It was during the third abortive attempt at Night Changes that I became aware of what I was doing. Due to a technical difficulty, it looked as though we were getting dangerously close to pulling the plug. The band looked frustrated, and there I was, a 26-year old man with his hand to his mouth in horror that a One Direction concert show might not continue.
Up to this point the show had an air of being phoned in. Liam spun his mic, Louis mugged to the cameras, Niall strummed a guitar earnestly and Harry moved around the stage like a Whirling Dervish in Saint Laurent. More than anything though they looked tired. Harry especially. He’s a thrilling performer – covering more stage than the other three members added together – but I occasionally found myself worrying about him in the way that you worry about Matthew Perry in certain episodes of Friends. Performing Stockholm Syndrome from a cage made of lasers, this looked less like the first night of tour and more like the last night of five long years.
“The O2 is one of my favourite arenas to play in the entire world” said Liam with all the sincerity of a two day late birthday card from Moonpig. Liam does a lot of the leg work on the night. He addresses the crowd, he huffs and puffs when the others take too long on change-overs, he engages in slightly passive aggressive stage banter with the crew. He is, essentially, the Gary Barlow of the group.
Up until the technical difficulties, you could count on one hand the number of times the group looked at each other. Afterwards though, they seem noticeably more relaxed and the songs sound great for it. Where Do Broken Hearts Go is properly kicking. Steal My Girl fills the cavernous venue like the bona fide stadium rock song it is.
It’s almost as though the slight blip as a band has unburdened them and, in what may be the least subtle metaphor for departing members, they pull off a genuinely brilliant second act. Can they do the same after the upcoming hiatus? I and 20,000 others at last night’s show certainly hope so.
Credits
Photography Melissa Rose