CONCERT REVIEW: Wallows Deliver On Every Level (Literally)

On the 9th of December, Wallows were set to take over Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena. It was the first time they’ve been back over this way since 2022 and Melbourne Wallows fans were keen to see them as the show was very close to sold out. The band is made up of three main components, vocalist Dylan Minnette, lead guitarist, keyboard and vocals Braeden Lemasters and drummer Cole Preston, however, they are joined by three other musicians. 

But first up it was support act GrentPerez to warm up the crowd for the evening and warm up the crowd he did. He was able to get the already nearly full arena to participate in singing along, having their phone torches in the air during moments. The singer songwriter was joined on stage by a lively drummer and guitarist who playfully interacted with each other as they played. Grent made playful banter, hyping up the crowd to scream their excitement for Wallows and join in on some sing-a-long moments, notably the crowd right up the front already knew all the words to his songs. 

Crowd all rearing to go after that amazing performance, we were all ready for the main act! A white sheet hid away the stage as a white light shone through it, as the band members silhouettes standing on the other side of it. They started off with Do Not Wait, as it came to an end and quickly transitioned into Your Apartment, the white curtain dropped and the crowd absolutely lost it at getting their first glance at the band. Their song Scrawny was up next, everyone was standing up singing and dancing along to the hit track. 

Half way during the set, Dylan got down into the crowd, lucky fans swarmed him, getting up close and personal with the singer as he made his way to the back of the venue where a second stage was set up with a guitar and piano. A couple of his band members were waiting for him here, as they performed a few songs acoustically. The musicians waved and made eye contact with the fans around them causing girls to scream at the fact they were noticed by them. Before heading back onto the main stage, they started Going Under as Dylan did the rounds on one half of the arena, running up and down a few levels of stairs in each section. It is completely lost on me how he sang while doing this and didn’t breathe heavily into the mic trying to catch a breath and still holding notes. He finally made it to the rest of his band and they carried on the rest of the set, Calling After Me, a fan favourite, myself included, sung along to every word. The night was coming to an end as they thanked us all for coming and slipped off stage, leaving the fans chanting for more. 

“Ask and you shall receive Melbourne” Dylan said as they came out to play what was meant to be one more song, which of course was their biggest hit Are You Bored Yet? which sounded, again, even better live. We were lucky to get one last encore song, Remember When? which was played earlier on in the night, however there were absolutely no complaints hearing it again and we feel privileged that they wanted to stay on that stage to play for us. 

I had enjoyed doing a deeper dive on Wallows leading up to the show, however, I can say that their live performance is even better than the studio version, which sells me on a band. A Wallows live concert offers a completely unique energy compared to listening through headphones. While their studio tracks are captivating, there is nothing like experiencing their raw, unfiltered vocals and their full live band. Their fun and engaging stage presence elevates the performance, making it such a memorable show. I’m excited to see what they’ll bring us next and hope they return here again soon!

Olivia Burns

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