One Direction embraces its future in Indianapolis

One Direction capped one of the biggest days of its career by singing to appreciative fans in Indianapolis, a city the pop group had never visited before but may now view as a good luck charm.

Friday was special in the One Direction timeline because of the release of surprise single "Drag Me Down." Conventional wisdom may point toward an approaching expiration date for 1D's boy-band reign, but "Drag Me Down's" commercial performance bats that notion down.

As group member Niall Horan noted during Friday night's show at Lucas Oil Stadium, the song rocketed to No. 1 in iTunes sales in "82 or 83 countries."

What's more, One Direction treated its audience to the live debut of "Drag Me Down" -- the group's first release since the departure of founding member Zayn Malik. The aggressive, reggae-themed "Drag Me Down" filled the stadium with enough energy to all but levitate the room and its estimated 45,000 occupants.

The song framed Harry Styles as a full-throated rocker, underscored Liam Payne as the group's glue and nudged Louis Tomlinson out of his doldrums. At the conclusion of "Drag Me Down," Horan said fans deserved to share the moment with the group. At least one attendee captured the performance for YouTube posting.

Fans are the life force of One Direction. Styles, Tomlinson, Horan and Payne devote all their stage banter to talking about their fans. During a segment in which Payne read posters in the crowd, he singled out one with the message, "I love you more than Kanye loves Kanye."

If a group is only as strong as its supporters, Friday was a good day to be optimistic about One Direction's longevity.

The stadium show's production, however, leaned too heavily on the quartet's charisma and audience participation.

Unlike boy band predecessors Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, One Direction bypasses physical stunts, conceptual skits and general wow factor when performing for tens of thousands of paying customers. With all that cash flowing in, a few dollars could be spent on bells and whistles.

Instead, the show hinged on verbal zingers. Styles unwittingly razzed Indianapolis Colts star Anthony Castonzo for being taller than every other attendee within sight. "Are you standing on a chair," the singer asked.

At one point, Payne found himself to be the only person onstage not dressed in black. "I was not cc'd on the email," he said. By the show's end, however, he donned a Halloween version of a Batman costume (perhaps a fan's gift left on the catwalk?) to fit in with his mates.

Friday's stop of the "On the Road Again" tour was big, but not necessarily bold.

Credit Horan, Payne and Styles for being into the show. Tomlinson's interest (and vocal strength) seemed to come and go.

With the stadium's retractable roof closed, it's likely the acoustics near the top of the venue were less than pristine. When members of One Direction talked between songs, the sound echoed and rattled at the back of the hall.

Whatever music parents could make out, they probably enjoyed. One Direction beams the sounds of yesteryear to today, from the Genesis-esque tones of "Steal My Girl" to the Rick Springfield attitude of "No Control." "Little Black Dress" rang out power pop in the tradition of the Knack, while "Fireproof" was as smooth as any number of '70s yacht-rock hits.

And "Night Changes" was sneaky good, resembling a campfire song written by the Eagles.

Don't write off One Direction just yet. Payne mentioned that the group completed on Thursday recording sessions for its next album.

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.