After two years of waiting, on Oct. 25, Harry Styles finally returned to Boston for “Love on Tour,” and I was lucky enough to attend.
The TD Garden was packed with fans who have followed Harry for as long as 11 years. The show opened with Jenny Lewis dressed in a shimmering dress that sparkled from every angle. She began the show with her mellow tunes and beautiful lyrics. Her voice traveled through the arena, and she was put in the spotlight by the fans who turned their phone flashlights toward her. Then, after her setlist and a brief intermission, the rest of the show began.
The lights dimmed and the sound of drums and guitar filled the arena. La la la la. The singing intro to “Golden” started, and then, “Hey!” The stage lights flashed on in a kaleidoscope, and there he stood center stage. He dressed in a glistening white dress shirt and high-wasted blue slacks with a pair of blue suspenders holding the outfit together. The crowd roared and Harry Styles began his song. He spent his night dancing around the stage, moving from one end to the other, making sure everyone got an equal show.
His fans screamed and sang along. Most of the fans dressed in their best outfits. Harry Styles’s concerts have become somewhat of a fashion event and all of his fans are in on it. Dressed in bright colors and patterns, they stood in front of their seats or in the pit, dancing along. Some fans opted for the more humorous take and dressed as fruit — I saw a few dressed as bananas — although Harry did not sing the “you’re dressed as a banana” song.
As a break from the songs, Harry talked to his fans. They laughed along with him as he commented on the plethora of colleges and universities in Boston, as well as the number of late-night ramen restaurants in the city. Early in the show, he got the entire arena to sing “Happy Birthday” with him for his dad, Desmond Styles.
Throughout the show, fans in the pit threw items on stage in hopes of Harry catching them or putting them on. From the crowd, he wore a crown (my personal favorite), a sunflower hat, and red heart sunglasses. During his song “Sunflower, Vol.6,” his fans threw sunflowers on the stage. After the song was finished, he collected the flowers and threw them back out to his fans.
Harry’s band had just as much energy as himself, which is what made the show so amazing. His band includes Elin Sandberg on bass, Niji Adeleye on piano, Paulie Lovejoy on percussion, Mitch Rowland on guitar, Sarah Jones on drums, and Ny Oh on keyboard and guitar. All dancing around while Harry sings, you can see that they are having as much fun as Harry and his fans. The new dynamic with Harry and Paulie has been all over social media, and I see why. Paulie is filled with energy that perfectly complements Harry’s. The two ran down the stage together, and Paulie danced right alongside Harry.
His band was given the opportunity to show off their skills over and over again through solos, one of my favorites (and the one I was most anticipating) was Mitch’s guitar solo during “She.” I will never get the tune out of my head that flooded the arena during his solo. It was as if for a moment everything went still as the guitar sung. When he was finished, the crowd cheered loudly for the seasoned member of Harry’s band.
The night finished with “Fine Line,” or at least Harry pretended it did. During the song, the stage was illuminated by the flashlights of the entire arena of fans, and when the song finished, Harry went underneath the stage, concluding the show. However, of course the show wasn’t over. The crowd cheered for him to return, and he obliged, returning with a few more songs up his sleeve.
The night officially ended with “Sign of the Times” off of his first self-titled album. During the song, the crowd once again shined their lights at the stage and sang along one last time. As he sang the melancholic song, a disco ball dropped from the ceiling and created lights throughout the arena. When the song was complete, he ran off the stage and the show ended.
I have no words to describe the night for me. It was truly an amazing show.
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