A Look Into Harry’s House
The Best Nights of My Life
October 20, 2022
As the lights go out, the newly built Moody Center erupts into screams as the opening notes to “Daydreaming” echo around the arena. Standing in disbelief that the moment finally came, I watch in awe as Harry Styles is lifted onto the stage.
On Sept. 25, pop icon Harry Styles began his residency at the Moody Center in Austin, meaning he would play six back-to-back shows in the arena for a week straight.
Between six available shows, you would assume it would be easy to buy tickets. However, this was not the case. Despite receiving a code for the fan presale and being in the queue right when tickets went on sale, I was still unable to buy tickets, with them being sold out for every show before I was even let out of the queue. However, after months of checking resale websites like Stubhub and Seatgeek daily, I eventually was able to buy tickets to see him on Sept. 28 and Oct. 3.
Since I bought the tickets only a month before the concerts, I immediately felt the pressure of finding an outfit to wear in such little time. Fans of Styles, after observing his many extravagant outfits, started to follow suit and wear outfits to the concerts to match those of the artist, complete with sparkly boots, feather boas and pink cowboy hats. After a week of careful consideration, I finally decided to recreate the iconic cherry shirt that he wore at his Paris show in July and spent hours copying the design onto a shirt for myself.
Following weeks of waiting and preparation, the day of the concert finally arrived. Walking into the Moody Center was like entering Harry Styles heaven for any fan of his. Between themed photo opportunities, like the house from his album cover, and Harry based food and drinks at every corner, the Moody Center’s dedication to creating an enjoyable experience was clear.
After settling down with my Harry Styles “Watermelon Sugar” mocktail, I waited in anticipation for Styles’ arrival as the opening band, “The Gabriels” performed. Following what felt like hours of waiting, the lights went down as the big black box containing the singer was rolled under the stage so he could be lifted from below the stage once the concert started.
Styles opened the concert with “Daydreaming,” a song from his most recent album “Harry’s House,” which was released in May. He followed this with a mix of new songs, like “Matilda,” “Satellite” and “Keep Driving,” and older songs like “Golden” and “Kiwi” from his previous albums. Additionally, he performed several of these songs in a new way, with live trumpets and saxophones to accompany him during songs like “Cinema,” “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” and “Late Night Talking.”
One of my favorite moments from the concert was easily when he sang “What Makes You Beautiful,” a well-known song released in 2010 by the band, One Direction, which Styles was in prior to the band’s hiatus in 2016. Styles has since reinvented the song, changing the melody quite a bit to fit his musical style since going solo. For One Direction fans like myself, hearing the singer perform this song 12 years after its release was nostalgic, despite the changes made, and added a unique feel to the concert.
But the excitement did not end there. Since starting his tour in September of 2021, his unreleased song, “Medicine” has become a constant mystery for each show, as he only decides to sing it every once in a while. Going into the concert, I was not expecting him to sing it, as he hadn’t sung it for either of the previous Austin shows. However, after performing his first solo single, “Sign of the Times,” Styles decided to change things up and perform the song. Considering it is one of my favorite songs of his, hearing the song live for the first time was completely life changing, minus the fact that my screaming ruined all of my videos.
Aside from the actual music, another important part of all concerts of Styles’ is the fan interactions. Many fans in the pit bring signs with messages and jokes, in hopes for Styles to read them. At one point in the show, the artist went around the stage reading different signs, ranging from asking him if the fan should break up with her boyfriend of 10 years to telling him that they had to dog sit 12 dogs to buy tickets. The fan participation and interaction in Styles’ concerts is what set this concert apart from the many other concerts I have attended, and allowed fans to feel more included in the concert experience, which is clearly a big goal for Styles.
At the beginning of each of his concerts, Styles tells fans to “feel free to be whoever they have always wanted to be” that night. The environment that the artist creates at each of his shows effectively allows for fans to feel comfortable doing just that, so anyone, if given the chance, should purchase tickets to see him next time Harry’s House is in town.
Scott • Oct 21, 2022 at 9:12 am
Great article!