On August 27th 2014, the unbelievable happened – something that every fangirl hopes for when their favorite band sells out a venue before they even get tickets to the show. I found tickets last minute to see One Direction on their Where We Are Tour (WWAT) in Chicago, IL. Finding tickets to this concert was a big deal because I had tried to get tickets last December when they first went on sale but had no luck finding decent seats. Now my parents and I had talked about the possibility of finding tickets a few weeks in advance to the show, so if I had actually found tickets (which was unlikely) they said they’d take me. So as you can imagine, to my surprise, when I did find tickets, I was in complete shock (I think I still am even as I’m writing this post on my way home from the trip).

Since One Direction was headlining stadiums on their WWAT, they weren’t coming to MN due to the fact that we don’t have one at the moment (thank you Vikings). But hey a trip to Chicago, a city I’ve never been to before, sounded amazing, so I wasn’t complaining. My mom and dad decided to come to the concert as well because they were driving us 8 hours to see the show, plus they’re kind of huge One Direction fans, even if they don’t readily admit it as much as my sister and I ;). So we ordered two pairs of tickets and made last minute reservations for a hotel as well as the rest of the usual basic travel requirements.

On August 30th, the day of the concert, we set out for Chicago early in the morning. Traveling from MN we had an eight hour car ride, totaling up to about 850 miles there and back. We had to leave in style so my sister and I decorated my dad’s car as a WWAT fleet vehicle to let everyone on the road know we were heading to the city that never sleeps for a huge party.

Funny thing is we actually had a car drive by us when we were on the road in Wisconsin that was heading to the concert. They pulled along side of us and this girl in the passenger seat rolled down her window to show us her tickets. We then attempted to have a quick conversation about where we were from… as we were on the freeway.. it was the coolest. So shoutout to that girl, hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did! Hah! I love Directioners.

We arrived at the show at the perfect timing, just right before 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) hit the stage. Traveling downtown in Chicago is stressful and hectic, there’s traffic and people everywhere. Imagine adding 61,500 people all heading to the same event in one city on top of all the usual city busyness… It was absolutely insane. Not to mention, it was also Labor Day Weekend. Yikes. Soldier Field was definitely the perfect venue for this party.

As we made our way into the venue, my sister and I separated from my parents because we girls had floor seats and my parents had club seats. So we split up and my sister Abby and I made our way down to the floor. We got our exclusive floor wristbands (which I’m still wearing because I’m afraid if I take it off reality will settle in and it’ll remind me that the night is long over) and headed to our seats in section D1.

The sun was setting over the opened roof stadium and the crowd was excitedly growing restless. When the lights dimmed everyone jumped to their feet and starting screaming. Australian punk rock band (or so the boys think they are;) 5 Seconds of Summer came on stage and the crowd went wild. My heart was literally in my throat as Luke Hemmings made his way center stage, as Ashton Irwin went to his drums, and as Calum Hood and Michael Clifford each took their side of the stage with their guitars. The boys sang about 10 songs including their hit singles “Amnesia” and “She Looks So Perfect”. They also performed “Long Way Home” for the first time live which was AMAZING. I was on the verge of tears multiple times as I watched my favorite band whom I have enjoyed stalking online and blaring their music, perform live, in actual person. It was surreal.

The 5SOS boys were pretty darn good too. No scratch that, they were incredible. They didn’t have a band playing for them in the background, they were the band. They played their own instruments live and performed with a lot of energy. They also made witty comments and remarks about Chicago and the food. When talking about the weather and beautiful sunset, Ashton said it was the most romantic show of the tour they’ve ever played. AWWW. Everytime the boys would say something, the audience would respond with their squealish fangirl screams. At one point the boys thought it was so ammusing that they asked if anyone else in the crowd was Australian to scream and the response was the same with the same amount of volume. They thought that was hilarous, telling us we scream at everything they say. Which of course is true.

My sister and I literally freaked out when they played “Amnesia.” As you can tell from our video, we were a little excited.

I loved each song they sang and am so happy I got to see them perform for the first time before summer 2014 is over. I didn’t think I’d see them til next year on their ROWYSO tour in MN but I did and I’m so so thankful. Seriously. There is nothing like seeing your favorite band perform live. If you ever get the chance to do that, jump on it like wildfire.

With that, I’ll leave you all with a compilation of pictures from our night, including a few of Michael in a SnapBack. It was the first thing I noticed when the boys came on stage. Which by the way is a huge deal because he only wears it to shows every now and then. I had the time of my life watching these boys rock out and I can’t wait to see them on tour again. The countdown is on! 326 days!

Having seats on the floor is an incredible experience. The audience is constantly on their feet, jumping and dancing. The floor shakes when the bass drops and you can literally feel the music. While you might not have the best upclose view in the house, you have a view of the whole stage and are surrounded by an endless party of jumping people. I wouldn’t of had it any other way.

After 5SOS, there was a “brief” intermission before One Direction hit the stage. I’m sitting here with the biggest smirk on my face as I type “brief” because that’s exactly what it wasn’t. We waited about an hour…Crazy right?! But the wait was definitely worth it, plus they had to have something to build up the suspension again.

Just a little after 9pm the lights dramatically went out and the fans once again jumped to their feet.  This time the screams were much louder. AND THEN THE ONE DIRECTION BOYS CAME ON STAGE. They kicked off the opening song with “Midnight Memories” and a whole lot of fireworks.

For the first time in my life, I was in the same room as One Direction. I’ve been a fan of theirs for years now, I have all of their music and have watched their concert DVDs endless times. As I type this I’m still trying to process the fact that I was there in the audience.  As well as the fact that they’re actually real. Their accents sound x100 better in person, especially Harry’s. I can’t put into words how happy I was that night, finally seeing the band I love so much perform in person. Especially when it was so unexpected and sudden. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to see them for another year or so.

The boys were so cute on stage, they took the time to notice fans who were holding up signs and they also pulled a little girl onstage who had a broken arm. The girl was about 7 or 8 years old with a bright cast covering her arm. Harry noticed her in the crowd and had her dad lift her up to the stage so the boys could all sign her cast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in my life melt over such an act. It was adorable and clearly everyone else thought so too. I guess I’ll have to keep in mind to wear a cast to their next show.. ;)

The boys also talked about Liam’s birthday, which was the night before. “Payno,” as Niall calls him (WHICH IS ADORABLE), turned the big 21. It was definitely a huge deal for them, which was funny and bittersweet at the same time because they’re all getting so much older.  You can watch the video I took below of Niall and Liam talking about their birthday festivities.. lol oh goodness someone tell these boys to slow down and stop growing up :)

One Direction is definitely getting older, yet they still perform with the same zest they’ve had since they first started performing. They are still the same goofy, talented, sweet boys I came to love. Especially Harry Styles and Niall Horan. Those two were the cutest on stage, smiling nonstop and interacting with so many fans. It was funny to see girls in the first few rows throw their phones on stage in attempt to have the boys take a selfie on their camera. At one point Harry grabbed one girl’s phone and told everyone he was texting her dad. They’re very entertaining. Harry’s smile and insanely cute dimples and Niall’s giggle are even better in person, if you can comprehend that. Harry was by far our favorite of the night, my mom kept saying afterwards how she wished we could take him home because he was so adorable… haha totally fine by me. :)

My sister and I danced the whole night, singing at the top of our lungs to every word of all our favorite songs along with 61,500 other fans who love these boys as much as we do. They performed 23 songs and we sang them right back, word for word. Of all the songs One Direction sang that night, What Makes You Beautiful was definitely one of my favorites. I can’t pick just one favorite because they were all so good live, but here’s the link if you want to experience a glimpse of how amazing our night was:

I could probably go on and on about how lovely the One Direction boys are in person. Actually, without a doubt I could. But for the sake of everyone reading this, I’m going to come to a close. I’m so beyond happy my dad and mom were willing to embrace my crazy fangirling and drive us to Chicago for the weekend. The spontaneous last minute trip is something I will always remember. You’re both beyond the best, I love you guys so so much.

Huge thank you to One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer for making it the best night of my whole summer. You guys both put on an incredible show and I can’t wait until next time. Much love xx