Photo of the Backseat Lovers live at the Blue Note in Columbia, MO, by Matt Lynch
Salt Lake City-hailing indie rockers the Backseat Lovers got their start at more intimate live venues like Kilby Court and The Troubadour. The group embarked on their nationwide Waiting to Spill tour in April 2023, which I had the pleasure of attending their stop in Missouri. Now they are back on tour for a small stretch of shows to seemingly build anticipation for their third album.
I attended the second night of their sold-out double header in Columbia, MO on April 24 and could feel the buzzing anticipation before even entering the Blue Note. The remnants of early morning campers and long lines have been well-earned at this point in their journey, and I can only think that with the themes of growth and maturity from their last record, I’m witnessing this band at another pivotal point in their growing success story.
Accompanying them and opening on this tour is Jonny’s Day Out from Portland, Oregon. I was unfamiliar with their music, but they put on a good set and brought a uniquely chaotic start to the night with sporadic riffage over some unpredictable fast tempo trumpet and recorder solos.
Joshua Harmon (lead vocals and guitar), Jonas Swanson (lead guitar and vocals), KJ Ward (bass guitar), and Juice Welch (drums and vocals) took the stage getting drowned with applause. The band seemingly entered with their signature opening, an instrumental jam which usually turns into their hit “Know Your Name” off their last album, but instead it turned into one of their unreleased tracks, which was a phenomenal twist adding to their emotionally charged entrance.
Immediately afterwards, they transitioned into their fan favorite “Pool House,” where Harmon seems to relish in the fact that the crowd is drowning out his vocals, a testament to the growth and loyalty of the fans. The Backseat Lovers have clearly gotten more comfortable playing together live, opening up an instrumental jam after their dreary track “Heavy” where Swanson wasn’t scared to get creative improvisationally and essentially play his pedal board to let out some vibrato screeches and then to dig into a solo with his gated overdriven tone.
In past performances, the band has tended to keep to their high energy setlist, but now with a larger catalog they can transition from more vulnerable tracks like “Snowbank Blues” and “Slowing Down” to an unreleased track, and then back to their high energy fan favorites like “Maple Syrup” or “Kilby Girl.”
An encore was certainly what they delivered after the crowd cheered incessantly for more after they exited to one of their tracks, “Still a Friend,” off their first EP. The band re-entered the stage with a live debut of a song fans are titling “Callous,” where Swanson lays down a medium tempo, hypnotizing guitar line and Harmon delivers some tender vocals. They then closed out the show with their signature outro of the set “Sinking Ship.” This was one of the first songs the band wrote when emerging and once again Joshua was nearly drowned out with the number of fans shouting every word.
I’m certain that The Backseat Lovers will only continue to grow and perform in larger venues, so take advantage of each possibility to see them live in intimate settings. Their live performances are a mesmerizing experience that will leave you with post-concert depression and looking for any next opportunity to see them. | Matt Lynch
