The other week, Twitter was a hive of activity, with ‘Directioners’ tweeting to mark the 1,000 days that One Direction has been a band. It seems unbelievable that it’s been that long: I remember so clearly when they were put together on the X Factor and now they are worldwide superstars. As I sit here writing this article, listening to their albums and with their calendar hanging on my wall, I cannot deny the fact that I’m a massive fan.
Over Easter, my sister and I went to see one of the concerts of the ‘Take Me Home’ Tour at the 02 Arena, and believe me we were far from disappointed! So all you One Direction lovers (and even you haters) here is an account of the amazing show that I saw!
The show started with support Camryn, an American pop act that got the crowd going and jumping around. Next, it was Five Seconds of Summer, a bit of Aussie eye candy to get the girls screaming, and ready for the 1D boys. This band were actually really good – I recommend checking them out on You-Tube. All that was left to do now was to wait impatiently for the main attraction everyone was dying to see!
Film director and producer Ben Winston came onto the stage to introduce the boys, and explained that this was not just like any night on the ‘Take Me Home’ tour. Apparently, tonight was extra special, as they were filming for their film, ‘One Direction: This is Us’. Immediately, the arena was full of teenage screams as everyone suddenly noticed the film crews. At that moment, the lights dimmed, and the crowd went absolutely wild. I didn’t think I was going to go utterly crazy, but my nineteen year-old sister and I were probably just as bad as the five year-olds in front of us screaming their heads off!
To build the anticipation even further, they showed a video designed to make it feel like we were all at an exclusive house party with Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn, with various different shots of all the boys around the house. As each member was introduced, the audience couldn’t contain their excitement and everyone began screaming for their favourite. At last, the time had come for One Direction to come on stage, and they opened with their album title ‘Up All Night’, which got everyone up dancing! The band was having so much fun onstage and the crowd were just joining in. The boys did well to interact with the audience and waved to everyone at all possible moments! We had excellent seats: as you can see from the photograph, we were at the side of the stage and so had a fantastic view. I definitely had a big smile on my face when a certain Mr Styles gave me a massive wave – (honest, it was me!). My sister was making a heart shape with her hands, desperately hoping throughout the show that one of them would repeat the sign back to her, and finally at the end Niall did! She was really happy, but would have preferred it to be Zayn, as she was drooling over him for the whole concert!
In the middle of the show, the band got on to a moving platform which allowed them to ‘fly’ over the crowd and serenade their ecstatic fans. Younger members of the audience could be seen staring in amazement as their heart throbs glided above their heads! This was where they performed their Comic Relief single, ‘One Way or Another’, and completely rocked it. They followed this by talking to the audience via Twitter, with fans tweeting questions and requests to be answered onstage. During this, cameras were all around the arena to film the audience dancing and singing along to the band.
The next video made us feel like we’d been invited to the morning after the party with the boys, and found them in different places around the house (a shot of Harry in the bath was particularly easy on the eye!) The final video featured the boys playing pranks on unsuspecting members of the public, and ended with the cute factor as a little girl hugged Louis dressed up in a fat suit. Personally, I really hope these videos will be released on DVD, as they were absolutely hilarious and showed all of them as cheeky chappies who you just want to hang out with!
My top 5 favourite parts of the show:
1. The 1D version of Teenage Dirtbag: This song is always a crowd pleaser but this particular rendition made me want to run on stage and bounce around with them!
2. Niall playing guitar: Now, Niall has never been my favourite, but this show showed me how talented he is – and YES he has got hotter!
3. Twitter Questions: This is such an original part of their show, during which fans can make requests through Twitter! This is where they made the Macarena look good, Niall Horan worked the Essex accent and we were treated to seeing each member’s best clubbing dance moves.
4. Just Liam Payne: He is definitely the funniest and weirdest member of the band – he was just constantly making jokes and winding up the boys on stage!
5. Outfit changes: Their style team deserve an award for this job, they made the boys look stylish and every outfit had the sex-factor.
They ended the night with their number one hit single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ along with loads of falling glitter and mass hysteria from fans.
I’m not saying that they are the best singers and dancers in the world, but they are a great boy band and a fantastic classic pop act. Although I didn’t get a kiss from Harry, it was one of the best nights for me, and as a 23 year old woman I’m still not ashamed to say I love One Direction!
Image sources:
My own picture