HAPPY HARRYWEEN! // HARRY STYLES LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY
Happy Harryween! I recently had the most incredible experience seeing Harry Styles once again at Madison Square Garden to celebrate Halloween in the best way possible! Harryween was announced in early 2020, just before the pandemic hit and everything needed to be postponed. This show was originally supposed to be October 31, 2020 but thankfully was able to be rescheduled for the same day in 2021! I also saw Harry in early October for his Love On Tour in New York City, which was such an unforgettable show! Both of these concerts were incredible and something I looked forward to everyday for nearly two years. It was a long wait, but it was beyond worth it!
He played a total of 5 sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in one month (which is actually a record for an artist debuting in the past 20 years!) I saw him for the first time in 2018 at Madison Square Garden as well, which was also one of the greatest concerts I have been to. There is truly something so special about his shows there, I love New York City and all of the energy that radiates off of everyone in Madison Square Garden. Every time I see him in concert, it somehow gets better and better - which I didn't even know was possible!
He had two shows over Halloween weekend, I went on the second night on October 31st. Everyone was dressed up and it was so fun seeing everyone's costumes! Most people dress up for his non-Halloween shows, so that actually wasn't really out of the ordinary! My outfit was inspired by his song "Watermelon Sugar", with a shirt with watermelon sugar on it, red flare pants and a green boa.
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| Photo Credit: Harry Styles & Anthony Pham |
At the first Harryween show the night before, Harry and the rest of his band dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz with Harry dressed as Dorothy - so I was so excited to see what they would all be dressed as for this show! I had a lot of guesses what he would be, but ultimately they were all dressed as harlequin clowns! Not just any regular clown costumes though, of course they were custom designed by Gucci, I wouldn't expect any less from Harry! I loved the design of the costume with the layers of the white ruffles and the moon and star emblem on the front. It was a really fun and a classic choice with a bit of a Harry/Gucci flare!
The show was very different from the regular Love On Tour stops, instead of there being a 360° stage in the center of the floor, it was a standard stage at the end. I did like how he was in the round for the rest of the Love On Tour shows because everyone has a chance to see him regardless of where the seats are, but honestly there isn't a bad seat in that arena so it all worked out this way too.
The openers for the show were Madison Cunningham and Orville Peck. I wasn't familiar with Madison's work beforehand, but I did enjoy her set, although it was very short. Country isn't usually a genre of music I gravitate toward, but I am a fan of Orville Peck and was really excited when I heard he was one of the openers of the show! He is known for his masked cowboy look, so in that way he is kind of always in a costume, but for this show he was actually dressed up as the Lone Ranger which is perfect for him! Artists like Orville Peck are redefining country music for a new generation of listeners which makes me excited to see where he goes from here.
Harry's setlist also ended up being very different too, which I didn't expect! He once again started the show with "Golden", which is a song that I absolutely love. It really makes for the perfect opening song for both his tour and the album. Just like the previous two times I saw him live, the ground of Madison Square Garden was once again shaking so much, which goes to show how excited the whole crowd is at his shows! I especially felt it during the next three songs he played, "Carolina", "Adore You", and "Only Angel" all of which are so incredible to hear live especially back-to-back in the setlist.
During some of the slower parts of the show, the room still felt so alive. I especially really connected to "Cherry" this time, I had goosebumps throughout the whole song and it was such a beautiful version of it. I loved when the whole crowd sang "does he take you walking around his parent's gallery?" line too. I feel the same way about "Falling" too, there are so many really beautiful lyrics in that song that really resonated with me. The next song was "She", which is an incredible psychadelic masterpiece that I absolutely love and sounds even better live. Of course Mitch's guitar solo at the end is also just as amazing as you would imagine it to be to hear live!
"Lights Up" is one of my favorite songs by Harry and getting to hear it live feels so special. I loved when he held out the microphone stand on the side of the stage for the crowd to sing the last verse too. Hearing 20,000 people scream the last verse, "All the lights couldn't put out the dark, Runnin' through my heart, Lights up and they know who you are, Know who you are, Do you know who you are?" was just so powerful. Some fans organized every section of the crowd to hold up a different colored light during the song to make the arena light up like a rainbow during the song too.
In my recent post about the previous New York show I went to, I wrote all about how much I loved the trio of songs he plays in the middle: "Canyon Moon", "Treat People With Kindness" and "What Makes You Beautiful". Once again, I had the time of my life during that part of the show, I was singing and dancing so much that I was out of breath by the end of it! All of Harry's songs translate really well in a live setting, but there is something about those three that just feels so incredible to experience in concert. Pure happiness was radiating off of everyone throughout the whole night, but I especially felt it in the room during those songs. I hope he never takes them off the setlist of future tours because they are so much fun!
There were four songs that he left out of this night's Harryween setlist that he usually plays at his other Love On Tour shows, "Sunflower Vol.6", "To Be So Lonely", "Woman", and probably most surprisingly "Fine Line". I love all of those songs and am very happy I was able to hear them live at the last show. However when I noticed he skipped them in the setlist, I knew the crowd was in for something special at the end to fill in that time!
Before the encore, he finished the show with "Sign of the Times", which always feels so powerful to be a part of in a setting like that. I mentioned this in the past, but that song holds a whole new meaning for me now after what we all collectively went through over the past year and a half. The lyrics of "Sign of the Times" are so hopeful and moving, after all these years every time I hear it I still get chills. After two years of waiting for these shows and everything the world has gone through in that time those words of hope ring true more now than ever.
The encore was one the greatest concert experiences I have ever had and is something I'm still processing because I can't even believe I was there to see for myself! First he came back out and sang "Watermelon Sugar" which is always so much fun, that song was an instant classic that never gets old for me. It was also the inspiration behind my outfit for the show so I especially loved hearing it live for that reason too!
Then the opening chords of his unreleased song "Medicine" started playing and I couldn't even believe he was actually playing that song right in front of me for the first time in three years! It is a fan-favorite that he played every night on his 2018 tour and hasn't since then. I can't even describe what it felt like to be there for that moment! Before he came back out on stage for the encore the entire crowd was chanting "Medicine" over and over - I don't know how everyone knew but I am so glad he actually ended up performing it! Hopefully this is a sign it will finally be on his third album!
That moment alone was iconic enough to experience in person and he could have ended the show right there and I would've been more than happy - but then to make it even better he performed a cover of "Toxic" by Britney Spears! Honestly "Toxic" is one of the greatest songs ever and I couldn't believe he was performing that too! Nothing will ever top the moment the iconic "do do do do do" opening of "Toxic" started! A guy like him should wear a warning because no one was expecting that! Even the girl next to me, who I never met before, at the same time we said to each other "is this actually happening right now?" That part of the show was so insane and something I can't believe I was there for! The very first time I saw Harry in 2018, a fan had a sign asking him what his favorite Britney Spears song was - when he replied "Toxic" the whole crowd of course started chanting "sing it! sing it!" to his reply, “You want me to sing it? Well, let me see...No.” I can't believe three years later he finally did, it was definitely one of the best surprises of the entire tour.
He finished the show with "Kiwi" which is hands-down his best song to hear live, especially in New York because of the iconic "it's New York baby always jacked up" line! That moment in his shows is unmatched every time! "Kiwi" is so full of energy, he started and stopped the song three times too so everyone would get even more hyped up, so by the time he fully played it through it was the loudest crowd I ever heard at Madison Square Garden! The feeling was electric! It was the perfect way to close out such an unforgettable show, I loved every second of it so much!
Harryween was one of the best concerts I have ever been to and also probably one of Harry's best concerts to date, his performance, costume and the special setlist were all incredible and I can't believe I was there in person for it. There were so many moments throughout the show that were truly so iconic and some of the best live experiences I have ever witnessed!
Needless to say, Halloween from now on is officially canceled and I will only ever celebrate Harryween! I keep thinking about how incredible this show was and how thankful I am that I was able to be there to experience this incredible night in New York City! Seeing Harry twice in the past month was a dream come true and an unforgettable experience that was long awaited. These were my first two concerts back since the pandemic started and it feels so special. Being able to be in a crowd of thousands of people screaming the words of your favorite songs with you is a feeling that I will never take for granted. I already look forward to the next time I get to see Harry live, whenever that may be!
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! If you'd like to read about more of my experiences seeing Harry Styles live, I'd love for you to read my 2018 Live On Tour NYC review and my 2021 Love On Tour NYC review! Treat People With Kindness!
All photos are my own!
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