For the last headlining stop of their Model & More Tour, Wallows made their way to London’s O2 Academy Brixton venue. This concert just so happened to be my fourth time seeing them live — third within a year.
As a late-arriving VIP ticket holder, I was thankful to be moved into the venue before the O2 Priority members stampede. This was my second time in the pit for a Wallows concert, and I always love the community I manage to find while waiting for the opening act. I made small talk with some concertgoers who had just received their Advanced Level results (the United Kingdom’s primary qualifications for entering university) and played several card games to pass the time.
Irish rock band Florence Road joined Wallows on this leg of the tour, and it was truly a privilege to see one of the most talked-about new acts on the indie-pop scene live up to the hype. On stage, the childhood friends-turned bandmates from Wicklow — consisting of vocalist Lily Aron, guitarist Emma Brandon, bassist Ailbhe Barry and drummer Hannah Kelly — kept looking at each other as if to say, “Is this really happening?”
“The crowd was so lovely, it was unbelievable,” Aron stated when The Michigan Daily asked after the show what it was like to open for Wallows. With grit and intensity, Aron’s raw, edgy vocals existed somewhere between a whisper and a shout. Every lyric thrown into the audience instantly elicited a response.
Looking around, I felt a bit disappointed to see the stage fully exposed. With no curtain to hide the band’s arrival, it marked an unusual choice for Wallows. Right around 9:02 p.m., Fergie’s “London Bridge” blasted through the speakers, a rather cheeky but perfectly tailored opener for a London concert. As the music swept through the venue, Wallows emerged mid-song. Lead guitarist Braeden Lemasters and drummer Cole Preston took their places while lead singer Dylan Minnette began singing “She’s an Actress” from a hidden spot in the crowd. For the concertgoers accustomed to their mellow intros, this twist felt novel and truly unexpected, instantly making the evening more exciting.
The crowd burst into screams as the opening chords of “Anytime, Always” — my favorite song off Model — began. Fan-favorite “Scrawny” followed right after, and everyone began to jump along to the high-energy guitar and drums. The transition into “Dig What You Dug,” off 2020’s Remote, took me by surprise — as Minnette declared onstage, it was the first time they had ever performed the song live in the U.K. The band had to take a longer break before “Bad Dream” so the pit could rehydrate.
Wallows is a group that excels in translating studio versions to live experiences that feel both intimate and cinematic. “Picture of Girls” off their Spring EP closed out with the audience clapping and singing the final lyrics, which felt like a scene straight out of a coming-of-age film. Their music never fails to take me back to high school, when everything seemed possible and the world felt new. Wallows’ music embodies the kind of mood you’d expect to find in the soundtrack of a film where friends drive around at night, windows down, dreaming about a limitless future. Even if someone didn’t know many of their songs before, concertgoers could still feel that bittersweet, youthful energy coursing through the music and the crowd.
Later in the set, the band brought a darker edge to “These Days.” It was a moodier take on the song that gave it a new life, with an ominous backing track, though I still prefer its original chill tone. “Hide It Away,” off their More EP, had Minnette’s angsty, carefree stage attitude on full display. Given his background as a successful actor, with a starring role as Clay Jensen in “13 Reasons Why” before focusing on music, his ability to channel a feeling and hold a crowd’s attention is clear, though his demeanor now seems less raw than it was a few years ago.
Adrenaline filled the entire venue as “Remember When” from their Nothing Happens album came on. I missed joining the crowd’s “one, two, three, four!” count-off at the start, but it hardly mattered since the song made me feel like I was in the middle of a night out with friends, running through streets with every feeling amplified. One of the night’s most memorable moments was when everyone began chanting the outro, filling the room with their echoes and making everyone in the pit shiver.
The band’s lighthearted and enjoyable engagement with the audience throughout the night demonstrated the unmistakable chemistry they have with their fan base. Lemasters is a master of crowdwork, waving back to fans in between songs, even donning a fan’s purple sunglasses while playing directly in front of the barricade. Minnette also made the effort to play his guitar rather close to the crowd, blurring the usual boundary between audience and stage and making everyone feel just a bit more included in the performance. As “At the End of the Day” drew to a close, Preston kept the mood up, joking with the crowd about British sausage rolls and tennis. These playful moments didn’t just pass the time; they made the crowd feel part of an inside joke, adding more personality to every song that followed.
After their show, Lemasters went a step beyond crowdwork, spending a few minutes talking with a handful of lucky fans near the tour bus. This genuine willingness to connect offstage truly elevated the night, leaving me, and I’m sure many others, feeling like more than faces in the crowd.
Wallows closed their main set with “I’m Full” from their debut album. After a five-minute wait, the band came back for an encore with the full versions of “Do Not Wait” and “Only Ecstasy.” With each note, Minnette’s strong but emotional vocals captivated the audience, making this performance particularly powerful as everyone turned their phone flashlights in a final, cathartic goodbye to this wonderful run of a the Model & More Tour.
As the band played their final notes and walked off stage, it felt like the seconds before the credits begin rolling on a movie that has left you wrecked but emotionally full at the same time. I glanced around and saw people wiping at their eyes, squeezing hands and taking in the fact that it was really over. You could see the happiness on the band’s faces as they took their bows, but also a kind of weight, like they knew this was the end of an era. For a minute, the audience stood there watching the stage while confetti floated in the air, as if it would somehow start up again if we wished hard enough. I left the venue with that ache you get after something you love is over, already missing it, already grateful that it happened at all.
Daily Arts Contributor Jovanna Gallegos can be reached at jovanna@umich.edu.
