A new style

After four straight hours of Los Angeles traffic, I had to pee. Entering the parking lot to the Greek Theatre in Griffith Park, my first stop was the never-ending line to the girls’ restroom. Taking a look at the completely empty boys’ restroom, my quick urge to just go use it was put out of my mind by a trifle of civility.

That reflected the rest of the night, as seeing a male was a rare sight. My sister and I quavered in excitement as we passed through security and found our way to our seats in a sea of teenage chaos. Upon entering the intimate venue, seating around 5,000 (which was an incredibly generous choice for someone who has sold out stadium shows for his 2018 world tour), we immediately became a small part of a larger movement.

In general, concerts have a variety of people: those interested in the music style, those who just love live shows, those who are only there for the warm-up band, those who hang out with friends, and those who are just obsessed with the artist. I can guarantee the 5,000 of us were the latter.

Because of the competitive nature of ticket sales, it was extremely difficult to receive them and only the most dedicated Harry Styles fans could have gotten the in. Some moms managed to make it in. But even the moms can’t help but love the singer with the life motto of “treat people with kindness.”

The warm-up band, Muna, is a small alternative band based in Los Angeles. The lead singer brought some spunk to the overall performance in her energetic struts along the stage. Honestly I was not able to concentrate or care about the openers enough to review them well. The hearts racing around me with the knowledge that we would be seeing something indescribably beautiful in less than an hour was far too distracting.

The fifteen minutes between the warmup and the main show were the longest fifteen minutes of my life. The whole crowd sat, stood, and cried in agony as a unit through  the wait. A translucent pink screen was covering the view of the stage.

The lights dimmed, setting off a million emotions and piercing female shrieks. Then, a light shone through the screen to illuminate a single figure. As melodies of the opening song, “Ever Since New York” rang out, my life flashed before my eyes. This is it, I told myself. Everything I have lived for has led up to this moment.

The pink screen dropped, revealing a literal god behind it in a flowery Gucci suit and Chelsea boots, the classic Harry Styles look.

The first song caught everyone off guard. It pierced through the souls of the crowd, rendering bodies and voices useless. We were the disciples being blessed by a prophet.

When a melody started up, very unrecognizable to me or anyone, panic rose from the crowd. Then, Styles began belting out the lyrics to One Direction classic “What Makes You Beautiful.” Styles paid homage to his boyband beginnings, being member of pop band One Direction since 2010.

This throwback destroyed the crowd, with people becoming unable to sing along after blinding flashes of nostalgia.

The beautiful location of the Greek Theatre in the middle of a park of lush trees framed by mountains was out of mind of the audience that was completely focused on center stage. I didn’t even notice the surroundings until Styles mentioned it, saying something along the lines of “The stars are beautiful. But please look at me not the the sky. If you don’t watch me, I’ll be sad.”

The performance was fairly quick at only about an hour and ten minutes long, partially due to the fact that he has only ten released solo songs. Another thing that caught my eye  was his confidence. While his live show has improved since first starting off alone, he still didn’t express the Harry Styles level of

energy and charisma known and loved from the One Direction days. Nonetheless, his personality filled the stage and the amphitheater as his vocal range was put on full display.

Ending the night where his solo career began, “Sign of the Times” accounted for the final five and a half minutes of the show. It was heartfelt and grinding live, with Styles utilizing what was left of his voice to add to the power of the ballad.

We all stared as he slowly left the stage. Beautifully. No one wanted to leave the moment he had created for us. The image of human perfection had been cemented in our minds, fulfilling us until the next time around.