The Backfires • Mercury • February 26, 2025 • Kilby Court
Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall
The rock and roll band, The Backfires, and the indie band, Mercury, put on an incredible show at Kilby Court. The band’s energy lit up the whole venue. Both bands were super supportive of each other and were grateful to be able to play the show in SLC and very excited to share their music with the SLC crowd. The crowd might have been on the smaller side; however, they really brought great energy to the show.
Mercury
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, with an ethereal voice and warm energy, Mercury took the stage. Fronted by Maddie Kerr, Mercury’s songs feel like the snow is melting around flowers coming out during spring. There were many songs with very deep emotional connections that could be felt throughout the venue. One of those songs was “Special” off their first EP. She wrote it about not feeling good enough for people to treat her with respect, and how she hopes no one has ever felt that way before and hopes no one has made someone feel that way before.
Kerr shared her experiences of being on tour and their drive up from Colorado Springs. She said the drive was 10 hours long, but it was well worth it when they saw the beautiful pink mountains of Utah, and how the sky was so amazing. Kerr also shared how on the drive up she was sewing tiny fish and she has 9 with her to give to fans.
She said how this was their first time playing this music out west and how excited she was for the crowd to hear her music. The Kilby show wasn’t typical of how Mercury plays their shows when they are on tour. Kerr explained how they usually have a huge rock band behind them, so it is super cool and special how they can honor their songs in this way. Personally, I found the acoustic sets really made the lyrics and the concert even more intimate with the audience.
Regarding playing at Kilby Court, Kerr said, “This is such a cute little venue, and we have a venue similar at home that I love very much called The End, and I love that place, but this has been amazing so far.” She thanked the audience for coming early and being so kind and sweet to the band, especially because they were the opener. The band then proceeded to play an amazing cover of “Wild Horses” by Rolling Stones.
Kerr’s giggly and bubbly personality made Mercury’s performance special, and the whole venue felt very warm and fuzzy. Mercury’s performance was a perfect way to start the night off on the right foot.
The Backfires
Fantastic energy, phenomenal vocals, and extraordinary musical ability made the Backfires performance one to remember. Their whole concert was electric, they had their fans jumping and dancing around, singing along, and having a great time. With influences like Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, this band from both sides of the Atlantic, are going to be huge, and if you aren’t already listening to them, you should be.
They started out their set with a bang by playing “Matador”, off their newly released debut album, “This is Not an Exit” which was released just over a month ago. Alex Gomez (The lead singer and guitarist) explained that most of the songs were going to be from the new album and how excited they were to play these songs for the SLC crowd. This was met with overwhelming applause from the audience.
Gomez then said “It’s sort of strange to put out your first record or debut album, it’s one of those things that we’ve been working on for a long time. We started recording it two years ago, and it was supposed to be a five or six-song EP, and then we sort of got to finishing it and then we signed with our current management, and they said in our first meeting that rock bands don’t make EPs rock bands make albums. So here we are sometime after that, and we are happy to be able to share these songs with you tonight, so thank you.” This story sent the crowd into another round of applause and cheers.
After playing a few songs, Gomez decided to introduce the rest of the incredibly talented band, Harry Ruprecht (Guitar), Mathew Walter (Bass), and the newest member Dylan Spiro (Drums). Gomez then said how the band is based in New York City, and how the next song they were going to play titled “Joyride” was about going out in NYC.
During one instrument switch, Spiro played an incredible drum solo that proceeded to turn into the intro of “Song 55” which kept the audience on their toes. “Song 55” was a huge hit with the crowd and the intro of the song was so much fun to see live, it’s reminiscent of the intro to “Do I Wanna Know” by Arctic Monkeys.
The Backfires are truly engaged with their fanbase, all around the venue there were QR codes that were to enter a giveaway for both that night as well as tour long giveaway. If you won the giveaway for the night in your city you won a t-shirt and a Polaroid of the whole band in front of the venue’s sign. The tour-long giveaway was for a guitar. These lotteries are a super cool and creative way for the fans to interact with the band after the concerts.
The band also announced they would be hanging around the merch booth after the show and would love to meet the audience before playing the title track of their new album, “This is Not an Exit” another huge hit with the crowd and the band too as they danced around while they were playing.
They absolutely saved the best for last during this concert, Gomez said, “I see a couple of people in the audience in all black like your dressed for a funeral, and if you are this next song is dedicated to you, and… If you’re not wearing all black this song is definitely dedicated to you. If you know this song sing along.” This was a super sweet line and made this my favorite moment of the night. The intro for “Dressed for a Funeral” started to play and the whole crowd started singing along.
If this wasn’t already exciting enough, the last song of the night was “Blindsided” a huge hit for the band and had the whole crowd jumping, singing, and dancing around. “Blindsided” went viral about a year ago and currently has 2 million streams on Spotify. Right before the bridge of the song, Gomez shouted, “We are the Backfires, Thank You!” The song was great on the album digitally, but hearing the bridge live was so much fun, and the crowd’s energy was electric. It was a perfect way to end the night and left the crowd wanting more from The Backfires.
