Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Teenage girls are a fickle bunch, but they can also be quite forgiving when it comes to five cutie-pies with charming accents.
The nearly 90 minutes that passed between a feisty opening set from 5 Seconds of Summer and the arrival of One Direction seemed interminable at several points. But the tens of thousands of fans packing the Georgia Dome compartmentalized the inconvenience at the first blast of fireworks, the first notes of “Midnight Memories” and the first glimpse of Niall, Zayn, Louis, Harry and Liam.
That would be misters Horan, Malik, Tomlinson, Styles and Payne for those who failed their “Know Your One Directioners!” quiz.
This school night stop on Wednesday (teachers, we don’t envy you contending with tardiness and bleary eyes from many of your students today) is one of the quintet’s last three dates of its “Where We Are” stadium romp that launched in South America in April and in North America Aug. 1.
At this point, the guys would almost even be forgiven for phoning in a performance (as anyone who watched their iHeartRadio set in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago can attest).
But after finally bounding on stage at 9:30 p.m., One Direction charmed, sang with verve and demonstrated how polished they've become as performers and vocalists since their last two Atlanta appearances ( June 2012 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center and June 2013 at Philips Arena ).
The Georgia Dome is a cavernous space for a concert, but One Direction’s stunning production ably filled it. Among the massive video screens designed with a 3-D feel, a slanted main stage that looked like a “Star Wars” fighter plane, the endless lighted catwalk that led to an auxiliary stage (which later rose into an uber-cool cube) and the wings that stretched close to the side seating, the boys had plenty of room to roam.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
And roam they did.
The fivesome, backed by a taut live band, traversed all areas, together and separately, to provide some kind of view to all 50,000(ish) in the venue.
They all swarmed the B-stage for “Kiss You” early in the set and later spread out to sing “C’mon, C’mon.” During “Live While We’re Young,” their anthem of youthful exuberance that Payne might have taken a bit too literally when he apparently injured his still-bandaged hand in Vegas, the guys clowned around with intentionally cheesy coordinated moves (the dreamy-eyed Malik also delivered the song’s closing line with more introspection than expected for such a lightweight pop tune).
For as long as boy bands have incited young girls to emit deafening sounds not heard in nature, the same formula has been followed: attractive young men (Styles is starting to resemble a young John Taylor of Duran Duran) + distinctive personalities (foreign accents are a bonus) + moderate-to-stellar singing ability + the ability to be self-deprecating = Simon Cowell is a billionaire.
But really, even though all five of the guys are convincing vocalists and Horan has clearly developed as a guitarist (he played on nearly every song), their allure lies in their personalities, which was displayed during their easy banter and bad-joke telling.
Styles, who re-emerged mid-show with his flowing locks twisted atop his head (favorite sign of the night: “I like big buns and I cannot lie”), even paused to allow a fan to propose to his girlfriend (yes, she said “yes”), while during “Better Than Words” Payne goofed around with the band’s keyboardist.
The group also flourished with sumptuous harmonies on “Through the Dark” and “Little Things.” Another vocal highlight came with the Horan-fronted “Don’t Forget Where You Belong,” which prompted an ocean of smartphones – and at least one parent with a real lighter (rock on, lady!) – to illuminate the Dome.
While songs such as “Happily” and “Alive” were notable more for their visual accompaniments – the spurts of streamers and the stage-turned-cube – than their pedestrian musicality, that’s OK, too.
Even though giddy fist-pumping hits “One Thing” and “What Makes You Beautiful” are unabashedly fun songs smeared with sweet messages, One Direction demonstrated with the ethereal “Story of My Life” that they want to mature.
Their upcoming “Four” album, due in November, contains an obvious smash with the synth-heavy hand clapper first single “Steal My Girl.” But it’s the mellifluous new “Fireproof,” which owes more than a nod to classic Fleetwood Mac, that indicates what direction these young men might be headed.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Quite ready to assume the boy band mantle is 5 Seconds of Summer – and the operative word here is “band,” because they are a real one.
The Australian quartet of lead singer/guitarist Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood and drummer Ashton Irwin brought an adrenalized set of power-pop-rock to their 45-minute opening set, and, while the sound system hindered more than helped with an awful echo on their first few songs, the band powered through “18” and “Heartbreak Girl” with real sweat and real instruments.
Irwin was particularly impressive and looked like a young Tommy Lee behind his kit as he bashed cymbals and shook his shaggy mane.
But, like One Direction, 5SOS was as adept at turning down the volume to accentuate a creamy chorus on “Amnesia” as they were inciting a pogo-ing frenzy on their smart, thunderous cover of The Romantics’ “What I Like About You,” a song that could only be considered ancient to this crowd.
Clifford – he of the perpetually dyed hair – turned out some impressive rock guitar on “Beside You” and the entire band plastered their young-man testosterone all over “Good Girls.”
5SOS’s see-sawing breakthrough hit, “She Looks So Perfect,” capped their performance with the type of likeable swagger that should help them maintain their standing as pop’s newest princes.
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