Louis Tomlinson•The Snuts•Andrew Cushin• June 24, 2023•Washington Music Theater
Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert
Isela Garcia said that about fifty people were already in line when she got to Seattle’s Washington Music “WAMU” Theater at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday, June 24th. Many fans of this particular music scene don’t even give spending their day on the sidewalk a second thought. With General Admission concerts, the closer they are to the front of the line, the closer they can get to the front of the stage! Time and again, fans have shown that Louis Tomlinson is worth that wait. For me, since there isn’t a Utah stop this go around, he’s worth a flight to Washington to catch the Seattle show part of his Faith In The Future World Tour!
UCR On The Road
There are some shows that I just get a little extra excited for. This Louis Tomlinson show was one of those. Getting to not only go to the concert but also getting to photograph and review it brought about many full-circle moments for me! For one, Louis’ Louis Tomlinson World Tour stop in Orem, UT was the first show I’d ever covered for Utah Concert Review. So it was cool to be back at the same artist’s show doing the same thing with more experience under my belt!
I also got to see the show with a friend of nearly fifteen years. She and I spent much of our time in high school with a shared love for Louis’ former band, One Direction. So it was cool to be able to see him with her since we never got to see One Direction together!
Lastly, I happened to be staying at the same hotel that I had stayed at close to eight years ago to see One Direction at what was then Century Link Field (now Lumen Field). It adjoins to WAMU Theater, where Louis’ show was taking place. The hotel room had the same view of the stadium and music venue as it did the only other time I was there. It brought back memories of sitting in the window, filled with anticipation and listening to One Direction sound check before their show all those years ago. Now there I was in the same place, observing the sea of fans ready to see Louis Tomlinson and preparing to photograph him myself. Fifteen-year-old Josilyn would never believe that!
For this show, Louis was joined by opening artists Andrew Cushin and The Snuts. The show started a little earlier than noted. So I was sad to miss most of Andrew’s set. Which also meant that I missed the time frame to photograph his set. From the little bit that I heard, he was so good. The crowd made it very apparent that they felt the same way! They loved Andrew!
The venue had a really open layout. Which made it nice because it’s easy for venues to feel crowded and stuffy. The entire show was open seating. So concert goers could choose to stand on the floor or there was a section of bleachers with seats. The floor was packed full of fans trying to get as close as they could. While the seated area wasn’t so crowded.
The Snuts
It wasn’t long until The Snuts took the stage, and the crowd was excited right from the get go! An illuminated signed reading, “The Snuts,” glowed on stage. The Scottish band started their set off with their newest release, “Gloria,” which is a fun and upbeat song! Fans were jumping up and down and dancing throughout the multitude of the crowd! “Seasons,” and, “The Rodeo,” came after “Gloria,” and the band along with the audience remained lively. With such a rocking song, it would be hard not to! The band members were all very talented in each of their own respects. They seemed to be enjoying their time on stage just as much as the crowd loved them being there!
The Snuts shared that they were honored to be in Seattle with everyone and that they were looking forward to coming back to Seattle on tour next year. Which was met with cheering from a happy crowd! After performing, “Hallelujah Moment,” The Snuts, jokingly said they’d speak very slowly so that people could understand their Scottish accents. They then encouraged everyone to put their arm around whoever they were attending the concert with in preparation for the next song. My personal favorite Snuts song, “Somebody Love You.” It’s a cheery, happy tune! The Snuts finished their set off with, “Fatboy Slim”. I am sure that the fans they won over in Seattle will be looking forward to their return next year!
Louis Tomlinson
The stage was rearranged and set up for Louis’ performance. There was a sense of anticipation radiating throughout the room! Security guards walked along the barricade hyping people up and passing out water to those who needed it. One of the security guests mentioned how impressed he was with how kind all the fans were to each other. How they looked out for each other. Which is a great compliment because I know it’s not always that way at some concerts!
Soon, the lights dropped and the various screens hung up on stage began to flash. The intro to Louis Tomplinson’s song, “The Greatest,” created the perfect excitement-building atmosphere. Not that the fans needed it. The room was exploding will screaming and cheering! Louis’ band took the stage first, and he followed a few measures later, and the crowd erupted even more! There wasn’t a face in the audience without a smile!
From the second he stepped on stage, Louis was great about making his way back and forth across the stage. This made it so everyone could see him from any angle. I’m sure so that he could also see the masses that came to see him! “Kill My Mind,” from his first album Walls, and, “Bigger Than Me,” from his most recent album Faith In The Future followed. It was fun to hear everyone yelling and singing every word right along with Louis! Before starting another song, Louis thanked everyone for being there and for their support. As playing shows is his favorite part of his job, and it wouldn’t be possible without them.
He also praised the fans for proving how tough they all are as a fan group. This was in reference to the show at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO. It was supposed to be the prior stop to the Seattle show but was postponed due to an extreme hail storm. The lights dimmed in preparation for the next song. Some yelled, “I love you, Louis!” and he replied, “And I love you!”
The show continued on with songs, “Lucky Again,” “Holding On To Heartache,” and, “Face The Music”. Songs from Louis’ second album and the tour’s namesake, Faith In The Future.
I was impressed by the unique lighting and display that every song brought with it! An assortment of colors of lights would flash rapidly for some songs, or lazily for others. The screens’ designs would change from song to song while still projecting the performers on stage. It really made the show even more fun to watch!
A few songs later, an upbeat intro to the typically slower One Direction song, “Night Changes,” began to play. It was a welcome treat to those of us who also loved Louis’ time spent in the band! During the first verse, he accidentally mixed in some of the words from the second verse and jokingly said, “I’m just making it up!”. “Chicago,” was played after, “Night Changes”. I think I’ll from there on out I’ll always hear the Louis fans of Seattle singing their hearts out during the chorus of the song whenever I listen to it! I thought it was really cool how seamlessly the chill song with a quick back beat, “All This Time,” flowed into, “She Is Beauty We Are World Class.” It was such a smooth transition that I didn’t even notice the latter had begun until the lyrics were sung!
Then Louis asked, “Do you know what song is next?” and the crowd shouted the right answer which was the unreleased song, “Copy of a Copy of a Copy!” Louis also sang a cover of the Arctic Monkeys, “505”. It was well received! Before stepping off stage for an encore, he sang the sweet, “Angels Fly” and the high energy, rocking, “Out of My System.”
When Louis came back for the encore, he was illuminated by one lightbulb as he sang, “Saturdays.” Another One Direction song called, “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” was up next. Everyone was jumping, dancing, and living their best concert-going lives. It would all come to an end sooner than I think anyone wanted it to! The final song of the night was, “Silver Tongues”. Which starts out slow but kicks up to a really fun song that you can’t help but jump up and down to! Towards the end of the song, long streamers were blasted throughout the crowd and floated down gently. Which made for quite the sight! Not two minutes later, the lights were up and the show was done.
Andrew Cushin, The Snuts, and Louis Tomlinson brought a memorable show to the WAMU Theater that truly was worth the trip for me, as I’m sure those who waited for hours would agree that those hours were easily worth seeing the show for them! The music was fun, the musicians were talented, and people left with happy memories of their evening spent at the Faith In The Future World Tour!