Apr 12

Apr 12 Show Review: Wallows Bring Incredible Show to Sacramento

Wallows
w/ Spill Tab
April 8th, 2022
Ace of Spades
Sacramento, CA

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

A Wallows live show is an incredible experience, one that I wasn’t prepared for upon entering Sacramento’s Ace of Spades. I saw the band once before at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, although it was a number of years ago, I was working for another company so I only got to see part of the set, and they were still gaining their footing in the spotlight. But Friday’s performance proved that Wallows has made a name for themselves in the alternative rock community, with an engaging and eclectic performance that left the crowd wanting even more, well after the house lights went up.

The show only had one opening act, a French-Korean singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist going by the name of Spill Tab, whose dreamy pop-like style kicked off the evening. Spill Tab (real name Claire Chicha) put on an excellent performance, and while it was far different than the full-band performance that was soon to follow, it added a nice touch to the evening’s festivities. With that being said, one opening act for this show was perfect; the crowd were too excited for Wallows.

With a stage illuminated with an immersive light show and punctuated by living room lamps, Wallows took the stage and was met with a roaring crowd. I don’t think the band had a single song that evening that wasn’t sang right back at them by every person under that roof. The energy in the room was palpable. The band rode their way through an impressive twenty-one song setlist, with most songs coming from their recent album, this year’s Tell Me That It’s Over. While there were several great moments from throughout their ninety minute show, none matched the power I felt from the band and the crowd during “Scrawny”, a song from their Nothing Happens album. It became hard to hear the band at certain points in the song; the crowd were feeding them energy.

It was quite an experience, and one that I really enjoyed watching. I tend to go into a lot of these shows, particularly an artist that I don’t know all that well, with no research or pre-conceived notions. When you go in cold, you tend to experience a show through your own eyes, rather than through the opinions of online punditry and Twitter discourse. Sometimes, like on that Friday night in Sacramento, you walk away pleasantly surprised by what you’ve seen, hoping that you’ll get another chance to see it in the future. The name “Tell Me When It’s Over” is ironic; you don’t really want a Wallows show to end. You want it to keep going.

Wallows Set List
Hard To Believe
Remember When
Marvelous
Dig What You Dug
These Days
Quarterback
OK
Missing Out
Treacherous Doctor
Hurts Me
Pictures of Girls
1980s Horror Film II
At The End of the Day
Scrawny
Guitar Romantic Search Adventure
I Don’t Want To Talk
Especially You
Pleaser

Encore:
I’m Full
Drunk on Halloween (audience choice)
Are You Bored Yet?