song for all those girls out there that have experienced this self-doubt. If anyone in that crowd didn’t already think he was an angel, they did after he introduced and performed “Mirrors.”
Horan then performed a three-song encore that began with a One Direction throwback, “Fool’s Gold,” followed by his upbeat single “Slow Hands.” The last song that Horan performed was the fun and relatable hit “On My Own.”
The concert was an overall great experience and Horan was clearly ecstatic to be on stage.
He said that the show was one to remember, and that the crowd was full of music lovers. I think that the crowd and fans can agree that Horan is doing so well in his solo career, and is happy to still be performing, even if it isn’t with One Direction.
Did you miss Horan at the Flicker Sessions? Don’t worry! He’ll be back to perform in the area at the BB&T Pavilion on Sept. 11, 2018.