0
0
Let’s get this out of the way. In my opinion “The Backseat Lovers” is a terribly juvenile band name and if the band is still together in twenty years they may regret the choice. They obviously are unaware of websites that can generate awesome band name ideas for you, such as this one. How about this one it generated for me, “Rage Against the Apple”? I’m relatively sure this is how “King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard” came up with their name…
Joking about the juvenile band name aside, The Backseat Lovers are a great little band. I had never heard of them until I saw them open for Jack White last year. They’re four young guys, I assume in their 20’s. The two founding members apparently met while waiting to play at an open mic night in Utah back in 2018 and they went from that to selling out the Paramount theater in five short years.
Sam and I arrived an hour before the doors opened and we were still in line over a block away from the Paramount. By the time the doors opened the line wrapped almost three blocks. Outside of a few parents I almost certainly was the oldest person at the show and Sam certainly looked more the typical demographic than I did. Guess that’s what will keep me from getting old. It’s interesting to go to a show where half the audience is probably attending their first show. They get all excited and scream when the guitar tech starts tuning a guitar.
Once the band came on the audience was seriously louder than the band at times and they knew all the words to every song. There were a couple of times where Joshua Harmon, the lead singer, just stepped back from the mic and let the audience sing because you couldn’t hear him anyway. Cute youthful exuberance.
Age aside though, the group’s music is more contemplative 70’s Eagles than K-pop boy band. Take for example the song, “Words I Say”, which has lines like,
“Yesterday I wrote a little tune
I’m afraid you’ll hate the words I used
I’m sorry but it’s been weighing on me
Oh I can’t lie when I sing, No I can’t lie when I sing…”
Anyway, it’s good stuff and makes me hopeful that there’s still room for actual music beyond the typical corporate generated stuff that seems to be typical of most newer pop music.
