Niall Horan
1st June 2018
Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Mike Thornton. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.
As we made our way into the auditorium at Auckland’s Spark Arena this evening we were slightly surprised to find ourselves a tad late for the beginning of the opening act, who’d been scheduled to make the stage a good 20 minutes after our arrival. The opening act in question is one Maren Morris, who, as we take our seats is rolling through a slick transition from her last number into what proves to be an absolutely belting rendition of Beyoncé’s “Halo”. The artist’s petite form, clad in simple black tank top and jeans and heels, is picked out by crisp clear white spotlight against a bright purple backdrop light with her name emblazoned across it. From the get-go her crisp, clear voice impresses – from well-held long and powerful notes to softer tones and subtle variation there is excellent control.
Obviously a talented singer, Maren is also a gifted songwriter, her lyrics sprinkled with a wry self-aware humour as demonstrated in “Rich” and “80s Mercedes” – this latter tune ringing with what seemed to me like a real Shania Twain-esque quality. As the pumping country pop-rock fades we are told that next up is the first-ever song Morris put into the universe (on her debut 2016 studio album “Hero”), as she tells us “we’re gonna get a little gospel in here / even though it’s not a Sunday” – she announces she’s going to “take us to church on this one” and invites a hand-clap from the eager crowd. “Can I get a hallelujah / Can I get an amen?” are the lyrics that lead us into an original piece that took out the 2017 Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance: “My Church”, a personal celebration of the uplifting experience of singing along to country music radio. The audience is well primed already thanks to these last two tracks but Maren whips up a wave of excitement enquiring “Who’s ready for Niall Horan?” which is of course met with excited calls and applause. The lighting backdrop is switched out to a bold bright orange as we’re introduced to the last song of what has been excellent set. We’re told “this one changed my life” as Maren and her band rip into 2018’s “The Middle” a huge hit on which Maren featured along with Zedd and Grey. The band perform together extremely well, and there’s a great counterpoint bass backing vocal which complements Maren’s voice and gives a rich overall tone. It’s easy to understand the wide appeal which ensured this poppy, upbeat country / dance tune featured high on the charts. As the last superb lead guitar notes ring in our ears we are satisfied in having enjoyed a great opening set, dripping with sing-along-able tunes. Ms. Morris is sure to have collected some new fans in NZ with this performance.
During the break to switch up the stage presentation; the predominantly female crowd is animated and excited. There are plenty of obvious family groupings comprised of mothers and daughters here tonight, also lots groups of girlfriends ranging in age from young teens to 20-somethings, along with a healthy smattering of couples. In my case we’re enjoying a father-daughter night out (I’m both blessed and delighted that our Alison, at 17, is not ashamed to be seen out with me!). I jokingly wonder aloud how many others in the audience recognise / appreciate Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” which I’m both pleased and surprised to hear during the interlude transmission. Sure enough we do find a few subtle head-nodders and air-guitarists amongst the crowd.
A DEAFENING scream pierces my subsequent absent-minded people-watching reverie, and the night is tipped on it’s head.
I probably shouldn’t haven’t been as surprised by the feverish rapture with which young Niall’s entrance is heralded. He is a global superstar, after-all (it says so on the Spark Arena web-page). But surprised I was. Surprised by the screaming; but I got over that. Surprised too, by the degree to which I enjoyed the show, and the new appreciation of Niall Horan as deserving of the adoration and accolades with which he’s met. I’ll admit to being of a generation that really had no cause to be infatuated with One Direction, though I do enjoy a good X Factor episode as much as the next man (i.e. sometimes the good bits are great, but – y’know – sometimes not so much). So if I’m honest I’ve not really paid much attention to the solo acts that have succeeded the phenomenal boy-band that launched their careers into the stratosphere. It just kind of happened around me. Here I am then, aware that Mr. Horan is young, successful, and capable of singing. That’s my sum total knowledge prior to this evening. I’ve gathered that he used to be artificially blonde (for One D.) and has recently returned to his natural brown hair (my daughter approves), and that he’s Irish. And I’ve spun him up on Spotify for a bit.
Boom. Blue searchlight / spotlights sear through the initial screams. A low-down guitar tone picks through. The screaming intensifies, a red/white/blue light bursts forth, and here he is – wearing a black tee and blue jeans Niall takes the stage along with his band, who then unleash the first track “On the Loose”. I’m instantly impressed by the quality of the voice – the sound is far richer than the studio recordings – more real, possibly a little deeper than I’d recalled from my Spotify-inspired expectation. “Auckland, how’re you doing?” he enquires. He already knows the answer, of course. Auckland (or at least 90-something percent of the female membership present at the arena this evening) is positively “aaaaaaaahhhh, ooooh my god I luuuurve yoooou,” thank you very much! ”I want you to sing this one with me ok?” he implores, as we sail off on “The Tide” and are encouraged into a clap along, Niall on acoustic and the crowd merrily jumping along.
This is followed by a quick chat – the first of a few sincere and humorous crowd interactions in his warm lilting Irish accent: with arms held aloft in a gesture of triumph Niall salutes and greets us – “Auckland, Good Evening!” – (the crowd screams) “…finally made it back…” (the crowd screams) Niall explains that he feels like the 30 hours flying (not including the stops) must mean that the band have travelled the wrong way around the world to get here. He explains that he’s been here many times before and implores to join him tonight to make memories, and we’re off and rolling into his debut single of 2016 “This Town”. It’s during this song that members of the crowd dutifully hold aloft their phones with torch/flash light glowing (we’d been requested to do so earlier by means of a small printed paper note – claiming to be part of a fan project – passed by hand around the crowd) which resulted in a clever lighting trick that transformed the torch lights of the left and right hand sides of the crowd so that they took on the colours of the Irish flag. The result of this effect being that from Niall’s perspective on stage, the house would have appeared as a mass of waving twinkling lights in the form of a giant Irish flag with its famous three coloured vertical bands – green / white / orange. A neat trick indeed. Holding the microphone outstretched for the crowd to sing back at him they faithfully echo the chorus line “everything comes back to you” coming across as a mass choir made up entirely of the very high voices of young female fans. This seems enormously rewarding to the singer himself.
Next, we’re back into a slower acoustic setting and forward again in time to the latest album as “Paper Houses” kicks off with the artist highlighted under a simple red overhead spotlight. Simple but effective lighting is employed as a bright white spot picks out the drums as they kick back in after a pause signalling the commencement of the last refrain. There seems to be frequent guitar switches at the breaks, and Niall is handed a different acoustic for the next song. As a very country-sounding lead guitar introduces “You and Me” the singer’s deep, rich tones pervade. At the lead break there’s an excited “let’s go, Jake” as the very on-point lead guitarist is rewarded with screams and applause as he plies his craft. We’re treated to another brief chat.. “Auckland,” declares Niall” (screams from the crowd) “thanks for what you did with the lights there, earlier.” He goes on to very amiably chat with us, conveying a message of gratitude as he acknowledges that he enjoys being able to travel the world doing what he loves, and that it’s “thanks to you guys” that someone from who’s from a small town gets to be in places like this (“my whole town could fit in here – well, we’d give it a go!”). Next up, Niall introduces the song to follow by explaining that it’s by his favourite singer-songwriter / performer / human being of all time: Bruce Springsteen. He goes on to invite us to sing along if we know the words, but “if you don’t, don’t – because it will sound horrendous. Thank you!” What follows is a great rendition of the Boss’s “Dancing in the Dark” from 1984’s Born In The USA, which starts out with a beautiful solo acoustic sound and is then gradually layered up with electric guitar, bass, and finally drums and on to a full-band crescendo. The result is a hard-out country-rock singalong allowing Niall to exercise his very powerful voice – there’s a nice break to it and an occasional husky quality, too. The song builds to its final chords with Niall spinning around on one leg and strumming like a man possessed. The lights drop and then back up again after the final chord, and we’re bounced straight on into the next song. This turns out to be a return to the current album Flicker with “Seeing Blind” affording the opportunity for a welcome return of Maren Morris in a beautifully worked duet, just as it appears on the album. Maren returns to the stage in a fresh grey tank top under a yellow bomber jacket, welcomed with warm cheers and excitement from an appreciative audience. “Too Much To Ask” is next, as we stick with the Flicker album and drop the tempo somewhat, the crowd are in unison and in good voice right from the intro. Niall is back to electric guitar for this song, sending a thrilled ripple of squeals through the teens at the explicit lyric “don’t it feel fucked up we’re not in love” mid-song. There’s more conversation with the audience at the conclusion of this song. We’re told that the band has been off tour for 2 weeks and that this is the “perfect way to come back – you guys are incredible”. This seems a genuine sentiment, followed up with the explanation that there is “nothing better than to play for a lovely crowd / and I appreciate it and I mean that”.
Niall introduces the next song as his personal favourite off the album – the one that gives its title as the name of the album itself: “Flicker”. He explained that it came easily to him – he just knew exactly what he wanted to say and completed it in only 20 minutes. We’re told it’s a real heart churner and has everything in it you’d want from a song. We’re asked to please put phones away, close our eyes and let the music “take you somewhere” (jokes about if you don’t have anywhere to go to look about and maybe prod your neighbour) “see you in 3 minutes” declares the singer, who then renders a beautiful vocal, backed brilliantly by the band as usual, including some very nice work on violin, and the whole thing illustrated with a backdrop effect of lights that gently flicker off and on. Under a simple orange spot we push on into “Fool’s Gold” – a hit from the One Direction back-catalogue – in which his voice demonstrates a lovely country break – almost bordering on a yodel as the lyric unfolds in to peaks and valleys of high and low wavering notes. A rapid rearrangement follows and Niall next appears seated at the piano. He’s warmly appreciative as he explains that this feels really worth the 30 hour flight and that he’s hoping to come back and complete a “bucket list trip around” because on previous trips he found himself chained to hotel. This time he claims to have “drunk every espresso in town” and thanks us again for having him back to our lovely country. We’re next introduced to a song that didn’t make it to the album – a decision he now regrets – but which he can now share with us by playing it now. Again he quips that if we know the words (from online video – because he knows that online is “where you live”) we should sing along – but not if we don’t! “So Long” is the song, and it’s greeted by the audience clapping along as the band layers up to a driving drum beat which is accompanied by well-synced lights every time the drums and band come back in after the breaks. This is followed by “Since We’re Alone” in which Niall gestures and calls out “let me see those hands” – a call dutifully met with a crowd-full of hands-waving fans, lit up by big back-lights as the whole grid at the rear of the stage lights up to match the bright and upbeat nature of the song. Niall is obviously enjoying himself as he bashes away at the rhythm guitar in support of a great lead break, mid-song. The tempo slows again now for the gently beautiful “Fire Away”; the stage is drenched in an apt orange-red glow. As we build to the chorus Niall boosts the crowd along it “Sing it! / Sing it louder! / “whoo!” The song seems to build and flow further than he takes it in the studio version. Under a now brilliant bright red back-lit wall of light Niall gestures towards the lead guitarist for well-deserved applause and then delivers the final line of the song in soft, quiet vocal. Once again Niall addresses the audience and describes this as “one of the most beautiful shows” – he sure knows how to win fans and influence them (as if that was even necessary). We are introduced to the band members and then Niall declares that the sad songs are all over and it’s time to get the party started. He announces the next song with the comment that “you’ll definitely know this one, so I need you” (I don’t, so I can’t help) but most others of course do – it’s a massive rendition of Camila Cabilo’s “Crying In The Club” with some big ol’ country guitar and a big bass sound. Party duly started. Well played, sir! Keeping the upbeat spirit going we’re back to the Flicker album with “Mirrors” which starts gentle enough but sure builds – stage and crowd bathed in huge white diagonal spotlight / searchlights, and the crowd jumping to the chorus for all they’re worth. Fists raised to the air, Niall calls “Jump again!” and as one the crowd is bouncing off the ground accompanied by strobing lights. Plenty of opportunity for proper rock-star poses throughout, and we’re finished up with a huge flood of bright white light and the screams of several thousand young (and not so young) women at the top of their lungs and in apparent rapture.
Phew! Gasp! We’re into the home stretch now as that’s apparently the “last track” of the set as the stage lights go out. Chants of ‘Niall! Niall! Niall!’ and mandatory foot-stomping and hollering now ensue, as the blacked out and empty stage are implored for an encore. Of course there is indeed an encore performance, made up of not one or two but three more songs, greedily devoured by the crowd who are now realising that they really have to extract maximum party from the last morsels of song. First up is another One Direction tune “Drag Me Down” which is greeted with obvious delight, and swallowed whole on the video-cameras of several thousand phones. This is followed up by the singer’s own massive hit from the Flicker album: “Slow Hands” accompanied by a full set of dynamic colours in the lights rather than the single or duo tones of many of the other songs, Niall is clearly enjoying himself and knows how to work a stage, offering the mike to crowd and having a bit of a boogie (notably sans guitar for this song). “Very nice,” declares the singer, with his guitar strapped back on. “Auckland,” (the crowd screams) “a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart. I say this every night but I really mean it. I know how hard it is to get out to concerts / there are some groups here of families and friends / I get that it’s not always easy as there are a lot of shows and they’re not cheap / I appreciate that you chose mine / hope you have a safe trip home and I hope we come back for many years.” All of this is of course gulped down and the mutual appreciation appears palpable. Then we’re in to it.. “Give it to me one last time for ‘On My Own,’ are you ready?” Balloons appear at the front of the crowd, and almost everyone is on their feet – including the mums (maybe a few less dads) as Niall is swinging his guitar in time as the crowd echo the motion waving both hands overhead and swaying along. Niall makes a point of saluting left, right and centre-stage crowd sections (which is met with the obvious response ) as we’re led up through terrific soaring guitar and a crashing rock-star drum slam to finish. There’s last wave and “goodbye” and the band are off. Niall himself leaving the stage last, dispersing a shower of guitar picks to the front rows. Finally, clutching the national emblem on his shirt he gives a final wave and offers the somewhat incongruous shout-out “I’ll see you at the World Cup!”.
So, there it is – house lights up, and a satisfied and very well entertained happy crowd pours back out in the cold Auckland night air, pockets of song rising from small groups walking along, still buzzing, as they no doubt will be for days to come. Mr. Horan has cemented his popularity and can be assured of equal if not greater fervour on his proposed future visit(s). Job well done.
Niall Horan:
Maren Morris:
Were you there at Spark Arena for this brilliant pop gig? Or have you seen Niall Horan perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- On the Loose
- The Tide
- This Town
- Paper Houses
- You and Me
- Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen)
- Seeing Blind
- Too Much to Ask
- Flicker
- Fool’s Gold [One Direction]
- So Long
- Since We’re Alone
- Fire Away
- Crying in the Club (Camila Cabello cover)
- Mirrors
- Drag Me Down [One Direction] [encore]
- Slow Hands [encore]
- On My Own [encore]
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