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We had experienced the Red Rocks hail storm in 2023 together, so I think Louis also felt the same mixture of trauma and fear, the excitement to try again and responsibility to undo the curse 😂. He understood both the immense joy and the historic nature of playing this legendary venue, as well as the way the universe seems to fuck with his aspirations at the worst times. To me, Louis has always had a knack to rise to the crucial moment on stage. Whatever else in his life, when it really counts for him to pull off a performance, Louis always does it. He has a level of obsessive professionalism, almost as if he’s controlling a runaway rollercoaster. He has often talked about the pinnacle of anxiety just before going on stage, when he’d “like to run away.” But then he goes and conquers it. His photos from Red Rock reveal his joy, the awe, the humility and the responsibility.

Starting off with his openers, The Royston Club were a lot of fun, and their music was actually so good. You could tell both of his openers loved playing at Red Rocks and loved Louis for giving them the venue and this audience. I know Sun Room were Louis’ favorites, but imo Royston Club are steadier, better musicians. And The Aces… oh my god. I was thinking maybe Louis was always looking for a girlband that was confident, in the pop rock genre, and wrote searingly honest, catchy, warm-hearted songs on their own. This band was so many levels above what he needed in an opener, it was ridiculous. Their stage presence and charisma, off the charts! The fact that they’re a queer woman band, self-sufficient, warm and receptive to a new audience, with their degree of musicianship and sass on stage, and proud, out, and loud about it. It was incredibly refreshing. Go see them both.

Louis came out with an aura of pure, in-the-moment, infectious happiness. Thanks to some witchcraft, we had unbeatable seats where you could count every hair on his lashes. Louis’ band was totally on fire. Every song felt joyous and new, even if they’d perform them a thousand times before, even if we’d heard them over and over. In person, the laser, background graphics and light show were much better than it looks on livestream. Totally worth it to see in person.

Most of all, Louis’ vocals were spot on. As I was saying above, Louis has had ups and downs and some uneven shows in the past, but he has nailed most of the performances on this tour. There are still occasional pitch issues (noticeable during more exposed and acoustic moments, like Defenceless) and he didn’t make the entire breath on the Written All Over Your Face bridge, but he sang the high notes in the choruses and the falsettos, and he nailed the brilliant energy of the fast songs like Jump the Gun and Send Me Under. Even songs that are several years old, Kill My Mind, Bigger Than Me, Out Of My System, sounded boisterous, original, fresh and alive.

The highlights:

• Louis’ sense of humor. Up close, I could see Louis lifting up his sunglasses to peek at the audience, point to people in the crowd, sticking out his little tongue, joke around with his band, picking up the lyrics sheet to Send Me Under (a delightful surprise!), mock-taping to the mic stand, and almost burst out laughing a few times at his own impishness. I could see him motion to turn his mic up and getting fresh cups of water (they’re replaced in between songs). His face is so expressive and alive, but most of the time it’s impossible to see from far away, even on the giant screen. Up close, he’s a funny, real person. I think of the lyrics from The Observer where Louis writes about not feeling quite real when the public is watching him and dissecting his every move, almost as if he’s living in a documentary. In glimpses on stage, the real, still excited, genuinely awed person behind the star who assumes a persona and goes “out of focus to deceive” is still there, still alive, still a kid grateful for his break. He loves being on stage.

• My favorite song on the new album is Lucid, and last night, for the first time during live performance, I was struck hearing in Lucid an old J. S. Bach contrapuntal trick, which is to weave several melodies together in a canon (like row, row, row your boat). Iirc, I think his cowriter David Sneddon might have mentioned Bach before? Anyway, the live performance underscores how each voice slips in to join the chorus of voices, how the singers weave the melodies together, and how we can carry these melodies in our heads simultaneously, mimicking the phenomenon of lucid dreaming weaving various plot lines together. Not only metaphorically, but in live performance, the song works like a gift that gets unwrapped layer by layer until it’s completely revealed. Louis structures and sings the song so beautifully. Lucid has the most tender ending in the setlist. Sometimes a song feels magical with no plausible explanation. For me Lucid is like that.

• I loved his performance of Miss You. I love the fact that he’s bringing this song back at the crest of his career, triumphantly singing what was meant to launch his solo career back in 2017. Once upon a time, Louis had strong faith in Miss You. He sent it out into the world with love and hope. Then the fandom believed in it strongly enough to encourage him to bring it back. Not No Control, not another 1D song, but Miss You. It feels like validation to scream the words, “Shit, maybe I miss you!” to the song itself.

• Thank you, Louis, for the brilliant, generous setlist that included songs from Walls and Faith In The Future, especially for loving Bigger Than Me enough to include her. We all have favorites that we’d like to hear again. Maybe someday we’ll hear Holding On To Heartache or Common People or Copy of a Copy of a Copy again. Or even Only the Brave. But I loved hearing the representation from all parts of his discography. It tells me that Louis feels ambitious and confident enough in his vocal ability to give us these challenging songs one after the other on a long setlist. Bigger Than Me is a better anthem for the fandom than Side By Side, a stronger and better written song, and I’m glad he likes it too.

• Louis’ band. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but at the end of the show, after Louis had left the stage, all the guys gathered on stage and gave each other hugs and pats on the back, and then did a warm, tight group hug. They were just as thankful to be at Red Rocks as we were, celebrating just as much as us. Their spontaneous emotional reaction was so moving for me to see. Musically, they knocked it out of the park.

• Getting to hear most of the HDIGH discography. It was a lot of fun to hear Lemonade, Palaces, and Imposter live. Personally I think Dark To Light and Broken Bones are the weaker songs on the album. I understand the emotional response to Dark to Light, but I’m disappointed that Louis seems to have chosen cliches for lyrical high points. I think he’s capable of better songwriting. For me, a lovely moment in the show is the bonus track The Answer. Louis’ soft yearning vocals can often evoke wistfulness in his ballads. It was magical to hear the balance of hope and resignation, looking forward and back at the same time. I love that the song uses so many 7th chords that it wanders in and out of major and minor keys, shifting in and out of complex harmonies. It’s catnip to a musician!

• The projections of HOW DID WE GET HERE onto the Red Rocks rock walls, the question mark ❓ logo traced in electric blue laser. The graphic design is so so good.

• The chaos of Louis popping up in the middle of the audience to sing Night Changes hahaha.

• The audience was made up of all ages from young to old (people in their 70’s and 80’s). I saw a lot of men, and even men going in couples or in groups by themselves. And we were SO LOUD. Sitting up front, it felt like a physical wall of sound descending on us, on top of all the electrical amplification, like a gale force. I’ve never experienced acoustics like that!

• All the cute outfits. People are so creative and cute. I love all the Lemonade and album cover colors, the nails and accessories, the face paint, the fan projects, the feeling of so many fans listening to live music together on a summer night. Thank you to the heavenly entity for the beautiful weather. It felt like a brand new era, brighter and happier.

• I wish the concert went on for three hours! Ha ha. I think Louis skipped some speeches in order to fit in Send Me Under, so he could finish on time. I’ll take it 😙

What might have been better:

• The one time that I was practically at barricade, there’s no barricade moment! Sad 😔😔😔

• I really don’t like parts of this fandom. The way that Louis rewards some fans for stalking and unethical behavior because he can get free promo from them makes him look like a hypocrite, and it’s going to be this way forever. It’s disappointing, it’s gross, it’s unfair, and it’s fucking lazy. The way for Louis to get better promo is to DO better promo, to be less repetitive, get more creative etc etc and not encourage bad fans even as he complains about it. As you all know, I also don’t like fans bringing their fanfiction obsessions into the concerts, especially when they bring physical props to force Louis (and his fans) to see them. We’re all excited, but stay in your lane and don’t make the show about you. Respect concert etiquette. Respect Louis.

• FYI for Red Rocks concertgoers. The venue doesn’t really help traffic leave from tight and crowded parking lots. Expect 30-45 minutes to get out. The lower lots are gravel, so bring comfy shoes.