It’s almost been a week, and I’m still thinking about the Wallows “Model” tour.
At the beginning of the summer, the band released its third studio album “Model” and released their North American tour schedule shortly after.
Normally, I attend concerts in the St. Louis area because I visit the city a couple of times throughout the year. I didn’t realize the band was playing in Maryland Heights, right outside the city, until I was leaving a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre and saw a banner that said they were scheduled to perform at the venue next door.
After that, it didn’t take long for me to buy tickets.
I’ve been listening to Wallows for the past four years, and they’ve grown to be one of my favorite bands to date. I tried seeing them in concert when their second album, “Tell Me That It’s Over,” released in Indianapolis, but that didn’t work out, and I wasn’t crazy about that album anyway.
I wasn’t expecting a release from them for at least another year, but “Model” is a solid album with several songs that are fun, meaningful and instrumentally sound great.
With a lineup of stellar songs from their previous albums and EPs, there was no doubt in my mind that the “Model” tour would be a good time.
Tuesday, my boyfriend and I arrived early at the St. Louis Music Park venue because we had floor tickets — and it paid off. We were five feet from the stage. I’ve never been that close in my life.
BENEE opened for Wallows, and she put on a good show. I only knew her song “Wishful Thinking” and her feature on Joji’s song “Afterthought,” so it was a little difficult to vibe to her performance, but I was able to enjoy it anyway. She also performed her new song “Sad Boiii,” which released the next day, and another unreleased song called, “Animal.”
BENEE and her band’s performance was good, but I was anxiously awaiting Wallows.
To say their performance exceeded my expectations is an understatement. I still haven’t gathered all my emotions from this concert five days later.
Wallows opened their performance building up to the chorus of “Do Not Wait” and transitioned into the beginning of “Your Apartment.”
There was high energy throughout the entire concert, especially considering the majority of the attendees were teenage girls. When lead singer Dylan Minnette took off his black jacket two songs in, everyone was screaming. Seventeen-year-old me would be shaking in her boots.
I admit, I was a little nervous about Minnette’s stage presence. We watched some of the band’s live performances beforehand, including their recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and when Minnette wasn’t playing the guitar, his stage presence was kind of awkward. My fears quickly subsided, however, because Minnette and the rest of the band were confident and relaxed from the get-go.
I didn’t realize it before the concert, but they’re a versatile group. Excluding accompanying members, Wallows consists of three members: Dylan Minnette on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Braeden Lemasters on vocals and bass guitar and Cole Preston on drums. Throughout the concert, all of the members rotated positions.
Although Minnette is the lead vocalist, Lemasters also sings lead vocals on several of their songs. While the two switched back and forth on most songs, Preston sang most of the background vocals. To my surprise, Minnette and Preston switched places for the song “Quarterback,” and Preston played lead guitar and sang lead vocals. Later, when the band moved to the B-stage, Preston played keyboard for the acoustic songs on the setlist.
The members were also personable with their audience, which made for a memorable experience. All three of them made efforts to connect with the crowd.
At one point during the show, Preston asked the crowd how they felt about the Los Angeles Rams since the team previously resided in St. Louis. When the crowd booed, he comedically responded, “Yeah, f– – the Rams!”
Little moments like that made my night.
Aside from their stage presence, their performance was astonishing. With several backdrop changes, their setlist flowed effortlessly as they performed in tune with each other.
They even changed two songs in their setlist and didn’t skip a beat.
While I loved hearing their newer songs performed, like “You (Show Me Where My Days Went),” “At the End of the Day” and “I Don’t Want to Talk,” their older songs shone through more. But, I have to say I enjoyed Minnette walking through the crowd to sing “She’s an Actress.”
The best acts of the night were “Uncomfortable,” “Pictures of Girls,” and “Remember When.” They even changed their last encore song from “Only Ecstasy,” the last song on “Model,” to “I’m Full” off their first album, which Minnette said they normally don’t play.
I was in awe when the concert was over. They literally played every song I could’ve asked for — except for “1980s Horror Film”.
Considering everything I mentioned already, this concert was easily a 9.5 out of 10 experience. Wallows, I look forward to seeing you in St. Louis again.
(By the way, in that first picture on their Instagram post, I’m standing next to the girl in the bottom left of the photo. I barely got cut out of the post.)
