Louis William Tomlinson. That’s it, that’s the concert review. I go back and forth on who my favorite member of One Direction is, but Louis has always taken my breath away and held a special place in my heart. His sparkling vocals, stellar lyricism, and captivating stage presence have made him stand out to me since the very beginning.
I grew up with One Direction and have been an active member of the fandom on Tumblr for nearly 10 years. Through this experience, I've met some of my closest friends and learned to be true to myself. In high school, I wrote a 20-page paper and gave a 30-minute presentation about One Direction for my senior capstone project, and it’s still one of my proudest accomplishments. I’m a fangirl, and I’m proud of it.
I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Phoenix, Arizona date of the Faith in the Future Tour with my dad. To make things even better, my friend Val was going as well. I saw Louis with our mutual friend, Hope, on his last tour in 2022, so I was excited to see what changes he had made to his live performance and how his newer songs sounded live.
He played at the Arizona Financial Theater to a sold-out show. I had been there the previous night to see a different band, and I’ve been to countless shows at this venue over the years. It was where I first saw Louis’s former bandmates, Harry Styles and Niall Horan, during their debut solo tours. I was excited to get down to the pit and sing my heart out to the musician I love.
When the lights went down, the crowd came alive with excitement. Starting off with The Greatest, the opening track to his 2022 album Faith in the Future, Louis truly lived up to that title with his raw talent. He stated that he was feeling a bit under the weather, but I wouldn't have known had he not said so. He commanded the stage with a rock-star power I’ve always known him to hold.
He then played his pop-punk anthem, Kill My Mind. I have always felt that Louis’s true identity as a pop-punk king has been criminally downplayed. He has always stated that some of his biggest musical inspirations include the Killers, Oasis, and Green Day. I grew up going to punk and hardcore shows. I spent multiple summers in high school attending the Vans Warped Tour, and as a seasoned emo kid, I always felt that Louis’s natural sound would have been incredible on one of those stages. Louis then played 505, one of my favorite Arctic Monkeys’ songs of all time. His crisp vocals allowed him to make an iconic song sound like one of his own.
This energy continued as he played an unreleased track (and fan favorite), Copy of a Copy of a Copy. He also played Back to You, one of his very first singles as a solo artist. This song was originally a duet with Bebe Rexha and fans like me have wanted to hear it live again for ages. I didn’t look at the setlist before the show, so this truly took me by surprise.
Some critics have commented on how the boys should try to distance themselves from their former boy band status in order to reach greater levels of success, but they have all proven that they don’t need to. Louis is no exception, paying his respects to his former band by playing Night Changes and Where Do Broken Hearts Go with his own flair. When I saw him on his last tour, Louis played Drag Me Down, Through The Dark, and Little Black Dress, to which I completely lost my mind. I was excited to see which One Direction songs he would put on the setlist for this tour, and I was definitely not disappointed.
Louis’s weariness from being sick didn’t begin to show until the last song, Out of My System. The fans gladly made it easy on him by making their own voices heard. Louis quickly went off stage with a crowd of thousands chanting his name. He came out after a few minutes and hopped down to the barricade to be up close and personal with his fans for the last three songs.
With flashing lights, powerful vocals, and a killer backup band, Louis once again gave an exhilarating live show. There is nothing more fun than dancing with a close friend at a concert, and Louis has always made his shows a safe place for fans to be whoever they want to be. His message of hope and keeping “faith in the future” radiates through everything he does. I am so proud to be a fan of Louis and I will absolutely be at more shows in the future.
Written By Tessa Brainard
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