The Wallows at El Rey

Last Friday, February 2, found Karli and I flying down the sidewalk towards El Rey Theatre just as the clock struck 9 o'clock arriving just in time for the first LA performance of The Wallows. Karli was the one that introduced me to them only a week before the concert because I can never say no to cheap concert tickets or good music. When we entered the venue that night’s opening act, Hazel English, was already filling the air with her meaningful songs, including one that she explained was about dealing with anxiety, something I’m sure many people appreciate.

Once English finished her set, the curtains closed and the lights came back on and for the first time, I was able to really see the theatre. I could see the massive chandeliers hanging over me as well as the smaller ones that lined the walls. It was during this intermission that I was able to wiggle my way down the stairs into the main area and a little closer to the stage. This was my first standing concert, and in a theatre like El Rey I enjoyed it; I’ll pass on it in a big venue like Staples though.

It felt like forever until the lights dimmed again and a murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd as the curtains pulled back and there they were: the Wallows, who were pouring their heart and soul into their music. And that is why I love small bands because they love what they do so much that it’s impossible not to see, and they truly love their fans. Braeden Lemasters, a member of the band revealed during the show that it was the largest crowd he had ever played to, and the lead singer Dylan Minnell thanked the audience so many times for just coming out.

The show was a mix of their previously released music, which the crowd enthusiastically sang along to, covers, and the best part, new music they had yet to release. At one point they had a local friend of theirs, Remy, come out to sing with them. It was so genuine, each moment so real, the joy and exhilaration evident in their eyes and smiles as the crowd cheered them on.

Near the end of the night, with only one more song to go, we yielded our spot in the crowd to go buy some merchandise, and I was happy to see that for once a t-shirt wasn’t going to break my bank account. I ended up buying a classic band t-shirt, and an enamel pin as two small mementos of a night full of memories. Even after the concert ended it seemed as if Karli and I were high on life. We were invincible against the cold night air, it felt as though we were flying on our way back to the car, we giggled and laughed and talked just happy with life, and proclaimed that we have stories to tell now; about surviving a surprise mosh pit, about how the night almost ended in disaster when we thought we lost our parking ticket, but most of all about how we felt the bass of the music as if it were our own heartbeats.

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