SHOW REVIEW: Wallows @ The Kia Forum
The first time I saw Wallows, I was sixteen and alone at a 1,000 capacity venue in Fort Lauderdale. On Thursday, September 12, I attended my sixth Wallows show to date. Despite all that’s changed in the years since my first show, so much has remained the same. Their setup will always see Braeden Lemasters at stage right and Dylan Minnette stage left, with Cole Preston sat at the drums between them. The same three dudes I met that night in Fort Lauderdale. But today—an EP, two albums, and two tours later—I’m twenty-one, and Wallows is playing a show at the Kia Forum.
The General Admission line snaked its way through the Forum’s towering pillars, a congregation of teens and twenty-somethings in Doc Martens, off-the-shoulder t-shirts, mini skirts and Mary Janes, handing out homemade friendship bracelets and taking 0.5 selfies with the song lyrics plastered throughout the venue. Select fans went the extra mile, some sporting DIY merch, others dressed as the boys themselves, emulating their outfits from the wacky 90s-inspired music video for 2020 single “OK.”
BENEE was first on the night’s roster, the opening act for the North American leg of the Model World Tour. She took the stage with the kind of one-off personality that could fill a room of any size. With thumping bass lines and stuck-in-your-head melodies, BENEE dished out a set of unparalleled grooves. Her bubbly energy beamed through every inch of the venue, as she animated the crowd with tracks like “Sad Boiii,” “Green Honda” and “Supalonely.”
By the time BENEE had finished her set, the Forum was filled to its brim with eager fans. We waited in idle anticipation as the band’s pre-show playlist kept us occupied with everything from Elliott Smith, to Susumu Yokota and the “Girl, so confusing” remix.
Out of nowhere, the room went dark, just dimly lit by whatever reflected off the “WALLOWS” banner that shrouded the stage. As it fell, a second curtain was revealed, translucent, and cast with the shadow of a familiar silhouette. The opening note of Nothing Happens closer “Do Not Wait” rang through the scene. Like shadow puppets, profiles of the backlit band flashed before us, as the song’s ethereal hums echoed through the air. The pent up suspense was electric; the band was right in front of us, but just out of reach. They held thousands in this in-between, until the song’s very last verse. After an abrupt transition straight into “Your Apartment” sent the crowd into an immediate frenzy, the last obstruction fell from the ceiling, kicking off the show with a hell of a whiplash.
This was a special night for the band. L.A. bred, they’ve been dreaming about the Forum since they started making music together at 11-years old. “This is the childhood venue, this is the one for us,” said Minnette in his opening remarks.
This is the band’s biggest tour yet, with more production and a longer setlist than ever before. Each night boasts a 26-song, career-spanning lineup, covering tracks from their earliest singles, to selections from each of their three studio albums. As they weaved through their discography, backdrop changes matched beautifully.
Halfway through the night, Minnette jumped off the stage and into the crowd to perform “She’s an Actress.” Minnette reunited with his bandmates for an intimate acoustic set of slower fan favorites. It felt like an apartment jam session, with Lemasters, Minnette and Preston huddled over a synth and a few guitars under the spotlight of a single floor lamp. During the set, Lemasters dedicated “Let the Sun In” to the barista at his favorite Philz, and brought in a fan to sing the closing line of “1980s Horror Film.”
Lemasters returned from the B-stage singing “Going Under.” Back on the main stage, under a brightly lit “WALLOWS” sign, the band performed a sequence of some of their most energetic hits, including “Pleaser,” “Remember When,” “Calling After Me” and “I Don’t Want To Talk.” The band teased us with goodbye, but returned for three more songs.
If you paid close enough attention, you could catch one of the boys in the midst of a “We made it” realization. They’d glance around the crowd, shaking their heads in disbelief. Canons launched pounds of white confetti towards the crowd at the height of the last refrain.
You could hear the pride in Dylan’s voice, see it in their faces as the three of them, in a downpour of confetti, started to grasp where they were, and what they had just accomplished. They were overcome with pure joy. Minnette kicked off “Are You Bored Yet” as his bandmates proceeded to hurl confetti at each other from across the stage.
For the last track of the night, the band sent us off the best way they know how: an absolute rager. In a fit of heavy guitar and running drums, Wallows exhilarated the crowd with an adrenaline-infused performance of “I’m Full.” The crowd completely lost their minds. Four crazed minutes later, the show came to its end. As the band said their grateful goodbyes and the “WALLOWS” sign began its slow descent, pulling the audience out of their mesmerized daze as the fluorescent house lights petitioned our exit.
Wallows came into their own with Model. The night felt like a perfect representation of their growth, a celebration of where they came from, and a sneak peak at all that lies ahead. Some of these songs were written in a house behind Nature’s Brew, and after tonight, will have left their mark on one of L.A.’s most iconic stages. This is Wallows in their truest form, and Model is only the beginning.
-DJ Cheez AKA Gia Canto