Rain collected in the massive puddles in the potholes that dotted the gravel lot of Charleston's Firefly Distillery. Security draped themselves in their extra-thin disposable ponchos, the plastic sticking uncooperatively to their white polos. When I arrived, the Wallows fans were already lined up down the block, outside the venue, ready to be granted access through the rustic sheet metal gates to the front gates. The crowd waited stoakly shoulder to shoulder as the skies dropped a massive torrent of rain over them for 45 minutes. Soaked but smiling, the crowd was released and swiftly headed toward the front gate, where they had yet another wait for the gate to open. The rain settled, and the clouds began to part, but they stuck around ominously overhead. It looked like the weather was clearing for the crowd gathered for the Wallows Model & More tour.
The rain was gone, but that's when everyone's favorite vapor, humidity, set in. The humidity was so incredibly thick, making concert goers regret their raincoats and forcing everyone's pores to actively weep. Replacing rain-soaked clothes with sweat-soaked ones. But that didn't stop the crowd from growing bigger and bigger, and I watched as the line wrapped around the parking lot and back down to the street past the lot gates. Now I have seen bigger crowds at Firefly, but I have honestly never seen a line that long at the venue. The crowd was eager to get in and get settled. People were stoked for the Wallows, weather be damned. Ticket counters began to beep, and the fans flooded through the gate, abandoning umbrellas on the ground or in poor hiding spots to gain uninterrupted access. You had your standard barricade rushers, blanket placers, and drink retrievers. But I was shocked after I blinked once and the merch line was damn near the length of the venue, on both sides! These fans were enthusiastic, and it was infectious. It wasn't the biggest crowd I have seen at Firefly, but it was by far one of the most energetic crowds I have been a part of. I love Firefly, but the crowds there can be laid back to a fault. The crowd at the easy-going venue always requires A LOT of coaxing to get them enthusiastic. The Los Angeles three-piece Braeden Lemasters (guitar/vocals), Cole Preston (guitar/drums), and Dylan Minnette (guitar/vocals) required no such coaxing. The crowd came together in a massive blob of bodies, everyone cramming in to get closer. The low mumble of the crowd went suddenly silent as the overhead music and lights cut out and erupted into screams when three shadowy figures took the stage.
Dylan yelled out, “What’s up Charleston!?” and that was all it took. The three were joined on stage by Blake Morell (Bass), Kevin Grimmett (guitar, keyboard), and Danny Ferenbach (keyboard, trumpet), who fill out the Wallows' signature sound and provide that extra spice for the live shows. The set started with one of my favorites, “Only Friend” from 2019’s wall-to-wall banger Nothing Happens. “Anytime, Always” 2024's Model, and then back to Nothing Happens for fan favorite “Scrawny”. The band seemed like they were releasing all the pent-up energy that they had reserved for the now-canceled Bonnaroo. Roo fans' loss turned out to be Charleston's gain. By the time the band made it to the single “OK”, one thing was clear: while they aren't flashy, their chemistry and stage presence feel authentic, fun, and familiar. Like watching your friends in a band perform at a dangerously packed house show. The show felt like a throwback, with jangly guitar riffs, addictive melodies, bittersweet lyrics, and lo-fi synth elements.
The band had such impressive skills. At any given moment, you could catch a great tone or a sharp lick from any one of them. Braeden was cool as a cucumber the whole show, never taking his jacket off and never displaying a drop of sweat. An impressive feat to be sure, especially as he got pretty damn rowdy during the performance of “Quarterback”. Dylan, on the other hand, was whipping his hair back and forth, spraying the happy front row with sweat in an attempt to keep it from his eyes. Dylan wiped the sweat from his eye and said, “Charleston, it's YOU,” and the crowd went bananas! A familiar sparkly riff rang out, and the band launched into “You,” another crowd pleaser from
Model. The bland backdrop fell to the ground and revealed a sea of sparkling LED stars. Dylan shed his guitar and sang into the mic, dancing with the silver stand, and swaying his hips back and forth. Looking out into the crowd, like he were staring into a void. While Dylan took center stage in the moment, Braeden stole it right back with his performance of “At the End of the Day” from 2022’s Tell Me That It’s Over. Braeden continued to kill it on “Trust Fall” vocally and musically. Striking the strings hard and in time with Dylan, and Kevin on the song's big, heavy riff. I’m always impressed when a band has a sort of “dueling” guitarist, and the Wallows has that. But it's always a pleasure to have two incredibly talented vocalists deliver great songs back and forth. It worked incredibly well for the Wallows here. Braeden's gruff and jagged vocals are perfect with and against Dylan's more melancholic, poppy vocals. The perfect example of this was the transition from “Sun Tan” sung by Braeden to “Pictures of Girls” sung by Dylan.
Both fantastic songs, but if you swapped the vocalist, would they be as good? I'm not so sure about that. They both have such a unique flavor, but are both so good. Like chocolate and vanilla ice cream in the same bowl. You're not sad when they blend. A familiar fuzz rang out, and the band went into “Uncomfortable” Dylan, walked the stage leaning into every note, coming up to elevate Braeden's sorrowful vocals. Cole was perched on a platform center stage, driving the band forward, and providing an epic fill when Dylan lifted the mic for the crowd to perform the whistling solo. But don't count him out vocally. Every so often, you would hear him cut through as he occasionally leaned into the mic to sprinkle in some backing vocals.
The stars went out, and the background dropped a second time to reveal a giant Wallows lettering. Which, when illuminated, whipped the crowd in a frenzy. Hooting, hollering, and splashing around in the mud. It was almost like the second wind struck the sails. “Pleaser” had the crowd singing out every word, sending smiles across all the faces on stage. Fans who had staggered off to grab drinks, merch, or food furiously ran back toward the stage when the twangy tremolo of the song “Remember When” rang out over the field. The crowd was a sea of cell phones. Unfortunate but Expected. The closer “I Don’t Want to Talk” snapped people back to reality, and they began stomping and dancing in the mud once more. The bright pan flute sounds and catchy, energetic guitar got everyone far too hype for a concert that was about to end. But the show did end, unfortunately. I know I wanted more; the show had been therapeutic in some ways. The Wallows had delivered a spectacular show that left fans happy. Musically, the Wallow stuck to the studio sound, but their live performance gave a sharper edge. The Wallows Model and More tour offers a raw, emotionally engaging, and high-energy live performance with a supremely satisfying mix of favorites.
