Wallows at Manchester Academy
It would be impossible not to wallow in the memory of a Wallows show.
Wallows are an alternative/indie three-piece hailing from Los Angeles, California - releasing their first single in the spring of 2017. The band is comprised of Braeden Lemasters, Dylan Minnette, and Cole Preston.
Their debut album was released in the spring of 2019 - bringing a wave of mainstream success, collaborating with Clairo on their hit song "Are You Bored Yet?". However, I was sold on Wallows in the spring of 2018, when they released their Spring EP - it seems like the band love to release music in the spring? I was 16 years old when I first fell in love with this band, and being able to finally witness them live at 21 years old was ethereal.
May-a, an Australian queer artist, supported the band at the Manchester gig - singing some catchy pop anthems. I have never witnessed a support act captivate an audience more, it felt as though she had bewitched everybody during "Swing of Things".
Wallows launched into their set with "I Don't Want To Talk" which sets the tone of the gig - the tone being let's all sing and dance, but also relate to our shared insecurities and being young. Minnette added some harmonica to the track, which made it that much more entertaining. During the chorus, the whole venue could be heard screaming "...tell me that it's over, tell me that it's over...", the name of their sophomore album, and the tour.
The setlist was 10/10, spanning all of their eras. As soon as I heard Braeden start the opening riff to "Remember When"... I felt nostalgic for a moment that hadn't even passed me by just yet, something about "...all the places I return to, all the faces that remind you...", just kills me every single time.
Right before jumping into "Treacherous Doctor", Dylan says: "F--k yeah Manchester, this is the English energy I remember."
About halfway through the set, the audience got the pleasure of watching Cole get up from the drums, switching to the guitar, to perform "Quarterback". This was definitely a crowd favourite - everybody went feral.
For the encore, the band performed two songs from their debut album Nothing Happens - "I'm Full" and their mega-hit "Are You Bored Yet?" "I'm Full" is one of my personal favourites that I was hoping they would perform, so I can tick that off the bucket list. During "Are You Bored Yet?" the band opted to get the audience to sing Clairo's verse which was a lot of fun. To answer their question, I was not bored and could never be bored of this band.
Wallows are a band that has followed me from my teenage years into my young adulthood, through so many life changes and emotions - to finally have experienced watching them perform live was an exhilarating experience that I will never forget. I implore you to check out their music if you haven't heard it, become well-versed, and catch them next time.
Hope to see you there, and thank you for reading!
