The Backfires at Bowery Ballroom Show Review

By Bailey Blake

Photo by Madalyn Schaller

If you have not heard of these bands, now is the time to get introduced. British-American rock band The Backfires had a killer show on June 24th at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, with support from the intoxicating Savoia and Juniper. Here's a little recap of the night and your sign to check out these bands immediately. 

When doors opened at 8 PM, Bowery Ballroom was already buzzing with energy, and Savoia brought even more heat to set the night off. The NYC five-piece indie rock band put on a thrilling show, performing an array of unreleased music that can be best described as a combination of The Rolling Stones and Lenny Kravitz meets indie rock, along with their two Spotify releases, “Bringing Me Down” and “Hypochondriac.” Their performance was one of the best I have seen so far from them, ending in an exciting crowd surf involving the band's frontman Lucas Allan.  

Savoia has played and continues to play at many well-known venues in NYC, so if you want to see a show, look out for them.  

Hailing from Boston, Juniper was next, bringing us a more laid back and groovy set. The band performed some of their feel-good songs like "Here for the First Time," getting the crowd involved in singing along, and "Daydream (brake lights)," a song that just feels like summer. The band played impressive classic rock covers as well, giving us a fantastic rendition of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Evil Woman” and Jimi Hendrick's “Crosstown Traffic,” getting the crowd riled up as people could sing along.

Around 10:30, The Backfires made it to the stage and needless to say, they didn't disappoint. They started off with their songs "Joyride," "Preoccupied," and "Brighter Lights." Already, the band had already made an insane impression, performing an excellent unreleased song titled "Never Seen You Before," ramping up the excitement for what's to come.  

Towards the show's end, the band performed a nearly flawless cover of Arctic Monkeys' "A Certain Romance," making you almost question whether you were at a Backfires or an Arctic Monkeys show.  

After a couple more songs, the show came to a close, but not without an encore, where they performed their song "Blindsided," an exciting yet slightly heartbreaking song of someone being blindsided by the sudden change of a relationship.  

All in all, Saturday night was a success. For those who love Arctic Monkeys, Inhaler, Sam Fender, and Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Backfires are the perfect band for you. With their unique sound, fabulous stage presence, and energy, the band is bound to break through in this new wave of rock music.