Wallows’ setlist on Valentine’s Day was a bit different than usual, at least in terms of the MODEL & More Tour they are currently on, but there are no complaints from us here at The Aquarian. The three-piece band from the West Coast took the cards they were dealt and still brought the East Coast their signature blend of indie rock and alternative pop.
The band explored as they played, colorful lighting swirling around them as they shifted songs here and there, and even the style of certain tracks to match the vibe and production, and this could be because of the heartfelt holiday the show fell on, or because of the nature of the venue. (The Wellmont Theater has a small-town, acoustic-driven intimacy, but they put on pretty earth-shattering performances.) No matter what, we left the concert feeling pretty happy to have experienced a once-in-a-lifetime night of our very own – a night filled with love for music and community as much as it was a worldwide night of more romantic love.
Since it was February 14, we almost expected Wallows to start their show with a song like “Marvelous,” a track off their sophomore LP that that is based in a swooning and crushing and wishing sort of narrative. Instead, we were treated to the great “She’s an Actress” as the opening number, followed by “Anytime, Always” – both off of their album Model, which was one of our Top Albums of 2024. It’s a record that satisfies every want, every need, and every taste – hearing it live not once, but twice in a span of six months is a dream come true for Garden State fans like us.
Madison Square Garden debut? Check!
Valentine’s Day special at the Wellmont? Check!
A little later, the band plated “Quarterback,” one of our favorite Wallows songs, which was a 2021 release that stills gets a lot of airplay in our drives to-and-from the office and to-and-from shows.
“Your Apartment,” the opening track to Model, was spotted on the setlist, but it was ultimately replaced by “Pictures of Girls” – a song off their 2018 Spring EP that is almost deep cut in 2025. It’s also deep in another way, as the character in the song (or the person singing it) is deep in the trenches of yearning and hope for a relationship, and it has a bit more warmth to it given it was the day of Saint Valentine, and songs about love should be (and were) honed in on. “I am hanging on to something real,” vocalist Dylan Minnette sings, and few things are as real as falling in love… except maybe screaming at the top of your long in the presence of your favorite band (an irreplaceable feeling).
“Remember When,” another older Wallows tune, has the three bandmates and friends grooving instrumentally, but experiencing more yearning, heartbreak, and also hopefulness once more, so it was poignant for it to be played on Valentine’s Day, and we were glad the crowd lit up even more once the first few notes were played on stage and hit their ears. “Do you remember when we felt like the only two alive? / Don’t let me be one of the people that seek a lost romance / Would you go and do it all over again, given a chance?”
For their second encore song, Minnette, Braeden LeMasters, and Cole Preston tore into “Only Ecstasy,” which was felt like more of a spontaneous choice, but fit the energy of the night flawlessly. It is vocally passionate, lyrically passionate, and instrumentally passionate. Not needing to be reimagined for the Wellmont stage, the performance (like the song) was emotionally charged, raw, and beautiful. Everyone’s collective heart swelled and shattered over-and-over with every verse, chord, and fill. The way Wallows interprets love and conveys it originally through song will mesmerize for lifetimes to come, but on this night, Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, every notion of their personal experiences with the emotion came to a remarkable head.
Photos by Grace Prachthauser
