Sleepy, little Nebraska. Nothing but cornfields and only notable for a few weeks in the summer when the College World Series rolls into town. It’s not exactly a place many musicians plan on going for their tours, but Wallows is one of the exceptions.
Wallows is an alt-rock indie band from Los Angeles. It is comprised of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters and Cole Preston. Minnette and Lemasters are responsible for guitar and vocals while Preston is their drummer and occasional guitarist.
Wallows performed at The Bourbon Theatre July 1, for the group’s first time in Nebraska. The show was so highly anticipated that the audience greeted them with a line wrapping around the block.
I heard from other people that they were great live, but I wasn’t expecting this. They were unbelievable. The energy in the room was through the roof and only built throughout the show. Their rock influence drove the crowd to dance, jump around and get lost in the music.
While Wallows was the highlight of the night, its opening act, spill tab, was wonderful. She cracked jokes with us and her cover of “Since U Been Gone” was welcome because she took it in a different direction while encouraging it to be a singalong. One of my favorite memories from this night was making her laugh by screaming out a very Lil Jon-esque “Ye-ah” during her ballad, ukelele cover of “Yeah!” by Usher. I look forward to seeing where her career goes
Their crowd interaction was incredible. Both Minnette and Lemasters encouraged us to sing along with them, screaming out call-and-response lyrics with us. During the bridge of “Pictures of Girls” Lemasters would sing “You should be down in the Hollywood,” hold his mic out to the crowd and our symphony of voices would respond with “You should be down in Hollywood.”
There was a point that stood out to me where Minnette had the song drop down very low, turned to us and he said, “I don’t care if you know this song or not, I want to you go wild for the next couple minutes.” After that the whole crowd was on their feet and yelling with their whole chests.
The band has quite a few hit songs including “Are You Bored Yet?” and “OK” both of which gained a lot of popularity on TikTok. Because they have so many hits, the crowd participation was at an all-time high.
They interacted even more with the crowd at the end where they allowed us to choose which songs they played for the encore. When Minnette offered us the choice, the tiny theater exploded with screams, yells and shouts. I love how involved with their fans and audience they were, it created a welcoming environment where we felt appreciated.
Wallows showed how much it cares about their audience when the band stopped the show because someone was about to faint in the pit. Minnette gave the audience member his own water and then encouraged them to move and sit on the side of the stage until they recovered. The crowd erupted into a chorus of “thank you’s” and solidified that bond between artist and audience.
They had many different colored lights throughout the show that fit the vibe of each song and a disco ball that spread little dapples of light across the venue. Additionally, they had lamps scattered across the stage that changed color and matched the overhead lights. It was a bit odd, but unique and it added to their aesthetic.
Together, Wallows and spill tab made for a very fun night, and the band expressed their intentions to return to sleepy, old Nebraska.
This story was written by Izzy Fonfara Drewel. She can be reached at [email protected].
