filling in the blanks

Louis Tomlinson headlined Summerfest's BMO Pavilion on June 26 as part of his 28-city "How Did I Get Here?" tour, stretching across Europe and the United States.

Tomlinson's most recent album — his third solo endeavor — and the tour are a return to form, the dancey pop sound that launched him and his One Direction peers into superstardom. Throughout, Tomlinson finds sonic synergy in catchy pop hooks, synth-laced guitar and bass chord progressions and a laidback, beachy vibe that can make a listener feel like they're bathing in the sunshine of Costa Rica's coast, where the album was produced. 

His show opened with a video of Tomlinson in a car, cranking the knob on a radio until it settled on a station that welcomed him and the audience to Summerfest in Milwaukee. From there, he and his band launched full speed into an upbeat four-song stretch of "Lemonade," "On Fire," "Written All Over Your Face," and "Out of My System," each song bright, synth-laced and somewhat psychedelic in its own way.

The intention was set; Tomlinson was taking the audience on a trip, a quest to figure out just  how he got here .

He wore a tracksuit with a butterfly embroidered on the left side of his chest and a pair of black sunglasses that masked his eyes from the occasional strobing of lights and bright lasers. After the first song, the crowd was blasted with bright yellow confetti, setting the party tone early on in the evening.

The graphics and visuals of the show played a large role in telling Tomlinson's story. All were colorful, trippy and visually captivating while Tomlinson's physical performance was subdued and relaxed.

Tomlinson spent most of his first three songs center stage, rarely dancing, but instead gripping the mic while swaying back and forth or nodding his head, eyes masked by his sunglasses. During major guitar solos and drum moments, he didn't turn from the audience to rock out with his band. Instead, he occasionally pointed at audience members and shot them quick smiles before turning to his standard position.  

Tomlinson left it to his voice to tell the story of a life shaped by grief and evolution in the public eye. 

No matter what he sang, the crowd was with Tomlinson, cheering him on, chanting the lyrics of songs back to him and grabbing his friends by the shoulders when he began playing their favorite tune.

After the punchy start to the show's opening, Tomlinson transitioned into a series of slower-paced tracks, "Saturdays," "Dark to Light," and "Just Hold On," pulling back some of the show's early momentum for a reflective moment, a retrospective on his life and career.

Some of the loudest cheers and screams came mid-show during Tomlinson's performance of "Night Changes," a 2014 One Direction song.

He left his post more frequently in the back half of the show. "Sunflowers" is where he seemed to regain his vocal and physical energy, striding back and forth across the stage and engaging with fans. 

Towards the end of the night, he dropped his cool guy mask, tilting his sunglasses down for just a moment to smile at the audience, eliciting screams.

There were moments throughout the show when Tomlinson was hard to hear over the sound of the band. He frequently fiddled with his earpiece and, at one point, gestured to the side of the stage to turn up his microphone volume.

But overall, he put on an engaging show, made better by a quick sprint downstage and into the audience where he sang his final song, "Palaces."