Niall Horan The Show tour Brisbane concert review

He’s a mega popstar from one of the world’s biggest boy bands of all time, he’s played to millions in sold out arenas worldwide, topped charts and has an unparalleled fandom. But last night in Brisbane, Niall Horan performed a first.

He’s a mega popstar from one of the world’s biggest boy bands of all time, he’s played to millions in sold out arenas worldwide, topped charts and has an unparalleled fandom.

But last night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, during the first show of the Australian leg of his The Show tour, former One Direction band member Niall Horan performed a first.

In front of a screaming sold out crowd, the Irishman unlaced his shoe, filled it with beer and downed his first shoey.

“They’re my best shoes! You lot are lunatics,” he joked with the crowd, who were egging him on.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever done ‘the shoe’, I won’t forget that one either.”

Horan was in his element among the Queensland crowd, lapping up the Aussie drinking tradition, where one drinks a beverage (usually alcoholic) from a shoe.

The crowd, quite literally, went wild.

They went wild, and stayed wild, from the moment he made his entrance and opened with Nice To Meet Ya. From then, it was on.

“It’s so good to be back in this room at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, I’ve played so many gigs here and I’m sure you’ve been to those and to those that haven’t, welcome,” Horan told the crowd.

“Yes, it is this crazy, it gets loud in here!”

This is what you get when you come to a gig of one of the One Direction lads.

Niall Horan has begun the Australian leg of his The Show world tour. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for TikTok)

Roof-raising screams, melodic sing-a-longs, devoted and tear-soaked fans, a hectic and rammed floor, non-stop dancing and pop belters.

And at a Niall Horan show, some added fun.

Horan let his playful side shine, often mimicking the Aussie accent (“you’re the bloody best!”) and played games of Rock, Paper, and Scissors with a fan in the crowd for one of his guitar picks.

The 90-minute set was a mix of old and new hits including The Show, Black and White and an acoustic set for Dear Patience and crowd favourite, This Town.

It was, of course, One Direction hit, Night Changes, which set off eardrum shattering screams which kept coming for favourites Meltdown, Still, encore Save My Life and closing number, and his first solo hit, Slow Hands.

Horan’s years in the band clearly crafted a natural showman.

But in the eight years since One Direction announced their indefinite hiatus, he’s shown what he’s truly made of.

He seamlessly jumps from guitar to piano to harmonica with vocals that have gained strength in his years.

Music aside, he’s an easy entertainer to love. He’s gracious, humble and seems like the bloke you’d love to share a pint with at the local dive bar.

And just like the crowd who were non-stop singing, dancing and screaming, Horan genuinely looked like he was having the time of his life.

“I’m loving this, this is so good, what a crowd you are from front to back, you’ve brought your A-game tonight,” he beamed to his adoring hyped up fans.

With all that’s happened to that 16-year-old boy who auditioned for X-Factor in the UK in 2010, Horan told fans he’s only now comprehending the magnitude of it.

“The first year I came here was maybe 2013 (with One Direction), that was a long time ago, this tour has been a real moment for me and my career,” he told the crowd.

“The older I’ve become, the more grateful I am, not that I was ever ungrateful, I’m just realising a bit more how mad the past 14 years have been.

“This will never ever get old and as long as you keep coming back, I’ll keep coming back.”

Niall plays Sydney on Wednesday and Melbourne on Friday and Saturday night.