Photos and article by: Kyle Brown
Edited by: Morgan Kohler
Does the name Clay Jensen ring any bells to yinz? Yeah, he grew up to be a rock star after graduating from Liberty High.
A little background information. Dylan Minnette, famously known for his role of Clay Jensen in the highly controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, has been playing music for a while now. Before having the band name Wallows, they were known as The Feaver and The Narwhals. In 2018, the band signed with Atlantic Records and later released their debut EP, Spring. In 2019, their debut album Nothing Happens was released, followed by their EP Remote in 2020 and album Tell Me That It’s Over in 2022. Their newest album, Model, was released in May. The band’s style of music is more of an alternative rock/ indie pop sound.
Before Wallows hit the stage, fans at Michigan Lottery Amphitheater were graced by the presence of New Zealand singer and songwriter Benee. When I looked her up prior to the show to get an idea of who she was, most people mentioned her infectious energy and sound. I can confirm that is the case.
Benee walked onto the stage after her two bandmates began playing for a small instrumental opener and once the fans saw Benee on stage, the venue erupted.
The set began with “Kool”, and was followed by “Soaked” and “Beach Boy”. The first three songs were definitely fun to watch and photograph as the singer made for some fun poses to capture. Walking back and forth using every inch of the stage, fans were able to get a good view of the singer, no matter where they sat. Benee began her fourth song, and if you had Tik Tok back in 2019, you definitely know of “Glitter.” “Glitter” went viral on Tik Tok and helped people recognize her and the band as up-and-coming people to watch.
Benee had this raw emotion about her, where the crowd could feel every emotion in the song and relate it to themselves in some way, shape or form. One song that really showcased that raw emotion was “Wishful Thinking.” A song about a long distance relationship and the trials and tribulations that go along with it. The melancholic vibe it brings allows Benee to just sing and let the song do the work to captivate the crowd. Then you have crowd favorites like “Supalonely” and “Green Honda,” which became anthems for the band and the fans. Those songs are super bouncy and can energize a crowd into having the time of their lives.
In all, Benee was a great choice to open the tour. The fans seemed to enjoy her and the band seemed to enjoy the time on stage. I for one want to see more of her when she gets bigger and better.
Wallows hit the stage at 8:40pm behind a curtain that would eventually fall after song one of their set. It was a pretty cool experience to have both the crowd reaction where they couldn’t see the band behind the curtain, along with my view where I could see them. Once that curtain hit though, it was off to the pit to grab some images of their performance.
Wallows, made up of Dylan Minnette (guitar/vocals), Braeden Lemasters (bass guitar/vocals) and Cole Preston (drums/vocals) make up the band who are touring on their headlining Model Tour. For the tour, they added three more members up on stage with them. Even while focusing on getting the images you see here in this article, I could tell two things: one, they sure know how to get a crowd going; two, the crowd made sure to show they knew every word to every song. It was loud in the pit. Wallows themselves were obviously easy to hear, but the crowd singing back to them made it one of the loudest shows I’ve been a media member of. Don’t get me wrong, I fully expected that when I was told that most of the crowd would be between the ages of 15–25 and female. The crowd feedback just took me back for a second and was something to take in.
I really liked how the band was so close to the fans. Minnette even stepped off the stage and onto some speakers to get within inches of the crowd, which really got the crowd going. Minnette had such charisma on stage as well. Dancing and moving around the stage and using his guitar along with it. You could tell he loves his job. The other band members showed this as well while talking to the crowd during instructional changes and having a good time. Preston joked with the crowd at one point saying, “I like the people over there that have those light things [tubes that glowed], those are pretty cool. I’d like to ask about where you got them but we’d have to play this psychotic game of telephone and that might not go well.”
About three quarters through their set, the trio made their way through the crowd as they played “She’s an Actress.” Starstruck fans couldn’t believe they were able to get an up-close encounter with Minnette as he was the first to go through. Lemasters and Preston made their way up the crowd once they finished up the song on stage and met Minnette at the small stage in the middle of the amphitheater. The three musicians played a few songs on that stage giving those fans in the back an up-close performance as well. A very thoughtful gesture, I thought, as it gave those fans who may not have had the money for the “pit” seats to have a chance to see them at a “stage” level as well. Once they finished, Preston and Minnette took their time going back down to the stage as Lemasters went up the middle section to the top level to say hi to some fans, and then ran onto the hill that the amphitheater sat on while singing “Worlds Apart.”
One of the cooler parts of the set was when the song ”At the End of the Day” came on. The venue went quiet and the crowd all at once, without being told to, turned on their phone flashlights and illuminated the seated area with little beacons of light. Backdrops would fall after a few songs, revealing a new one. One even giving the effect of twinkling stars.
For the encore, the band asked for the crowd to get off their seats and jump around. Although not required to get up, not a single person in the crowd seemed to be sitting down from the moment they took the stage. The band also got to do a first. A member in the crowd had a sign asking to sign their diploma. Once they saw it, Wallows happily did just that. No one has ever asked them to do that, so that was a cool moment for them and the crowd to witness. “Are You Bored Yet” and “Only Ecstasy” ended the night perfectly as the crowd jumped around and many arms and hands reached up over their heads, clapping and singing, knowing the party was coming to an end.
The 24-song set definitely flew by. I went in not really knowing all too much about the band. But I came out knowing exactly why they have become popular. They know how to connect with their fans and make each one feel like it is a show about them. You get the sense that they really do love performing and making a living by making people smile with their music. Go see them, even if you are not in the age range I mentioned earlier. It is worth it.