ID Stole My Heart

Thus begins a tale of a self-indulgent, expensive, quick trip to sin city to see the hottest new boy band that I've been a fan of for, oh, like 4 months.

Was it worth it?

Yes. Definitely yes.

I drove down to St. George with my friend Candace on June 8--- you know, to prepare for the concert on June 9. We slept at my house and then spent the next day making our shirts and then driving down to Vegas. We got there a couple hours early, and there was already a massive line of SCREAMING girls. Yes. They were already screaming. Why? Because that is what teeny boppers do. They scream. We cut in line with some other Provo girls that we know--who had also made some rad shirts--and commenced our own screaming. Girls came running down the line to tell everyone to sing "What Makes You Beautiful" as a group, or else they just came down the line to scream, and for no other purpose.

yes, that is still on my car.

But everyone in line, and near our seats (once we sat down like an hour late) was very friendly and very nice. And I was led to the conclusion that teeny boppers-- and Directioners in general--are a great kind of people. You know, when you are sitting there screaming with someone, a special kind of bond forms.

Megan, Karen, Candace, Me. Yes, her shirt says, "It's Gotta Be Harry Styles." I was jealous.

At one point, before the concert started, there was a commotion in the lower bowl (yes, our seats were at the tippy top. Did we care? no no no no). We looked down but couldn't really tell what was going on. It looked as though the One Direction boys were down in the crowd! Taking pictures with people. So. Candace used her super duper camera to zoom in on the crowd and take some super-up-close pictures.And guess what we found?? THEY WERE IMPOSTERS!!! There were 5 fake look-a-like imposter One Direction boys down in the crowd causing mass hysteria. How rude, right? The 11 year old girls behind us were FREAKING OUT. The one girl started crying. So we turned around and showed them our pictures. They calmed down a lot once they realized that the people in the lower bowl weren't meeting the real thing. But how evil and tricky of those imposters, right?

So there were 2 opening acts. One random girl who was really lame and not even a good singer. And then this dude, Olly Murs, who was also on the British X-Factor, who was so rad I couldn't even stand it. He was awesome. And his background singers were GROOVIN'. Seriously. He was kind of '50s old style with a modern twist-- a little Bruno Mars-y, but no gross. You know what I'm saying. He was adorable and just precious. And he could move. Man, he could move.

A VERY blurry Olly Murs and his rad backgrounds.

Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis, Niall

AND THEN. Enter One Direction. They were so so great. You know, I can't even remember what they started the show with. Honestly, I've never experience such screaming in my entire life. Even the boys kept saying, "YOU GUYS ARE LOUD!!" And then they would just scream louder. And then Harry would say something, and screaming would block out any possibility of any other sound. It was deafening, and actually very hard to hear the music. But those One Direction boys are so funny. They made all sorts of jokes and they were adorable, and they sounded GREAT live. Great. And Niall was always off on the side of the stage doing his own thing-- I don't even know. And Louis and Harry were just so funny! Zayn probably didn't talk the whole time. I don't think he said a word. But he sang. And it melted our hearts. I think that Zayn has the best quality to his voice, and s probably, technically, the best singer. I mean, I prefer Harry's voice, because it is deeper and super manly (and the kid's got massive amounts of swag), but Zayn is cool. He's a cool kid. Liam is the adult. Somehow it seems like he's the leader, like he's in charge. That might be because he acts a lot older than the others-- but he also sings like every first verse. He the first voice you hear in all the songs, there's probably some sort of subliminal message in that. Anywho, the whole thing was magical. Candace recorded like all the songs on her awesome camera. I have yet to acquire those videos into my collection of awesome things. But I will.

some mid-concert excitement, if you will.

Other fans, in the crowd,  to note:
The family in front and to my left. It was a mother, 2 daughters, and probably a 9 year old son. The mother was more excited than anyone. And after downing a couple of beers she gettin' down more than anyone else around. It was quite a spectacle. And the kids were just taking pictures of her like they thought it was hilarious! I would have been so terribly embarrassed. If my mother acted like that, I would not go out with her in public. Period. haha.


There was a couple directly in front of me that was utterly atrocious to behold. They were dressed in formal clothes. Like, prom dress and tux. For the One Direction concert. And the girl would like, try to get excited, but the boy was like all up in her grill like the whole time. I would have been like, "dude!! ONE DIRECTION! Get off me!!!" At least I couldn't hear the slurping noises over the screaming.


So my favorite parts of the show were during "One Thing" and "What Makes You Beautiful." As per their request, I called the Jessica Bodily during "One Thing" and Adrienne during "Beautiful." It made it at least a gazillion times more fun to know that I was sharing the joy with others. :) And they loved it-- they said they could hear every word and that it was amazing. Because it was.

After the supposed "final song," the boys left and everyone started crying. Okay, not really, but kind of. People started yelled "encore" or else rushed toward the exits. And let me just tell you, those people who rushed toward the exits MISSED OUT. Those One Direction boys came back on stage in SUITS. people, I'm telling the truth. Harry had a bow tie. This is real life. And they sang another song, and then the crying began in earnest (still, not really, but I assume some people cried...)

yes.

Everyone left in such a rush that there were screaming girls packed in the hallways and main entrance area to the arena like sardines. We were all smashed up against each other. So hilarious. And then, in true One Direction spirit, a rousing rendition of "What Makes You Beautiful" arose from the crowd. It was magical. And so hilarious. obv.

There was joy to be had all around.

All I can say is, after seeing One Direction, I HAVE to see Bieber. I would be a crazy person if I missed the Believe tour. So now, I just have to save my pennies and buy tickets before they get too expensive--- which was, like, a month ago. Who knows, maybe I'll win tickets on the radio or something. A girl can hope.

Cause I might be a Directioner, but I'm a Belieber first.