I first saw The Aces perform at Echo Beach in 2018, opening for 5 Seconds of Summer. Back in the day, I followed them and assumed they were a super cool queer band, because the lead singer, Cristal Ramirez, came out in such a sick suit with the coolest alt energy. Unfortunately for teenage me, they were still aggressively in the closet and also mormon, so after a few years of patiently waiting for them to come out, I decided to unfollow them. Then a few years ago Alisa Ramirez, their drummer, popped up on my fyp, gay as hell and with even more 80s synth than I could dream of. I eagerly awaited their Montreal tour date, but they consistently skipped us on their schedules. Who would have thought it would take Louis Tomlinson for them to make another appearance in my life? I’m sure everyone has hobbies they’re a little too into, and for me that’s certainly concerts, but usually if the opener or headliner are the right fit I can convince a friend to join me and listen to my live thoughts on wardrobe, set design, sound and technical skills. I imagine it’s like going to the movies with a film bro. But my friends are easily bribed, and in the summer of live promotion $30 is hard to say no to, especially if your favourite One Direction member is the headliner, as was the case with my roommate.
I was admittedly very disappointed. After waiting several tours (both opening and headlining) for them to join us here in Montreal, they had several microphone glitches and failures, with very strange sound mixing. Cristal’s mic completely gave up during The Magic, forcing her to run and grab one from guitarist Katie Henderson, which meant all the harmonies were off. I might be highly biased, but since their recorded music is so good and they’ve been a band for a decade, I had assumed they’d knock this performance out of the park. Instead, the sound quality just wasn’t there, which is even more disappointing because Montreal is a great place for queer and alt artists to shine and pick up new fans as they pass through. It was their first date back from hiatus (where they swapped off opening duties with The Beaches), but it was rough, and even as a fan it was hard to overlook, especially in the shorter opener’s slot; there simply wasn’t time to recover from it.
The actual performance was great when I could hear them, and I hope they come back to Montreal so I can judge them sans tech problems. Preferably in a smaller venue surrounded by people dancing, especially since Katie, Cristal and McKenna can absolutely shred on guitar and bass. It’s genuinely cool to see a band this technically skilled on their instruments. I’m honestly surprised Alisa hasn’t been loaned out to other bands as a drummer; it’s very hard to find someone this talented and dependable behind a kit. It’s also refreshing to see a childhood band make it without any obvious connections to the industry, even if they did end up on the Off Campus soundtrack. It really is the infinity gauntlet of underrated lesbian artists for a show so heavily steeped in centring men.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Louis Tomlinson is a musical mastermind. He has, in my personal and professional opinion, the most unique voice to come out of the One Direction members. I’d honestly go further and say he’s one of the more unique voices of my generation. If I had a nickel for every time Louis Tomlinson made me cry by singing Night Changes, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Both times I’ve seen him (2023 and 2026) have been exceptionally transitional times in my life, but I’m also a sentimental fool, so he’d probably get me a month from now too. He put a little extra oomph into his performance this time because England had just lost in the FIFA World Cup, so he was clearly in his feelings as well.
His tour has incredible visuals; they’re song-specific and extremely colourful. Where The Aces struggled with their tech, Louis’ show went off without a hitch. He also has some of the best merch I’ve seen in a very long time, both in graphic design and in the quality of the items. I’ve found recently that while the price of tour merch skyrockets, the quality of the items, both the shirt and the ink, plummets, leaving a lot of fans devastated that the memorabilia of their favourite bands now looks like Slender Man. I frequently reach for my Faith in the Future tour shirt, and years later it still looks fresh and cool as hell. Oddly enough, I’m a total poser wearing it: I’ve only really listened to him live, but I’ve never been asked to name three of his songs. Unfortunately for the men who ask about my My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy shirts, they get significantly more than they bargained for. I believe my MCR review still holds the record for the longest review Montreal Rocks has ever published.
Louis has many talents to be admired. Alongside his unique voice and his ability to spot and invest in talent, he also has the most writing credits of anyone in One Direction. That makes his writing distinctly nostalgic yet revamped to be less commercial and more raw. There’s always a point artists hit where you can tell they’ve made it and they’re now in it for the love of the game. After a lot of running around small venues chasing artists hungry for their time in the spotlight, it was refreshing to see Louis so distinctly in his element, performing the art he created not because he had to but because he wanted to. I found myself sitting with my eyes closed, reflecting on life and enjoying the way he weaved the music together, after giving up on grabbing clips for Instagram since they were punctuated by the blood-curdling screams of joy around me. I was certainly thanking my lucky stars I’d remembered my earplugs, and I have never felt more like I’d become my dad than when I used the intermission between bands to get a hot dog. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the music. Even when I’m not seeing Louis perform, I always keep an eye on who he’s interacting with, and so far his picks for up-and-coming acts have blown me away. I await his next musical fantasy football draft with hard-earned anticipation.
The Aces Setlist
Gold Star Baby
You Got Me
Always Get This Way
Girls Make Me Wanna Die
Mesmerized
She Likes Me
The Magic
Twin Flame
Jealous
Waiting for You
Daydream
Louis Tomlinson Setlist
Lemonade
On Fire
Written All Over Your Face
Out of My System
Saturdays
Dark to Light
Broken Bones
Defenceless
Night Changes
Lazy
Sunflowers
Lucid
Jump the Gun
Imposter
Sanity
Last Night
Kill My Mind
Face the Music
Silver Tongues
The Observer
Encore
The Answer
Miss You
Send Me Under
Palaces
Review – Ashtyn Turner
Share this :
