Live Report: Niall Horan hits a high note at the 3Arena

From the moment the lights went down, piercing screams ensued and a mob of bodies thrusted forward with brute force.

You’d be forgiven for assuming fight-or-flight mode at this point, thinking you’re meeting your end. But fear not, it was just the arrival of Niall Horan.

With boundless enthusiasm and a charismatic grin, the former One Directioner took to the stage at Dublin's 3Arena on Friday night, kicking off the first of three sold-out shows.

Sporting a white tee under a leather waistcoat and black slacks with a dish-drying cloth hanging from his pocket, he channeled less of a rockstar vibe and more of a local barman pulling pints. It seemed a clear attempt to humanise someone so iconic, so mythic to his fans and followers.

Next to me, a teenage girl stared in awe, only able to mouth the words, “he’s a real person?!” Blotting his face with the same tea towel as he emotionally basked in the crowd’s ardour, one couldn’t help but agree that he was.

Horan kicked off the show and "introduced himself" with the propulsive banger ‘Nice to Meet Ya,’ showcasing his fully-fledged crooning vocals, befitting of an Arctic Monkeys number.

The singer flirtatiously beckoned the crowd to compose itself as he welcomed us: “Good evening, Dublin! Welcome to The Show: Live... It’s so good to be home.”

“This will never never never get old,” he beamed and blushed at the cheers and whistles.

Credit: Christian Tierney

Certainly, Horan was no stranger to the ovation following his days in One Direction, where reaction reflected that of ‘Beatlemania.’ He was always the quiet, unassuming ‘George Harrison’ of the boy band, but here, Horan is entirely his own artist.

He soon broke into ‘On a Night Like Tonight,’ following with the groovy bop ‘On the Loose.’ It was clear Horan's a confident performer, who seems most at home at the piano or wielding his cream-coloured Fender Telecaster.

Joined on stage by a seamlessly tight six-piece band, Horan sauntered around the set – which looked more like a scene from the Ed Sullivan Show than an arena stage. With dramatic pleated curtains beating against the amber stage lights, it was the most intimate setting I had ever seen at 3Arena. A glittering disco ball was later lowered towards the stage for a shimmering rendition of One Direction’s ‘Night Changes.’ The audience knew and belted out every lyric, a given constant of the night.

During The Show’s titular track, he took to the piano, phones beaming and swaying like lighters in the air as the singing fans made a backing chorus of Horan’s set.

Credit: Christian Tierney

Just when you thought the cheers and whistles couldn’t get louder, the Mullingar lad brought out another Irish music heavyweight.

"There are not many who can tell a story like this man,” he prefaced.

"He is one of our absolute finest,” Horan teased the crowd, drawing out the anticipation. “Please welcome onto the stage… Mr. Dermot Kennedy."

The pair then duetted on Kennedy's track ‘Outnumbered’ as fans euphorically sang every word with them.

The night was at a high point. The audience reached a dizzying fever pitch as Horan broke into ‘This Town,’ his folksy debut single as a solo artist. He continued in great form as he showcased his harmonica skills on ‘You Could Start a Cult.’

Perhaps no audience, even at a Dylan concert, would respond to a harmonica solo as rapturously as they did here. If anyone, Niall Horan ‘could start a cult.’

Women made up the majority of the crowd in 3Arena. I looked around at the spectacle of reaction as he serenaded them: a teenage girl crying tears of joy in her mother’s arms during ‘This Town,’ a group of twenty-somethings swaying with pints in hand and arms over each other’s shoulders as they belted lyrics, one girl comforting another crying girl, the commendable father standing a social-distance’s worth from his daughter and her screaming friends, professionals just off work in their suits and diehard fangirls in their decade-old One Direction merch.

It was a truly beautiful sight to behold, a real highlight of the night - and I just felt lucky enough to witness such camaraderie. One couldn’t help but smile, and neither could Horan as he got a better look at the crowd.

Credit: Christian Tierney

After an electrifying encore, with the one-two punch ‘Save My Life’ and ‘Slow Hands,’ I left the concert feeling surprisingly energised. I walked home, dizzy and wired, thinking to myself: “I should really do this again.”