Wallows fans from all over poured into Alaska Airlines' Theater of the Clouds in Portland, OR on August 6th, 2024. It’s a day set as a reminder in numerous cell phones, that has been etched in countless calendars with glitter gel ink: the first night of the Model Tour. The band has been teasing the tour with impromptu rehearsal live streams and behind-the-scenes selfies for weeks, as fans were forced to wait in idle anticipation for what is set to be the biggest Wallows tour to date. With stops at iconic venues like the Kia Forum, Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks Amphitheater, these three guys are a far cry from the 500-capacity clubs and U.S.C house shows they started at.

As the lights dimmed and the night’s first chord reverberated through the arena, a silhouette appeared, backlit from the other side of a thin, stage-spanning curtain. Seemingly solitary, Dylan Minnette sang the opening verse of the Nothing Happens closer, “Do Not Wait.” During the song’s expansive instrumentals, the stage lights panned, and the shadows of a familiar setup flashed and flickered across the blanketed scene. Suddenly, in a surprise switch up, the curtain fell as “Do Not Wait” became “Your Apartment,” bridging the gap between the band’s modern sound and its defining backbone.

Model is the band's elevated return to the core of their sound, that stripped-down guitar, bass and drums found on their earliest singles. And in the seven years since they became Wallows, the live show has always consisted of Braeden Lemasters on stage right and Minnette on stage left, backed by Cole Preston on drums at centerstage. They'd be joined in the coming years by Danny Ferenbach, Blake Morrell and Kevin Grimmett on additional keys, trumpet, bass and guitar. Despite staying true to that blueprint over all this time, the production for this year’s show is more than fans could have ever expected.

Fit with eclectic background changes and elaborate light shows, for the first three nights of their tour, the show followed pretty much the same formula. Opening with that electrifying “Do Not Wait” to “Your Apartment” transition, the band performs 14 songs on the Main Stage, a healthy mix of singles and select favorites from each of their three albums.

Eager fans will be pleased to hear that “Uncomfortable” seems to have become a tour regular, a long beloved and highly requested track that was only performed at about 30% of the dates on their last two tours. On top of this exciting addition, Portland saw the live debut of “Anytime, Always” while the next show in Vancouver was fittingly treated to the passionate debut of “Canada.”

These fourteen tracks move as any past Wallows show would, naturally swaying through the varying paces, sentiments and energy levels that occur throughout their discography. That is, until to everybody’s surprise, Dylan Minnette hops into the pit during the live debut of “She’s an Actress,” finishing the song as he wades through adoring facings and waving flashlights to find his way to a second stage.

Like a glimpse into a living room writing session, the second stage finds Minnette, Lemasters and Preston perched on boxes, accompanied only by the dim light of a floor lamp. Wielding two guitars and a synth, the band performs pared down acoustic renditions of fan favorites like “OK,” “Drunk on Halloween” and “1980s Horror Film.” The second stage setlist varies from show to show, including nightly fan-voted picks and a characteristic interlude of pre-song jokes and anecdotes.

In Vancouver, as a tribute to Canadian hero Justin Bieber, Braeden brought a fan on stage à la “One Less Lonely Girl” to recite the “1980s Horror Film” last verse twist. For those unaware, Lemasters spends the song pining after a crush, building up the courage to tell her how he feels, only to find that she’s “really not that into guys.” In too perfect of a coincidence, it just so happens that the fan brought up was also, “not that into guys.”

After a set of four songs on the second stage, Lemasters gets his own time among the audience. Portland’s pit got up close and personal for the live debut of “Going Under,” while Vancouver and Seattle caught “Worlds Apart,” a setlist rarity since its release in 2019 that has only been played 7 times in the 139 shows they’ve played since 2022.

After returning the main stage, Wallows wraps up their show with a frankly chaotic combination of some of their most crowd-stirring tracks to date. Experiencing “Pleaser,” “Calling After Me,” “Remember When” and “I Don’t Want To Talk” back to back should be considered a cardio workout in its own right. After skyrocketing the heartrate of thousands in attendance, the band returns for an encore. Despite some show-to-show changes, every night has ended with “Are You Bored Yet?” and “Only Ecstasy,” a heartwarming sendoff for an undoubtedly exhilarating performance.

As the Model Tour brings Wallows to their biggest stages yet, with months of nearly consecutive dates on back-to-back North American, European and Australian legs of the Model Tour, it’s only fair that the show be just as ambitious. The twenty-five song, two-hour long set is more Wallows than ever before, and by looks of it, fans just can’t get enough.

Model Tour

08/09 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall
08/11 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan
08/12 - Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
08/13 - Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment Center
08/15 - Austin, TX @ Moody Center
08/16 - Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
08/17 - Sugar Land, TX @ Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
08/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
08/20 - Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
08/22 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
08/23 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for the Performing Arts - TD Pavilion
08/26 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
08/27 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
08/28 - Laval, QC @ Place Bell
08/30 - Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
08/31 - Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
09/02 - Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
09/03 - Maryland Heights, MO @ Saint Louis Music Park
09/05 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/06 - Sandy, UT @ America First Field Plaza
09/08 - San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
09/09 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
09/10 - San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater
09/12 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum
10/04 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
10/05 - Paris, France @ Zenith
10/07 - Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
10/08 - Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
10/10 - Cologne, Germany @ Palladium
10/11 - Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle
10/12 - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg @ Den Atelier
10/14 - Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham
10/15 - Edinburgh, UK @ O2 Academy Edinburgh
10/16 - Edinburgh, UK @ O2 Academy Edinburgh
10/18 - Newcastle upon Tyne, UK @ O2 City Hall Newcastle
10/19 - Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse
10/20 - Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse
10/22 - London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
12/05 - Perth, Australia @ Fremantle Arts Centre
12/07 - Adelaide, Australia @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre
12/09 - Melbourne, Australia @ Margaret Court Arena
12/12 - Sydney, Australia @ The Hordern Pavilion
12/14 - Brisbane, Australia @ Riverstage
12/17 - Wellington, New Zealand @ TSB Arena
12/18 - Auckland, New Zealand @ Spark Arena