We went to see One Direction at Madison Square Garden. Now we get what being a teenager today is all about.
Doree: Hello!
Katie: Hey hey! So...ONE DIRECTION.
Doree: Yes! So we got to MSG in time to see the opener, and girls were screaming and going crazy, and we couldn't figure out who was singing.
Katie: Yes. It was Ed Sheeran!
Doree: Apparently guitar beatboxing is a thing. I like that both of us had only heard of him in the context of like, gossip, but had no idea what his music sounded like or what he looked like.
Katie: I have a feeling they had only heard of him and not heard him.
Doree: The girls around us had certainly heard him. They knew all the words. How would you describe his music?
Katie: I would describe it as: the most annoying kind of music a white person can make. Sort of Kaki King meets Against Me!, which sounds like it would be awesome, but is terrible. He's really bro-ish.
Doree: Yes. I feel like he'd be one of those guys who wore those rope bracelets in the '90s. He might wear one anyway, or a pukka shell necklace.
Katie: I’d call it “dorm rock.”
Doree: I think you just nailed it. Dorm rock. Also made for singing along.
Katie: Totally. I wonder if he's actually popular with the bro set, or if his teendreaminess among young girls makes him too uncool for college guys.
Doree: I bet the latter. Also, how many guys did you see there last night who weren't dads? I think two? And those guys were on dates, which seemed...odd to me. But what do I know.
This is Zayn Malik, a member of the band who can actually sing.
Doree: Let’s talk about the outfits we saw.
Katie: So many girls wearing matching outfits!
Doree: SO MANY!
Katie: Homemade fan T-shirts!
Doree: There was that group of girls in front of us all wearing 1D shirts tucked into miniskirts and knee-highs. And they put their arms around each other and sang along to one of the ballads! Not to sound like an old lady prude (which I am), but that girl in front of us on the escalator, who was WITH HER MOM, wearing sequined hot pants and tights? I feel like I saw too much of that on 14-year-olds.
Katie: Ooooooooh. :(
Doree: Yeah. :( But speaking of moms, there were a lot of moms! That mom right in front of us was probably confused as to why we didn't have a bunch of 10-year-olds with us, but this clearly wasn't her first rodeo. Unlike us, she brought earplugs.
Katie: I definitely had "a moment" with her where we made eye contact while plugging our ears and mouthed, "help," "I know," to each other.
Doree: She and her friend took a selfie pic, which was kind of cute. We probably messed up by not taking one of ourselves.
Katie: We definitely blew it.
Doree: Let's discuss the girl behind us. I mean, that was inhuman, the way she was screaming.
Katie: I’m pretty sure my right ear was more damaged from her even though the speakers were to our left. It was very LOUD, even the music was loud. That is something an old person (me) just said.