Live Entertainment | One Direction | Take Me Home Tour (Sydney)

Firstly, I just want to say, I have never been in a room full of people willing to be up on their feet for every song, let alone cheer at the top of their lungs after every song.

I count myself included in that description as I can finally say that I have seen One Direction LIVE. It was in fact my highlight – concert / gig wise – for 2013 due to a few things:

1) The level of energy in the room,

2) The great choice in an opening act and

3) I was not told to sit down!

The last one is really important to me, considering I’ve been told to sit in my seat countless times during these arena concerts. I’ve just always believed that you should be up on your feet when the music is pumping! Sure if it’s a slow song I’ll forgive you for asking me to sit down, but don’t get mad if I stand back up for a song that demands me to be up on my feet! *Rant Over*.

Enough of that! Let’s get to ONE DIRECTION!!!

5 Seconds of Summer opened for 1D, and they were incredible.

I’ve found that when people are in their hometown they seem to own the stage a lot more, because it’s home! Ironically, seeing as this is 1D’s Take Me Home tour, that’s exactly what 5SOS did! And without a doubt they warmed up an already excited crowd to a boiling level! So big, big KUDOS to 5SOS for kicking the night off with a bang!

I also have to mention the amazing DJ that was playing all those tracks that warmed up our vocal chords, starting with Beyoncé all the way through to the Grease soundtrack. I’m mentioning the DJ because he got us all nice and ready for One Direction with a little bit of the Macarena just as the lights began to dim. KUDOS to you too mate! Loved it!!!

TAKE ME HOME TOUR

As Up All Night opened the set, the directioners all around the arena were still taking in the fact that they were watching One Direction as they sang and danced along to a beloved track from 1D’s first album. But just as soon as they opened they were straight into another one of my favourites, I Would. Testing out my moves, I was spelling out, “L.O.V.E” as the boys were singing the chorus – just like Hi5 taught me! Heart Attack followed straight on cue, as some fans seemed to be breathless after the two opening songs. Regardless, everyone was still up on their feet cheering, singing and dancing along.

As the song finished, Louis and Niall took over and greeted the crowd gingerly. Liam, Zayn and Harry followed in suit as they all took turns thanking us for being there before they slowed things down just a smidge with another track from their first album – and my favourite track!

As More Than This resounded throughout the arena, glow sticks, camera flashes and light sticks flooded the darkness swaying from left to right. But as the tempo kicked back up with Loved You First, and the directioners were right back up singing at the top of their lungs – or maybe that was just me…

Either way, by the time One Thing was introduced, the boys had already told the crowd that we were, “The LOUDEST crowd they’d had across the world.” I’m going to give the boys the benefit of the doubt considering my ears were still ringing when I woke up the following morning. I can only imagine what the boys feel like every night since March!

C’mon, C’mon set another motion of high-energy movement as everyone in the room obeyed the lyrics to dance about – and in truth, “the music was so loud”, so much so, you couldn’t help but let it lead your movements.

For a change in scene, Change My Mind saw the boys soaring above the crowd to make their way to the floor stage located towards the back of the arena. Giving those of us in that section a little glimpse of them. With a bit of light banter and a mini-Q&A conducted by Niall, their Comic Relief charity single, One Way or Another / Teenage Kicks, kicked off the next leg of the set.

Resting their vocals for a moment, the boys answered some twitter questions with a piggyback race and a demonstration of the worm by Liam. They also gave us a little insight into their favourite foods by giving us a list of three things that they would eat for the rest of their lives. I just remember a lot of chicken – haha!

Getting back to the music side of things, the lads strapped themselves back unto their elevated stage and glided the airwaves with my favourite track on this album, Last First Kiss. And as promised, by the time the boys were singing Moments – still in the air, they let the crowd’s voices take them back to the main stage as the finishing the song for them.

Live While We're Young signified a change in pace as time was ticking away – although mind you, I’m pretty sure everyone in the room were pretty happy to stay until the following day and start everything “all over again”!

The final few moments of the night happened in couplets, Summer Love took the tempo back down just enough for fans to settle themselves in their seats to sway and wave anything that was glowing from the left to the right.  And as Over Again filled the arena, fans were ready to get up on their feet again (yes, I was singing hard-out by the time the second verse kicked in; and yes, I did keep up with Harry and Louis!)

As the band turned up the notch on the tempo and the volume, their Wheatus cover, Teenage Dirtbag, rang out across the arena with the crowd’s contribution rising and falling depending on their age. Being a 90s kid, this song was second nature to my lips, thus needing no prompter to lead me as to when the chorus was coming or when the key change was headed in my direction. And by the time, Rock Me demanded the crowd’s participation, I was a little disappointed that the boys didn’t know the basic ‘stomp-stomp-clap’ that their take on Queen’s classic, We Will Rock You, instructs.

Fortunately She's Not Afraid swooped in to get the crowd back in gear, just in time to warm us back up for Kiss You!

Leaving the crowd on a high, 1D made no effort and hiding that the night was not finished just yet. Their silhouettes were still visible as they made their way to their final positions for the night. When everything was ready and a small snippet from This Is Us had fluttered the audience’s hearts, Best Song Ever kicked in right on cue.

But before leaving the stage for good, Niall takes the lead once again to thank us for spending the evening with them and being part of the “best fans in the world”. Liam, Harry, Zayn and Louis followed in suit from their seated positions, happy to let Niall take the reigns as the night drew to a close.

Closing with their very first single, What Makes You Beautiful, gave the crowd one last hurrah as everyone was up on feet, singing and dancing to the song that launched One Direction to the top all around the globe.

Overall it was a great night. Like I said before, it was a great crowd to be a part of. The setlist was well selected and the blueprint for the entire show was well maaped-out. Although the set was amazing and the graphics were appropriate in summarising the last three years of their life, I wish there was a bit more on stage for the boys to use in order to really make the most of the space they had. I was also a little disappointed in their use of the floor stage. Although it was meant to be a ‘casual space’ it was a little too casual and I felt like they were closing themselves off from their fans instead of fully interacting with them. But in saying all of that, it’s just the drama teacher / director side of me talking. I had a blast and have no regrets in going to another One Direction concert in the future.

sL Star Rating: ★★★★★

For photos click here.

Next of sL: One Direction - Story of My Life

BLOG: Life With The Ranger's Apprentice

I haven't done a book review in two years, and since I'm almost done with my degree, I thought I'd share a story within a story with you.

I have a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realise that I’m at the end of two things in my life: Uni and the #RangersApprenticeSeries.The two seem unrelated, yes, but I have to say, my real-life journey has been aided by the fictional journey written by John Flanagan.

I was 15 when a good friend recommended the series to me, ironically the same age as the protagonist it depicted. Although there had been 4 books published already, it seemed uncanny that I would begin this series at same time Will began his Ranger training in the story.

Buzzing through the four books and purchasing the latest release later that year, I was in love with the story, its setting, its characters and each dangerous mission. In 2007, Mr Flanagan himself entertained us with his presence as he attended our school’s annual Book Day. I was 16 and had manage to find a way to meet one of my favourite authors. I served him coffee and biscuits, along with a curious question of whether or not the rumours were true about the series being turned into a film. Even back then it was still unsure as they had just launched the series in America and the new covers still hadn’t been in the works.

Fast forward three years later - and I was sitting in front of my local Kmart with my lips twisted as my eyes were taking in the new covers. I thought to myself, “Well there goes my collection…I might have to re-buy the ones I have to match these ones…” Working at Hungry Jack’s at the time, that was not going to happen. But my curiosity got the best of me and so I wrote to John, who miraculously remembered me from three years before. I asked him why the covers had changed and he said, “It was time.”

Although the OCD part of me didn’t like it, the more logical part of me knew it was the truth. Getting over the shock, I was just glad that the RA series we’re still there for me when I needed a good book to cheer me up the end of every stressful year. By the time 2011 hit, I was catching up on three books in the series and had no regrets of choosing them over my uni readings - sorry to all my professors, but seriously, choose readings with a little more humour please.

2012 was a big year as I was still catching up on books 10 and 11 in the series. I was sure that book 11 was the last one in the series, but the OCD part of me didn’t want to believe it; truthfully, neither did the logical part of me. 

But as 2013 rolled in and pictures and snippets of the final book were appearing on my Facebook feed I was so excited.

But now, as I’m almost finished and I’m about to say goodbye to Will, Horace, Evelyn (she was - and is - always Evelyn to me) and Halt (characters who were there for the majority of the series), along with my university setting, it’s all becoming too real.

As two paths running unconsciously parallel to each other both come to an end, I can’t help but think that the #RangersApprentice series has taken me through the later part of my education more so than any other series. No, they haven’t been my bible to life, but they have been books that have given me something to look forward in a simple way.

So for that, I’d like to say, “Thank you Mr John Flanagan”.

To buy the series click here.

Click to enter the official Ranger's Apprentice website.

FILM REVIEW | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy (Logan Lerman), Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) are back for a whole new quest – a quest that seems to drag all of Camp Half-Blood with them.

With a war waging between cousins, immortal fathers and mentors seem impossible to communicate with – even the Oracle of Delphi’s prophesy was more cryptic than a court jester’s riddles.

With his destiny on the line, can Percy live up to the prophecy told long ago?

The Story

Based on the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, this movie adaptation is much closer to the book than the first film. I take my hat off to Marc Guggenheim for his page-to-screen delivery of one of this century's endeavour to revive Greek mythology for a new generation.

Unlike the first film where Poseidon is brought to life in human form, this film immortalises him into the deity that seemingly abandons his child – but in reality, gives him a different perspective when a certain “optically-challenged” half-brother is thrown in the picture.

Guggenheim’s rearrangement of the events in the book was classy and straightforward and really gave the film an edge.

The Cast

Logan Lerman – Reprising his role as the sole demi-god spawned by one of the “Big Three”, Lerman is nothing short of brilliant. Although it is not his best performance, he brought Percy to life, making his suffering as the seemingly only son of Poseidon grappling with the fact that he has a somewhat half-brother, along with the weight of the fate of the world in his hands.

Alexandra Daddario – Loving the blonde that was missing from the first film, Daddario is still her feisty self, yet less intense - which is exactly what Annabeth needs to be through the progression of the series. Retaining Annabeth’s bossiness, Daddario has found a great balance between her driven Greek-demi-goddess side and her caring human-being side.

Brandon T. Jackson – Although Jackson was brilliant as the film’s comic relief, he hasn’t really done anything new with the character, which is both great, yet disappointing. Great in the sense that he’s the audience’s constant, but I think in not growing as a character, he lacks the essence of the Grover in the book series.

Douglas Smith – Perfect portrayal of Tyson. Sure the story doesn’t allow for the childish nature of the Cyclopes mythology, but Smith captured the Tyson of the books perfectly. He was a great contrast to Lerman in regards to seeking and speaking with Poseidon.

Leven Rambin – I loved that we see Clarisse in this film! She’s such a central character to the first two books of the series that I grinned so much when she entered in the opening scene. Rambin captured her PERFECTLY and I’m dying to see what she does with the character next!

Jake Abel – Also reprising his role as the lightning thief, Luke, Abel gets a longer reign as the antagonist in this film. What Abel lacked was a sense of consistency in his dialogue, which I think was on purpose in the sense that he was trying to revive the titan of all titans, while trying to gain revenge on Mount Olympus. So for me, I think Abel almost outshone every other cast member, with the exception of Rambin.

Graphics and Visual Effects

The mechanical bull, taxi ride, hippocampus and water surfing were all done very well. What I hated was Kronos; he was too mechanical or graphical to be believable. I really wish that we saw a human aspect to him. Yes, I do in fact understand that he’s the scary Titan who ate his children, but Greek pottery did portray him with human-like features, had Kronos been portrayed in that way I think he would’ve been much scarier against the theme park setting.

Overall, it was a great film. Well written and well executed. Kudos to every single member of the cast and crew.

Star Rating: ★★★

Next on sL: The Royal Ranger - Reading with sL

FILM REVIEW | One Direction: This Is Us

This Is Us Review

Following in suit with the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus), Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber, One Direction have released their own 3D “doco-con” (documentary concert) for their fans to enjoy.

Taking a few crowd favourites from both Up All Night and Take Me Home, along with their Comic Relief single, One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks), the concert aspect of the film begs you to sing along – had I been in the back row of the theatre, I would have actually been dancing. On the documentary side of things, I thought it lacked novelty in the sense that much of it was a combination of their BBC documentary, One Direction: A Year in the Making, and their multiple biographies that have just been released.

But let’s unpack it a little more…

Airtime: Who Do You See A Lot Of???

You do see a lot of the boys, but if you’re curious as to how much time for each, I think I’d have to agree with my sister who said that ‘Harry got a lot of airtime’. I mean don’t get me wrong, Harry got a lot of great serious airtime too, but they were just overshadowed by his shirtless scenes. Seriously, any excuse to have him shirtless or looking at the camera, it was in there. Louis dominated the contemplative talking time. I felt like he had a lot of the mature things to say in regards to their journey as a band. Liam was following the same train of thought, but at a more personal level. Zayn had a lot of family airtime, which I thought was sweet and so realistic to what a lot of children who grow up in working class families want to do for their family. Niall was just plain Niall, laughing, having a bit of fun and was just thankful to the fans. So I guess there’s a enough in there for everyone to enjoy.

1D in 3D

I’m sorry but I’m still not convinced that people need to be in 3D. I mean it was great with the concert scenes. But even in those scenes, because there weren’t too many 3D graphics in the songs themselves (and the boys didn’t actually pop-out at you), there was no need to spend $20 for 3D.

Concert Concept

I love the set concept (because I’m a theatre nerd). I also loved that it was a mixture of London and all the places in the world, along with the comic book and gaming theme. It captures One Direction as a group and as individuals.

Favourite Part: When Mr Payne (Liam’s dad) says, “You never see it from the dad’s perspective…I miss him.”

Overall it was a good film. Nothing new, both in the genre of doc-cons or One Direction – but, it is one that fans will enjoy.

Star Rating: ★★★

Next on sL: Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

FILM REVIEW | Now You See Me

Click for Times and Tickets at Event Cinemas

J. Daniel Atlas (Jess Einsenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) were all street magicians looking for their big break, but what they were offered was more than any of them could have ever foreseen.

The Story

Four street magicians who were making their buck dazzling and coning their way to the big time come face to face with an opportunity of a life time – a chance to prove their worth to the “mystical big leagues”, the ancient realm of “The Eye”.

With a mixture of ancient Egyptian history, the English Robin Hood legend and modern-day technology, Now You See Me portrays the world of logic, logical magic and the magical world. These three worlds run parallel to one another throughout the film as the FBIs (the logical world) attempt to do their jobs and catch the con artists – a.k.a. “The Four Horsemen” (the magical world) – before they can rob the rich and give to the poor, while involuntarily seeking direction from Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a former magician gone magician-exploiter (the world of logical magic).

What I love about this story is although these three worlds run parallel to one another, they also intertwine to make unexpected twist and turns that create multiple illusions of their own. You never know who’s one-step ahead or who’s falling behind. You question everyone and in turn, they also question your judgement.

The Cast

Jesse Eisenberg – Taking his Social Network attitude and narrow-mindedness, adding a ton of arrogance and a smidge of jealousy, Eisenberg brought Mr J. ‘I’m in charge’ Daniel Atlas to life. Portraying the ‘top-dog,’ with a little social awkwardness, allowed audience love and hate J. Daniel. There was a good balance of arrogance and humour in his character that allowed viewers to root for Eisenberg when he came face to face with Ruffalo, as well as Michael Caine.

Woody Harrelson – Tuning into his inner (more sobre) Haymitch and spicing it up with Tallahassee’s eagerness to kill a zombie, Harrelson portrayed a cheeky and lovable Merritt McKinney. The comic relief in this film, Harrelson was the more experienced magician who had the limelight taken away from him and is now working his way back to the top. Harrelson never takes the reigns from Eisenberg, but plays off his former Zombieland co-star just as well as the beta male of the pack.

Isla Fisher – Takes a fresh approach to Henley Reeves as she plays the role of magician’s assistant gone solo. Attempting a death defying stunt and wowing audiences, she shatters the illusion of the glass ceiling as she makes her stamp as an equal to her former partner – J. Daniel. Fisher is no damsel in distress; she’s a fierce and confident woman with lots up her sleeve.

Dave Franco – Timid, yet confident in his own skills, Jack Wilder is more street than performer. Franco’s character is seemingly the weakest link, yet is still their greatest asset when it comes to the bigger scheme of things. As Jack makes a name for himself, this role hits close to home, and is therefore a perfect role for Franco as he comes to his own in the entertainment industry.

Mark Ruffalo – Channelling his inner Hulk, keeping him contained in human form with intelligible speech, Ruffalo tests his heroic skills in a different suit and fights crime the old fashion way. Playing a believable FBI agent, it was hard to say whether you were supposed to hate or root for Dylan Rhodes in his pursuit of The Four Horsemen. But Ruffalo was convincing on either account that left you wanting him to catch them, while simultaneously begging him to let them go.

Morgan Freeman – Keeping his ‘all knowing’ prowess from the Almighty series, Freeman portrays a shady Thaddeus Bradley attempting to expose The Four Horsemen as they canter to the top. There’s a balance of suspicion and awe as Freeman’s character sheds light on the tricks of the trade, yet is blinded by the biggest trick of all. It was great to see that even his character had a blind spot.

The Theatrics

Although most of the visual illusions were graphic effects, I still believe much of this film comes down to the root theatrics of magical spectacles of a magic show. I thought the simplicity of the chosen frameworks for each heist – the trap doors, disappearing and reappearing account balances, and video holograms – were well planned, well executed and realistic.

I loved the unveiling of each magical illusion as well. It complemented and heightened the importance of the three worlds operating in this film, as well as gave us an inside into the inner workings of the creation of the film itself. Whether it was a graphic effect or a theatrical component, the set, props and technology that came together to make this film were perfectly intertwined.

Overall

It was nice to see Eisenberg and Harrelson together again, and this time have Jesse as the alpha male. The casting, theatrics and the plot were believable, engaging and incredibly entertaining. Go see it.

sL Star Rating: 5 Stars

Next on sL: TBA