Philadelphia was taken over on June 25 by high-pitched screams and girls running down the street at top speed. Were they in danger? Of course not! They were just showing their excitement for the boys of One Direction, who stopped at the Wells Fargo Center on their Take Me Home World Tour. In case you didn’t already know, the band consists of Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. The five boys were surely ready to put on an amazing concert, but the fans were even more ready. Tickets for the concert went on sale in June 2012, so thousands of fans have been anxiously awaiting this event for an entire year. Several could be seen hiding from the blistering heat as early as 9 a.m. just to ensure they had the perfect viewing spot for when the boys arrived. Several had homemade signs, saying things like “They lost ‘The X Factor’ but won the world.” Fans who had never met each other before were becoming fast friends and bonding over their shared love for the pop band.
At around 3:30 p.m., the band’s massive gray tour bus pulled up to the arena. The boys got out one by one, waving to the crowd as they made their way inside. Although fans only caught a quick glimpse of the boys, joy was evident on each of their faces. After a private meet-and-greet, the boys were seen playing soccer outside — shirtless, of course — causing the fans to become even crazier.
The concert later kicked off with the opening act, the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer. Just a little-known group a few months back, Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin now have their own packs of girls screaming at them, thanks to opening for One Direction. They sang a few of their well-known songs, like “Heartbreak Girl.”
Finally, around 8:45 p.m., five little openings in the stage could be seen. One Direction popped out of them to a roaring arena. The crowd was absolutely buzzing with excitement, and it was clear that the boys were, too. They sang some of their popular songs from their first album, “Up All Night,” including the single “One Thing”; however, the majority came from their newest album, “Take Me Home.”
The five boys were literally all over the arena. They took turns running back and forth across the stage so that everyone got a chance to get a good look at their favorite member. Halfway through the show, they performed the beautiful ballad “Change My Mind,” during which they floated up and over the audience on a long platform. They ended up on a little stage in the back of the audience and performed “One Way or Another” before floating back to the main stage.
One very touching part of the show was when they sang “Little Things.” They asked everyone in the audience to hold up their phones so that the entire arena was filled with twinkling lights. The whole scene was so beautiful that the boys could be seen tearing up on the giant screens.
Luckily, One Direction did not forget what city they were in. Harry called the entire audience “Philly cheesesteaks,” and they weren’t afraid to call out people in the crowd. During the part when they floated over the audience, Harry said how one girl was waving at them while texting. “She wasn’t even paying attention!” he said. Later on in the show, Niall caught two girls leaving early, so he asked them “Are we boring you?” and made them sit on the “naughty steps.”
The boys concluded with their original hit, “What Makes You Beautiful,” making it an amazing night to remember. It was sad to think that it’s over, but the boys aren’t done just yet. One Direction has already announced dates for their 2014 Where We Are tour so the fans can do this all over again.