Well, it finally happened.
After days, months, years of waiting...I finally did it.
On Tuesday the 19th of August, I saw One Direction.
It was the greatest experience of my entire life. I cannot even put into words--- Wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a little bit.
The Saturday before the concert, Sam and her friend Miranda came down to Chattanooga for the day. It was the first time I actually saw Sam in person. I knew they had left Nashville, so I was patiently waiting for them to arrive. When I saw them pull into the driveway, I rushed outside. Honestly I'm sure Sam and I did one of those movie hugs where the people look at each other in disbelief that the other person exits and then just accepts the fact that the person is real and standing in front of them and hugs them like there's no tomorrow. Yeah. That happened. After we got over the shock of seeing each other in person (yay for internet friendships!!), we headed out for a fun day in Chattanooga. I took them downtown first. We stopped by the English Rose for lunch. They loved it, I loved it, it was a great time. Then we strolled around the Chattanooga Choo Choo for a bit. Neither Sam nor Miranda had ever heard the Chattanooga Choo Choo song. I was sorely disappointed. But I moved on from my heartbreak and drove them down to Coolidge Park. We walked through the park, over the bridge, around the art district, ate dessert at Rembrants, browsed through some of the shops, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We finished off our adventure day in Chattanooga by paying a visit to Hamilton Place Mall and a quick trip to the Target. The drive back to my house was slightly somber, but not as bad as it could have been seeing as how I was heading up to Nashville to spend the next few days with them the following day.
Oh! I feel as though it's important to note that Sam brought me some Peri Peri sauce from Nando's. *heart eyes emoji* It makes me very happy to see that in my refrigerator. Anyway...
I'm such a procrastinator when it come to packing...for anything. Nashville was no exception. I spent the days leading up to the trip talking about packing and even doing some laundry and thinking about what I wanted to pack. But Sunday arrived and I had done zero packing. Oops. To make a long story short, I ended up getting on the road later than expected (no surprise there). The drive to Nashville was lovely. I usually stick on a playlist of some sort or listen to specific albums, but this trip I decided to listen to Hits 96 for as long as I could get the station on my radio. I just really wanted the "variety" they played. (This is funny because I normally hate the radio...You may laugh now.) I was able to enjoy the station for the majority of the drive. The station finally went out of signal about 40 minutes outside of Nashville. Heh. Funny story...they were giving away One Direction tickets every hour or so...I called them each time...despite the fact that I already had a ticket for the show. I'm crazy, I know. You don't have to tell me. But I arrived safely in Nashville at Sam and Miranda's hotel around 5 o'clock. We spent some time chilling and watching Food Network before getting some dinner. Which, oh my gosh, you guys. Did you know that KFC still sells those famous bowls?!? I didn't know that, neither did Sam. And when we discovered this fact, we went nuts and got us some famous bowls without the cheese. But then, around 10:30 that evening, Sam gets a text from our friend Krissy. She found out that three of the five boys were on a plane to Nashville. And her guess was that they were flying into the airport two minutes from our hotel. It took Sam and I about ten minutes to decide that we were going to the airport. Miranda was in her little chair in the corner of the room reading her book and giving us these looks. You know, those kinda looks. I get them a lot when One Direction is involved. Anyway. Sam and I arrive at the airport and get the bright idea to have Miranda drop us off so we don't have to pay for parking. We're brilliant, I know. A few minutes later, Miranda is dropping us off and Sam and I are inside the airport looking around. We spotted a couple of girls who were obviously there for the same reason we were, but because we're in our twenties we decided to go upstairs where the gate is and stand creepily but "inconspicuously". Not sure how well we did that. A little while later we received word that their plane had landed. Around this time, two other girls came up the stairs where we were. The older of the two approached a security guard and started asking him questions about where private planes landed. Sam and I attempted to listen to their conversation without seeming like we were. Toward the end of the conversation, the younger of the girls walked over to us and asked if we were there for One Direction. When we concluded that we were all there for the same reason, the older girl came over and gave us a run down on everything. Apparently there was another building on the property where private planes landed. In a rushing of words and scuffling of feet, the four of us were on our way to this building. Now because Sam and I had been dropped off, naturally the only option was to ride with these two girls. So that's exactly what we did. The four of us sauntered out of the airport with purpose, making sure not to give away any information to the other girls waiting in the baggage claim. While walking to the girls' car, we made swift introductions. They were sisters, Ainslee (the older one) and Lizzy (the younger one). The four of us then proceeded to spend the next several hours driving around the airport, hotel hopping, and general One Direction scouting shenanigans. In the span of about four hours, I gained valuable information on hotel security and policy, learned the secret underground society of valets, met some wonderful (and a couple not so wonderful) One Direction fans, and broke my mother's rule of not getting in cars with strangers... Sorry, mum. Around three o'clock in the morning, the sisters dropped Sam and me off at our hotel. Miranda was clearly not amused but slightly amused at our adventuring. Despite the fact that we didn't get to meet the boys, we collapsed into bed with smiles on our faces and a determination to not give up the next day.
Monday morning came much earlier than anticipated. That may have been in part due to the fact that we went to bed already in the morning hours. Ah, well. We took our time getting ready. Part of our Nashville adventure entailed meeting up with Krissy, one of our mutual tumblr friends. We decided to meet at Martin's. A barbecue place that had been featured on the Food Network. If it's been on the Food Network, it's gotta be delicious, right? Oh, it was. So good...and cheap, too, which is always great for poor college kids. We all had another one of those movie moment hugs. It was so lovely to finally meet Krissy and also her roommate Heather. As a side note, while we were enjoying our lunch, Niall decided to post his ice bucket challenge video. Sigh. That was terrible but also exciting and awful and simultaneously wonderful. After we finished eating, we devised a plan that gave us what we thought to be our best chance at meeting at least one of the boys. Our first stop was a recording studio that was literally in the middle of what appeared to be suburbs. When we drove past and saw very little action going on there, we headed off to the "rich people" mall. Honestly, I felt so out of place just standing in that place. High end retailers all around. After a lap around the upstairs and downstairs (and witnessing the guy and the Auntie Anne's pretzel place dropping a ball of dough on the ground and putting it back on the tray...yeah, that didn't go unnoticed, bud...), we decided that we had had enough for the time being. School was out and children were bound to be out looking for the boys. Calling a day (for the time being), Sam, Miranda and I headed back to the hotel for awhile before hitting up this really tasty Greek place for dinner. The three of us decided it would be a good idea to call it an early night since we needed to be awake early in the morning to listen to these clues that a radio station was giving out on how to meet 5 Seconds of Summer. Which was all fine and dandy. Until we found out that the boys were indeed out and about in the city. So at about ten o'clock that night, the three of us found ourselves walking around downtown Nashville in search of our boys. Our search lead us to the walking bridge that separated Broadway from LP Field. As we neared the end of the bridge, we could see into the stadium, which actually meant me seeing the stage set up for the first time. Everything that happened after that is a bit of a blur, but I do know that one minute I was standing and the next I was lying on the concrete with my face in my hands doing this odd mixture of laughing and crying. I was just so overwhelmed. The next hour consisted of the three of us strolling around the field, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone, and then deciding that since we needed to be awake at six o'clock in the morning we should head back to the hotel and get some sleep.
It's Tuesday. The day has finally come. Holy cannoli. Sam, Miranda and I were awake at six o'clock that morning. We had gotten word that a radio station was giving away clues every hour beginning at like 6:30 or something like that on how to meet 5 Seconds of Summer. We all took turns showering and getting ready for the day while listening to their clues. Right before the last clue, we made our way to the location of the station. There were a good number of young girls, a few guys, and several parents all hanging out and waiting for whatever was going to happen. Once we scoped out where it was, we decided that we needed to get food. (This becomes important later in the story.) We stopped at Panera and had a bite to eat. We arrive at the station just as they announce the final clue: be at the station by 10:30. Great. We were here. And now we wait. For those of us wearing blue (which was everyone who wanted to actually meet them), we put our names into a drawing to win passes to get into the private show they were having with the boys. The drawing took place at noon, and, sadly, none of our names were called. So we headed back over to the hotel to actually get ready for the concert. We decided to carpool with Krissy and Heather, so we waited on them to pick us up from the hotel. They had VIP (which is what I have for Atlanta) and needed to be at the venue earlier than most. I feel like it's humorous to mention that Sam and Miranda's "friend" Steph was also attending the show with one of her friends. She wanted to ride with all of us...but, and now this is a secret, Sam and Miranda don't actually like Steph. And after meeting her, I can see why. ANYWAY. We're all driving to the field and downtown Nashville is a zoo. Cars everywhere looking for parking. Being the smart people that we are, we pull into the parking lot right outside the stadium and end up a hundred feet from one of the entrances. Sam, Miranda and I say our temporary goodbyes to Krissy and Heather and check out the merch tables before going to stand in line to get in. When they opened the doors around 5:30, we were right in front of the line. They scanned my ticket and I was in the concourse. My heart started to beat a little bit faster at this point. We found our way to the seated area and asked a nice man where we needed to go for field access. He directed us, and off we went down the stairs. I told myself that I wasn't going to look to my right (toward the stage) until we were down there and I could get a proper look at the whole setup. A nice woman at the bottom of the steps gave us wristbands and informed us that we would need our tickets in order to get back on the floor if we ever left for bathroom, refreshments, etc. And then we started walking to our section. And then I looked over to the right. And that's when my life ended for the first time. My breath caught in my throat. My heart started to really race. There it was. The massive stage. The stage where in a couple of hours, my favourite people on the planet will be performing. I started freaking out. A lot. We were the first people actually down on the field. It was so surreal. We made our way to our seats. I was in section E row 19; Sam and Miranda were in section D row something or another that was a couple rows ahead of me... 15, maybe? I don't remember. Not important. We had some time to kill before the show, so we all chatted, and then Steph and her friend showed up so we chatted some more and made awkward introductions. About half an hour before showtime, I went back to my seat and sat watching the different things they were showing on the big screens: music videos, One Direction adverts, and then finally the cute safety video. A little after seven, 5 Seconds of Summer took the stage. They were so good and so high energy. I loved their performance. I was able to sing along to almost every song they did, which made me feel really good about myself. Michael was a little prankster and took Calum's mic out of it's stand and set it on the ground when he wasn't looking right before his solo in one of the songs. It was precious. I'm still highly impressed at how talented Ashton, Michael, Calum, and Luke are. And I'm so glad they opened for they boys again on this tour. After their set, the stage people went about their business of resetting the stage for One Direction. They had music videos and the like playing again on the big screens to keep people occupied. Sam is one of those people who pees a lot when she's nervous, so she and I went off on a mini adventure to the bathrooms. There were so many people. It was nearly impossible to walk in a straight line anywhere. Sam and I were standing in line for me to get a drink (which was ridiculously expensive) when Miranda texted her saying that she needed to use the bathroom. Now, Sam and Miranda didn't trust Steph and her friend, so they wanted to make sure at least one of them was in their seats the entire time. So Sam abandoned me, and I was left to get my drink and head back to my seat alone. Heh. The look on the dad's face who was sitting next to me when I came back with my drink...I'm pretty sure it was a mixture of shock that I was over 21 and jealousy because he could use a couple himself. I feel ya, bud. It was finally getting dark now. My nerves were shot. That might be because I hadn't eaten since about 9:30 that morning. Or the fact that I was about to freaking see One Direction for the first time ever!!! Yeah, still not over that. But then it happened. The lights went out. The intro video started playing. People all around me were screaming. I was screaming. I remember vividly seeing Harry Styles on the screen and starting to tear up because he wasn't just an image on a screen anymore; I was about to see him in person. The band is on stage now. They've all taken their places. The video is ending. The cheering has escalated. And there they are. Harry, Louis, Niall, Liam, and Zayn walk on stage. Microphones in hand, looking so real and so fabulous. And then Harry opens him mouth. And that's where I lose every bit of my sanity that was left. I down the rest of my drink and proceed to spend the next almost two hours screaming, singing, crying, dancing, and having the absolute best time of my life. If I had ever doubted how much I loved One Direction, those doubts were erased tenfold. Between the friendly banter between bandmates, the interactions with the crowd, and their unending energy, I can honestly say I've never been to a more entertaining show.
I'm gonna break it down a bit for you now. They opened with Midnight Memories. It was so electric. Everyone was going crazy. The boys were loving it. I was loving it. Oh, side note, Niall actually said "same old shit, but a different day". People went nuts. Next was Little Black Dress. Ever since I heard this song, I loved it. It has a much different vibe than their other stuff, so I was a bit worried how it would sound live. They smashed it. So good. Then they played the song that has been my ringtone for months: Kiss You. It's such a playful song, and you can tell they enjoy singing it. So much energy. So many shenanigans. One song I was a bit iffy about was Why Don't We Go There. I love it, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't sure how much I would love it live. Naturally it was great. It's now one of my favourites. Oh, gosh. Next was Rock Me. Ever since the Take Me Home Tour, I have been wanting to experience this song live and in person. And holy cannoli. It was so much better than I could have expected. The only thing I really remember leading up to the next song was Niall talking about how he wrote it with McFly. Now let me tell you something...one of my absolute favourite people EVER is Tom Fletcher. The fact that Niall got together with him and his bandmates again for this song just makes me want to cry a little on the inside. Don't Forget Where You Belong is just one of those songs that you hear and you know that it means something to the boys. It was so special to watch Niall singing it while playing his guitar. It give me chills to think about it. Live While We're Young doesn't stick out in my mind that much. I remember it happening, and I remember loving it, but I don't really remember much else. Harry was dancing like a dork. But that's pretty normal. Okay, the next song was definitely a favourite: C'mon, C'mon. If you listen to this track on the album, you know it's got a big sound to it. Hearing it live does not disappoint. I'm pretty sure I was dancing around like an absolute moron. But it was totally worth it. Things got a bit laid back with Right Now. It was vocally stunning. Again, if I had ever doubted my love for One Direction...you get the idea. The thing that blew me away the most was Louis Tomlinson. I knew I always loved him, but his vocals on that song were so spot on. It's ridiculous. Next up was Through The Dark. Ever since they sang this on SNL, I've needed to hear it live. And let me just tell you, it was beautiful. The harmonies were spot on. Everything was spot on. Now, the next song they did was definitely one of the best songs of the night. Happily was written in part by Harry Styles. And let me tell you something, that boy is damn proud of that song. When he sings it, he owns it. He prances around that stage like he owns the joint, and let's be real...he does. If I could relive any song of the night, it would be that one. They really slowed things down with the next two songs. Little Things remains a crowd favourite and for good reason. There isn't much better than the five boys sitting on the stage, Niall with his guitar, singing a tune written by Ed Sheeran. My favourite part was Niall's solo. Everyone in the stadium went bonkers. It was such a lovely moment. Speaking of moments......I swear they put this song on the setlist just to make my life miserable. Moments (also penned by Mr. Edward Sheeran) has been my favourite One Direction song from the moment (heh) that I heard it on the deluxe edition of Up All Night. I swear to you I died when Louis started singing for his solo. That was the moment that I fell in love with him. And hearing it at that concert was the moment that love was rekindled. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried my eyes out during Moments. It was all just too much for my emotions. Strong was up next. All I remember of this song was how into the chorus Harry got. I got it on video...twice. I loved it. Another of my favourites was up next: Better Than Words. There's just something about a song made up of other song titles with an original chorus that makes me so happy. Not to mention the way that Harry and Niall dance during the song. Wow. I'm having flashbacks. I need a minute. Holy cannoli. Okay. I'm back. I'm better. I'm good. Okay. So I normally don't remember much about what specifically happened in between songs. Like I know at one point Louis and Zayn I think were playing with a soccer ball and of course they said thank you and such, but I don't have a clue when that was. BUT. After Better Than Words, they normally sing happy birthday to someone in the crowd. Harry was off looking at this girl's sign that said it was her 16th birthday and wanted to sing to her. But then Liam Payne was all like "Harry! We have a third birthday over here!" And so he ran off to see and then ended up PICKING UP A SMALL CHILD AND BRINGING HIM ON STAGE. I got the whole exchange on video. It's ridiculous. It was too much. I can't talk about it. After the happy birthday bit they sang Alive. Now this has never been a favourite song of mine, but hearing it live changed my mind. They just have so much energy and love what they do. It's hard not to love what they love. At this point they were at the B Stage and it had lifted up several feet into the air. Up here they sang One Thing. I have some video of this song, and during the chorus you can tell everyone (myself included) was jumping up and down. The flooring they had put down to protect the field was shaking beneath my feet. It was crazy. And I loved every moment of it. The next song they did was another one of those songs that I wasn't ever a huge fan of, but now I love listening to it. Diana was just never one of those standout tracks on the album. But there really is something about hearing it performed live. I can't even explain it. And then finally the moment I had been waiting for ever since that fateful day in January when I saw the music video for the first time finally came. I finally heard What Makes You Beautiful in person. It was everything I could have expected it to be and more. They sang and danced and Harry's solo was great and then at the end they disappeared beneath the stage. The crowd was going absolutely insane. After a few minutes of torture, the band started playing the into part to You & I. And then after a few more minutes of torture, Niall came out and started to sing. The rest of the boys followed out and I just can't even tell you how great it was. Zayn's high note was just phenomenal. Story Of My Life was up next. I'm so glad Harry has learned how to properly sing the chorus of that song. It's so wonderful. I love it. Now. The second to last song is the one song I had absolutely refused to see any concert videos of before my show. Granted I never watched many videos the entire concert, but I didn't see a single video or hear a single audio of this next song. Little White Lies is my absolute favourite song off of Midnight Memories and I wanted to be surprised and hear it live for the first time when I was actually there to experience it live. Holy cannoli. It was the best thing I have ever experienced. I just can't even put into words how great it was. I'm so excited I get to experience it again the first of October. Wow. Okay. Moving on. The last song of the night was Best Song Ever. It was truly a giant party during this song. Everyone was on their feet dancing and singing. The boys were having a great time, the audience was having a great time. It was fantastic. As they said their final goodbyes, I felt only the slightest pang of sadness because I was still on my concert high.
We made our way out of the stadium and met back up with Krissy and Heather. It took forever and a day to get out of the parking lot, so while we waited we all exchanged concert stories and laughed and remembered certain parts. By the time we made it back to our hotel, it dawned on Sam, Miranda and myself that we hadn't eaten since that morning. We head back out to try and find food. I think we drove to four different places before deciding on Domino's Pizza. So at one o'clock in the morning we strolled into our hotel with a pizza. I know for a fact that I was utterly delirious at this point in time. I remember Sam and Miranda laughing at me just about every time I opened my mouth. Sam and I were also challenged to do the ice bucket challenge. So we decided to do it that night. Which we did. It wasn't very fun. Eventually we ate our pizza and collapsed into bed. The next day we took our time getting ready and packing up everything. Our last outing together was to Opry Mills Mall. We walked around and had lunch at the Chili's. But then it was time to say goodbye. Miranda and Sam headed off to Memphis; I made the drive back to Chattanooga. It was an exhausting weekend/beginning of a week. But it was utterly worth it in every way.
Now I can't wait to see One Direction again.
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