Horan started the show gently, with ‘On the Loose’, swiftly moving into crowd favourite ‘This Town’. Horan has confidently distinguished himself away from the classic boy band sound of One Direction. And even though there was widespread doubt about the boys forging their own careers, Horan has successfully paved the way with his country flare.
The crowd bred a whole new generation of One Direction/Niall Horan fans. Young teens accompanied by their parents filled the arena. Horan gave the supervising parents a surprising treat in the form of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’. The young crowd members went very quiet for this number, but the mums saw their time to shine.
Between songs, Horan very comfortably spoke to the crowd. He shared his vocal struggle that morning, waking without a voice. The dedication pulled at the heartstrings of the group as cheers erupted. The singer went on to play the album title track, ‘Flicker’. Horan pleaded to the crowd to put their phones away for this song and amazingly they did. Not a phone light in sight. The fact that Horan can demand so much attention from his crowd is almost unbelievable.
The power of super fans should never be underestimated. This power was evident when the entire crowd lit up their phones to resemble the Irish flag. After asking a fellow crowd member, they created the coloured lights by putting little pieces of coloured paper over their phone flashlights.
While Horan shines through his solo material, he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Between tracks from his debut album, Horan chose a mix of weird and beautiful covers. ‘Crying in the Club’ by Camila Cabello was an unexpected, but great choice. Horan also carefully chose two One Direction songs to perform, ‘Fool’s Gold’, and one of the group’s most recent hits, ‘Drag Me Down’. Hardcore One Direction fans throughout the crowd appreciated the throwback.
Horan momentarily disappeared off stage in his attempt at an encore. He should’ve known that this crowd would have googled the setlist for every other Australian show, and knew that this wasn’t the end of the show. Alas, Horan returned for a few final songs, including, ‘Slow Hands’, the best song on the album, without a doubt. Horan sang the hit with such attitude and sex appeal that it’s almost inappropriate for the average age of the crowd.
Disappointingly, the show ended on ‘Mirrors’, an abrupt wind down from the high of ‘Slow Hands’. Luckily, the crowd was still riding that high, and they will continue to ride it until the next time Niall Horan graces us.
Highlight: The flashlight Irish flag.
Lowlight: The onset of tinnitus from the high pitched squealing.
Crowd Favourite: ‘Slow Hands’. Duh.
