Project Description
. . . Accor Stadium Sydney, 3rd March 2023 // Photo – Noelle Van Nostrand . . Wet Leg . . . . . . . . . Accor Stadium Sydney, 3rd March 2023 // Photo – Noelle Van Nostrand . . . . CLICK THE PIC TO VIEW THE NEWS
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HARRY STYLES
+ Wet Leg
@ Accor Stadium, Sydney
3rd March 2023
(Live Review)Review by Celine May
Harry fever officially descended on Sydney on Friday, 3rd March – actually, technically 2nd March considering many fans chose to queue and camp the day and night before to secure the closest spot they could to the front. The floor of Accor Stadium was all standing general admission, you see; front GA, rear GA and ‘pods’.
On Friday, night 1 of 2 sold out Sydney shows, it was fairly easy to identify in the precinct who was attending the Harry Styles concert – fans flocked to Olympic Park in every form of transportation, train, special event buses, car, ride sharing and on foot, endowed with feather boas, cowboy hats, chunky boots, bedazzled denim, glitter, or anything loud and proud. Most of all, the theme was colour, which was a strong and lovely contrast to the cloudy, on-again off-again rainy day. Their outfits and excitement would light up anywhere and not be silenced, even though it was raining just prior to the show. To be honest, there was a bit of pressure to dress well, knowing his crowd would pull out all the stops.
Even though it is an 80,000 capacity venue, the energy was very high. Perhaps it was because of his pop super star status, or perhaps because his Australian tour was delayed from 2020 due to COVID until 2023. The longing built up.
Amongst fans chattering amongst themselves, some fans were from his band One Direction days, others younger and with their parents knowing him from his solo career and seeing him for the very first time.
Harry Styles has come a long way from One Direction to his first solo tour at Enmore Theatre in 2017 and then again in 2018 at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney.
Something particularly touching and admirable this time is that at every stop of his Australia tour, Harry arranged for a Welcome to Country; a cultural practice by Aboriginal people to invite people onto their ancestral Country. Harry is one of few artists to include this protocol when traveling Australia.
British indie rock band, Wet Leg, opened the ‘Love On Tour’ tour. Self described as “sad music for people people, and party music for sad people”, they brought a different vibe and dynamic to the tour, and the crowd were undeniably on board as they yelled lyrics back. Wet Leg put on a fun, raunchy, quality set of 9 songs all up; starting with ‘Being in Love’, ‘Wet Dream’ and ending with their debut song ‘Chaise Longue’. In Chaise Longue, Wet Leg poses the question “Excuse me?”, it was fun to hear the crowd yell “What?”.
In the half hour between Wet Leg and Harry Styles, the curated playlist ranged from British pop, Beyonce, Freddie Mercury, Daryl Braithwaite’s ‘Horses’ (a staple at Harry’s Australian concerts), and One Direction’s ‘Best Song Ever’. The crowd did a few waves to entertain themselves as well.
And right on time at 8:30pm, Harry walked on stage in a blue and yellow suit, straight into pop, feel-good hits ‘Music for a Sushi Restaurant’ and ‘Golden’. He addressed Sydney and asked every section of the stadium how they were feeling before diving into ‘Adore You’, a honey-like track and crowd favourite, where he responded ‘alright just for tonight’ when we sang the line “just let me adore you”. He also did a lap of his stage, which was setup as with a main stage, and square catwalk so he can acknowledge fans and perform at the left, right and centre of front GA. In light of his latest album Harry’s Home, the floor was split up into bedroom and kitchen pods etc.
.Following on, Harry gave a speech thanking fans for waiting 6 years since his last tour, thanked Wet Leg, asked if we minded the rain as it didn’t bother him, and told us that his job is to entertain us before cruising into Keep Driving, Daylight, then the more personal, slow jam Woman, a throwback to his 2017 self titled album.
He took a short break to interact with the crowd, asking questions, chatting, and making jokes including asking who was not from Sydney – he is aware and acknowledges that many fans travel the country to see him.
It’s challenging to answer what was a crowd favourite, the audience were loud regardless, though the raw, emotive ballad, ‘Matilda’ is notable as phone lights went up and some tears were spilled. It was a sight and a sound. He introduced Matilda by saying it meant a lot to him and that he hopes that it will mean something to the fans, and it evidently did.
His setlist was primarily from his latest album ‘Harry’s House’, an introspective record, intimate yet upbeat and fun. His stage setup and visuals were somewhat simple and vivid, reflective of the ambience of Harry’s House. It consisted of projections of him, his band, the crowd (packed with posters), in different tones and hues of blues, reds, blur effects at times, and delayed effects, almost psychedelic. If he wasn’t equipped with a guitar, he would be skipping, dancing or stomping across the stages and catwalks.
Although he was immersed in the music and crowd, he would still be sure to interact with fans, wave, smile, and acknowledge their posters throughout his performances. There was no lack of audience engagement here.
After the dreamy, synth-infused track (and my favourite), ’Satellite’, he dove into a solid segment of crowd interaction. Jokingly shaming a fan/teacher for taking 5 days off, to acknowledging someone’s photo of their cat, to helping a fan ‘come out’ to her family who were in the crowd, by with her consent, reading out her sign. He continues by waving a pride flag. During the song afterwards ‘Cinema’, he waves the Aboriginal flag, a powerful and meaningful action for many.
He turns the energy and beats up a notch (or two, or three) by the gospel-like tune Treat People with Kindness, flashing lights, tambourine out, radiating positive energy and a sea of dancing. Perhaps one of the best moments of the night was Harry’s edgy version of One Direction’s biggest hit and debut song ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ from 2011. Whether a One Direction fan or not, there was a sense of connection and community.
At this point, Harry thanks the crowd for the night and acts like the show is over.. despite having 7 songs left. Knowing it’s not over as he hadn’t played his more notable songs such as Watermelon Sugar and As it Was, the crowd stayed. Late Night Talking, Watermelon Sugar, and Love of my Life followed, which was a very beautiful moment for any couples in the audience.
Following swiftly was the powerful ballad Sign of the Times, which was, similarly to Matilda and What Makes You Beautiful, a moment where the feeling of connection was amplified. From his debut album, he surprised and delighted fans with Medicine, a sensual, rock track that he hadn’t played on the Australian tour. A real caught off guard moment.
By thanking fans, his band, tour personnel such as security, production, venue staff and others involved in the tour, doing a lap of waves and bows, he again led us to believe the show was over. Between his thanks and the encore, several minutes went by so it genuinely felt like it was over.
Personally felt a bit annoyed with the consistent false belief it was over, which led some audience members to leave, but I suppose it felt like a nice treat to others that there was still more to go.
Harry ended the show with gritty, rock and cheeky Kiwi that has always been a favourite throughout his tours.
All in all, Harry Styles is a pop star. You can tell he loves and lives for performing and for his fans. If you want a fun night out, this is it. It was primarily upbeat and dreamy, interwoven with ballads and sentimental moments. And judging from the aesthetic of the audience – of hats, boots, glitter, feather boas, he has built a community of individuality and connection. There may have been pressure to dress loud, ‘Love on Tour’ is an accurate tour name.
I appreciate his constant thanks to fans and everyone involved in the tour, his encouragement of fans to express themselves and be who they are, and that he waved the Aboriginal flag and did a Welcome of Country.
I will say that considering the concert was in a stadium, a capacity of 80k+, I cannot speak for everyone; the experience would have differed if you were in GA or high up in the stands but Harry tried his best to entertain and involve the crowd.
That’s Love on Tour!
By Celine May
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.About HARRY STYLES
Harry Styles’ sophomore solo effort Fine Line continues his utterly unique first decade in music. At just 27, Harry’s sophisticated romantic rock record earned critical acclaim and huge commercial success. Fine Line, released in December 2019 on Columbia/Erskine Records, Sony Music, achieved an array of history-making records and topped the charts at #1 in over 20 countries, amassing a total of 5 Billion streams worldwide to date. The 2x Platinum album debuted at #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200 with over 478,000 equivalent album units sold, making history as the biggest sales week for a solo U.K. male artist’s album since Nielsen Music began electronically tracking sales data in 1991, and was recently named one of the top 500 albums of all time by Rolling Stone. Fine Line has produced 2 multi-platinum #1 singles with “Watermelon Sugar,” which won the Grammy Award® for Best Pop Solo Performance and the 2021 BRIT Award for Best British Single, and “Adore You,” which also received a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video. Styles and Fine Line were also nominated for Best Male and MasterCard Album of the Year at the 2020 BRIT AWARDS. He became an overnight sensation with the band One Direction which conquered the world, touring and scoring hits at a frantic pace, while he began to evolve as a songwriter and performer. Styles went his own way in spring 2017 when he dropped his first solo single: the double-platinum piano epic “Sign of the Times,” which Rolling Stone named the Song of the Year. His self-titled debut album released in May 2017, entered the Billboard 200 at #1 and topped charts at #1 in over 55 countries. The timeless 10-track album confirmed Styles as an artist schooled in the classics, while still breaking new ground. He toured the album in 2017 and 2018 with 90 sold-out shows in over 20 countries. He made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-nominated film “Dunkirk” in July 2017, becoming the first British artist with a #1 debut single, album and film in the same year. Up next, he will kick off his world tour Love on Tour in 2021 in support of Fine Line.
About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.
Press Release 30th October 2022 (below) HERE
HARRY STYLES
drops video for
‘MUSIC FOR A SUSHI RESTAURANT’Listen HERE
AMNPLIFY – DB
