Review and Photos By: Nicole Solero
This month indie rock band Wallows played a sold-out show at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL. The band has been on the road for their “Nothing Happens” U.S tour. After waiting a couple of years since the band’s debut, Florida fans finally got what they’ve been waiting for as the band played one out of three their Florida dates on February 17th. The Orlando show marking their first show in Florida ever.
Starting off the night, Penelope Isles, a band opening up for Wallows each night took the stage first. Mesmerized between the band’s british accents as they spoke & their dream pop-music, the audience swayed & nodded along clearly enjoying the performance. The band was a great fit to open up for wallows on tour as their music was similar enough to appeal to the same audience.
Stepping on stage soon after was Wallows opening up their set with one of their most popular songs “Scrawny”
Opening up a set with such a popular song was a rare choice but it engaged the audience in high energy from the beginning of the night that carried through till the end of the night. The band also played a cover of the song “I Found A Way,” the theme song to nickelodeon’s popular kid show “Drake and Josh”
Wallows played just about every popular song in their discography both new & old. Songs like “Pleaser, Sun Tan, Pictures of Girls”, “These Days”, “Uncomfortable”, “Pulling Leaves off Trees”, 1980s Horror Films” all stand alone singles & songs from their Spring Ep. Along with songs from their debut album Nothing happens. Looking behind & all around me I saw fans singing along enthusiastically not skipping a single word. The band truly gave a performance that was unforgettable. One of my favorite moments of the show was in between songs, a spotlight illuminated cole as he stood up from his drum set-up to show off his Orlando Magic sweatshirt which with erupted proud cheers from the crowd for their city. Even Dylan wore a Mickey Mouse shirt fit for the location of the venue which was right in the heart of Disney Springs.
After the band said their goodbyes & what was intended to be a final bow, the crowd was not yet ready to go home. Not one person moved from their spot as they chanted “one more song” repeatedly for about 2 minutes until the band stepped back on stage for a three song encore. An encore that satisfied the crowd & left them over the moon. After such an incredible engagement between the audience & the band it is safe to say that this will not be the last time the band makes their way back to Orlando. And we will definitely be awaiting them for more tours to come.
