Since this was the matinee show, there was no VIP or opening bands. Which meant we got a full hour of just Wallows! 2:30pm hit and the lights go out. We were told that the setlist for the matinee show was going to be slightly different over the main setlist which was really fun as none of us in the crowd knew what to expect. Braeden Lemasters (guitar/vocals) was the first to walk out on stage. He was all by himself. He told us that since this was the earliest they have played we were going to start with a slower song. He opened with '1980's Horror Film' which was a great surprise considering that is one of the songs not on the normal setlist! The crowd was one of the better crowds I ever experienced. Nobody was pushing, no one was being aggressive, and everyone was being very respectful towards everyone around them! The matinee show was exactly an hour long. I was having so much fun that the hour flew by to me and before I knew it the first of my two Wallows shows was over and I had to go back out into the cold. As we exited the venue the VIPs for the 8pm show already began to line up.
Throughout this tour, Wallows have been partnering with different non-profit organizations at every tour stop. They would encourage fans to bring in donations to help these non-profits and in exchange for helping out your community, you would receive a free "I Donated At A Wallows Show" pin! As soon as the matinee show ended I headed over to the drug store and picked up a few items to donate. If any of you plan on going to a Wallows show on this run, I encourage you all to donate something because you really do feel good knowing you helped someone in your community! Every day the band posts on their Instagram story what donations the non-profit of the day would like. It's normally as simple as some canned food or even some travel-sized hygiene products. After purchasing the items I planned on donating, I headed back to the venue to queue once again in the freezing cold. As soon as the doors opened, I dropped off my bag of donations, grabbed my pin and headed back inside for round 2.
The opening band for the tour is Penelope Isles, the UK based 4-piece band. I had no knowledge of this band before going into the show, but I sure did have a fun time watching them! It's hard to put an official label on what genre they would be classified under but the alternative music scene needs to keep up with them because they deserve so much success! Their set was very chill and vibey and not once did I look at the time to see how much longer until it was over. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing. Definitely check out Penelope Isles on Spotify if you have not already.
Now it was time to see Wallows again! They ended up switching up the order of songs and opened up with 'Do Not Wait' over 'Treacherous Doctor.' You would assume that the second Wallows show of the day would be similar to the first one just with a few extra songs? Well, you would be very wrong! The second time around was like a whole different experience! Once again the crowd was phenomenal and so much better than what I expected which I think made everything better. For how tired I was that entire day, I didn't stop jumping or dancing ONCE. It was such fun and the energy all night was through the roof. At one point, Braeden told the crowd to open a pit and then realized what he said because the look of 'What have I just done' that appeared on his face was priceless!
Once the show ended and the adrenaline started to slow down I was in so much pain, and I was so exhausted as I've never done two concerts on the same day before but it was so worth it and it will always be something I'll remember. There is not one thing I would have changed about Leap Day besides maybe the weather. If you are a fan of Wallows and want to see them on tour I would 100% recommend it! If you are not a fan of Wallows but want to experience a really fun night, then I also would recommend you going to see them play it definitely has made it into my top 3 concerts for overall experience! To learn more about Wallows and see what they are up to, you can follow them on everything @wallowsmusic.
