Photos by Cal Aurand
One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer Toyota Center July 21, 2K13
One of the great and terrible truths of pop music is that every trend comes back again. Knowing that, the current interest in boy bands past and present should come as no surprise. If you can get four or five good-looking guys who can harmonize to push their solo ambitions aside long enough to put out an album, there's a chance you can make some serious money.
Last year One Direction were playing out in The Woodlands, but they were so popular they were able to book Sunday night's date at the Toyota Center a year in advance. After months and months and a few more months of waiting, it was finally time for Houston Directioners to see the five lads from Britain live and in person. This is our breakdown of the night.
6:51 p.m.: Ticket in hand I now face an important choice: which line will I pick to get in to the venue? Going to the right means choosing order- the line is long but it's organized, which is to say it looks like a line. Going to the left means choosing chaos- there's not so much a line as there is a horde of folks very politely trying to storm the gates. I choose order because it at least offers me the illusion of progress.
7:15 p.m.: The corporate sponsor for this tour is a snack company that makes a bunch of products I like. I'll spend the next four hours hoping there are free snacks after the show.
7:40 p.m.: I'm still finding my seat when the lights go down and 5 Seconds of Summer prepare to take the stage. The roar of the crowd is so loud that it's painful. I'm so glad I brought earplugs.
7:45 p.m.: You know how in teen comedies they occasionally throw in a punk character? 5SOS look and sound exactly like what Hollywood thinks teen punk bands look and sound like.
8 p.m.: They have a song about being in the friend zone, and I'm almost certain that's the first time I've heard that phrase used in a song. Then they go in to a pretty good version of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and I find myself almost liking them.
8:10 p.m.: All told, 5S0S are not bad. They need to get away from the "letting different guys sing lead on different tracks" thing, but they could eventually be a serviceable blink-182 clone.
8:25 p.m.: They're running commercials in between the opener and the headliner. I've seen the same Claire's commercial 4 times. This is because I complained about ads at concerts isn't it?
8:40 p.m.: The last song before the lights go out? "Single Ladies." That's funny, given how this week started.
1510 Polk, Houston, TX
Category: Music
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