9 December 2024 – MCA, Melbourne – words by Harrison Leithhead – pictures by Cam Brown
On Monday night, LA band Wallows brought their tour to Margaret Court Arena in support of their latest album, Model. I was lucky enough to be in the audience to see a group of good friends play their style of dreamy, melodic indie rock to one of the louder crowds I’ve ever heard.
Due to a badly timed train delay, I missed the opening act, Grent Perez, which is a shame as I asked around and it seemed like a strong opening act that set the tone perfectly for the night.
Grent Perez – MCA – photos by Cam Brown
I took my seat and roughly 30 seconds later the lights went down – good timing! Opening with silhouttes upon a giant sheet and psychedelic attention grabber ‘Do Not Wait’, the sheet dropped as they tore into ‘Your Apartment’, with a strong punk-like energy. Co-lead vocalist Dylan Minette took charge and moved across the stage to massive applause and screams. He knew exactly how to work the mostly female crowd, messing up his hair, swinging his hips, waving and pointing and driving the crowd crazy. ‘Let’s have the best night of our lives tonight’ he casually says.
Fan favourites ‘Scrawny’ and ‘Bad Dream’ showed the strength of the band; they play tight and sound excellent – massive props to the soundie. ‘Bad Dream’ had the crowd singing loud with its melodic, dreamy chorus – the band has found a lounge style of rock that works so well for their ballads. They also show off their versatility, with Dylan and drummer Cole swapping duties for a song, while the wall of sound along the back of the stage played note perfect – 3 touring members to boost the sound.
Wallows – MCA – photos by Cam Brown
During ‘She’s an Actress’, Dyland dove into the crowd and slowly made his way through, taking time to hi five and connect with everyone close to him, before arriving at a gorgeous acoustic setup at the back of the arena – a small B stage setup as a retro lounge room.
Cole and Braeden (guitarist and co-vocalist) join him and they go through a small acoustic set, playing ‘Pictures of Girls’, ‘1980’s Horror Film’ and ‘OK. ‘1980’s Horror Film’ was the highlight of both the acoustic set and the whole night for me, as Braedan took his moment to shine with a great riff and a soft falsetto, reminiscent of mid-90s pop-rock (think Sixpence None the Richer).
Returning to the main stage for the home stretch, the band picked up the energy levels and the pace, playing with real power and passion. ‘Calling After Me’ was incredible, even though by this stage you could hardly hear the band over the screaming crowd, and the singalong of ‘Remember When’ had the whole place jumping.
Wallows – MCA – photos by Cam Brown
The band seemed genuinely blown away and humbled by the enthusiasm of the crowd, and came back for an encore of their biggest hit, ‘Are You Bored Yet?’, and another go of ‘Remember When’ to cap off the night. Audience interaction was limited between songs, with Dylan even remarking that there’s an ‘obligatory’ ‘how you feeling tonight Melbourne!’ that he willl always ask. Regardless, they connected so well with the audience through their songs, and the time spent in the crowd giving hi fives and hugs by both Dylan and Braedan will have made memories for so many.
Wallows put on a great show, proving they have great chemistry and can write some seriously catchy melodies – I forgot to even be mad about the train delays!
Wallows 3rd studio album, Model is available now. They finish their Australian run in Brisbane on the 14th.
