One Direction
Wembley Stadium // London, England // June 6, 2014
Review by Madison Convey
Wembley Stadium is arguably regarded as one of the most famous stadiums in the world, after having hosted shows by The Rolling Stones, Queen and Michael Jackson, as well as legendary sporting events such as the 1966 FIFA World Cup final. Just across the street of the Wembley Park area is Wembley Arena, which hosted The X-Factor when One Direction was formed – where they probably didn’t think that a mere four years later they would headline the neighboring stadium; a sold-out show to 90,000 people.
Doors opened at 5PM, and it took nearly two hours for every person to file in and take their position in their seats or one of the four standing zones that surrounded the impressive stage set up that featured a runway and a number of platforms that gave it a somewhat futuristic look. It wasn’t until nearly 7PM that the sole support band, Australian pop rockers 5 Seconds Of Summer, took to the stage.
With their appearance on previous One Direction tours it was clear that a majority of the audience already knew of them, a fact that was cemented by the deafening screams that rang through the colossal venue when the quartet graced the stage. The band’s style is more like that of Green Day, Blink-182 and All Time Low, so their presence on a boyband’s tour is questionable but they seem to go down well regardless – and Wembley was no exception. Their set consisted of recent hits “She Looks So Perfect” and “Don’t Stop” as well as a few tracks that haven’t had a studio release yet such as, “Amnesia” and “Eighteen”, but will be featured on their album that drops at the end of this month. 5 Seconds Of Summer are all teenagers, with an average age of 18, but that didn’t stop them from owning the small section of the incredible stage they were allocated with their catchy tracks and a friendly stage presence that had the huge crowd before them going crazy. The boys were obviously excited about playing in such a famous venue, as every break they took in between songs had some variant of, “hello Wembley!” – but who wouldn’t be like that, really. A couple of covers including Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” kept the crowd sweet, and with how entertaining the set was it was over seemingly quickly. It’s big boots to fill, opening for One Direction in front of many thousands of people, but 5 Seconds Of Summer definitely pulled it off.
Some time later as the sun was setting above the open air venue, One Direction’s intro began and it was almost impossible to hear above the screeching of the boyband’s dedicated fanbase who’s demographic is mostly teenage girls. They kicked off with “Midnight Memories”, one of their most famous tracks from the eponymous album that was released late last year, and then soared through a setlist packed with hits that had the crowd dancing, tear-jerkers and lesser known gems from all three of their records – in fact, the setlist was so long that the band didn’t have much time to talk to the crowd, which pushed them to interact with the crowd mostly while they were mid-performance. When they did address their fans, it was mostly to speak of how far they have come since their beginning, and just how surreal it was to be playing in front of so many thousands of people at a venue they’ve always dreamed of playing.
Their dance moves weren’t necessarily choreographed at times, which was made apparent by Harry Styles flailing about the stage in an outfit that made him very much the spitting image of a young Keith Richards (of The Rolling Stones). The large screens that were placed around the stage mostly showed the stage, zoomed in for the benefit of those up in the highest seats around the stadium, but occasionally showed lyric graphics and pictures that were relevant to whatever song the group were performing. One Direction worked the crowd, naturally, as by now they’re trained professionals who know how to put on a spectacular show regardless of how big or small the crowd is. Despite how many thousands of people were before them, the boy band managed to make every single person feel special without direct interaction which ensured that the night would be one that many would hold dear to the hearts for a very long time.
If the catchy tunes, hilarious dancing and incredible good looks weren’t enough, the stunning firework display that soared from the top of the stage rigging during their encore of “Little White Lies” and “Best Song Ever” really put a cherry on the top of a perfect evening. Young girls were crying, surely because they didn’t want the night to end, but at least One Direction made sure they went out with a bang as they took their time bidding farewell to the masses. It may have taken almost two hours to drive out of Wembley Park with all the traffic, but it was certainly a price that many were willing to pay in order to spend one evening with the amazing One Direction boys.
