Harry Styles: Live on tour just ended and I’m feeling rather lucky to have experienced what it feels like to watch our modern day Mick Jagger perform his own set at the Air Canada Center in Toronto on June 16th. This concert (more than any other) felt like an out of body experience to me. Somehow it didn’t feel real, it felt more like one of my occasional early morning lucid dreams.
photo: Tom Pandi
Even though there were some complications before the show started with the stage setting, the whole crowd seemed to forget all about it and scream in anticipation as the lights of the venue went dark. From his prince-like good looks and charm, to his classic rocker fashion sense, to his “treat people with kindness” merch, our Harry doesn’t fail to appeal to an audience of all ages and succeeds in plastering a smile across everyone’s face. Kicking off the show with one of my favorites off of his album, “Only Angel”, Harry appeared in a light pink embroidered Gucci suit (keeping up with his trademark and the fans’ wishes), giving the crowd a taste of what is to follow for the next two hours of the night. The set list of the show was a great balanced mix of his self-titled record, some One Direction songs, two unreleased songs of his “Medicine” and “Anna”, a song he wrote for the well-known pop artist Ariana Grande and a cover of "The Chain" that he executed so beautifully that it could be mistaken for one of his originals. I was glad to see that the show ended on the riffs of "kiwi", his fast-paced rock hit that gave that last adrenaline rush to the crowd who went wild one last time that night.
One of my favorite things about Harry’s big arena shows and something that makes them quite special is his run in between the floor sections to get to the B-stage at the back, to give the fans that are too far a chance to see the star of the show up close and personal. My seat at the 107 section by the stage level gave me a good view of him saluting the fans and collecting the bouquets of roses handed to him as well as the pride flag that he whipped out while singing the 1D oldie "What Makes You Beautiful" with a little twist.
The show consisted mostly of fans, with some moms and dads here and there, which gave it a special atmosphere where everyone is singing along and dancing in full enthusiasm. Harry made sure to give a message to everyone to be who they are, to feel comfortable being themselves and to have fun as much as they can. He always makes sure that people feel safe and accepted for who they are in each one of his shows and that they have the night of their lives. Well I could certainly vouch for that now and admit that when you’re in a Harry Styles concert, there is no other place in the world you would rather be.
Comments