The Backseat Lovers "Waiting to Spill" World Tour at the Factory in Dallas

May 18th, 2023

This was my first time seeing The Backseat Lovers live, and they exceeded all possible expectations and pre-existing ideas I had for this show. I attended the concert with two of my close friends (one being my sister) who have both already seen this band in years past, and they both raved about how changed my life would be after this show for months in advance. I had watched both of them scroll through their past concert videos a time or two each, so I had high hopes for my own experience.

Over the course of the past year or so, I have surrounded myself with a lot of like-minded concert friends. I think one of the hardest parts of attending shows with others is finding people who view and value the experience the same way I do. I spent all of high school and a lot of my time in college just going to shows with whoever was willing to go with me, whether they paid for their own ticket or I paid for them to tag along with me. I have always been anxious about going places alone, so I used to risk having a good experience simply so I would not have to be alone in a crowd or at a big event. It was not until last summer that I began to recognize I would rather be by myself than in bad company for a concert that I was highly anticipating. Somehow, even after coming to this realization, I have still not ever been to a show all on my own. Instead, in that time, I made friends and connected with people who enjoy things at the same level I do, so I have found a few small circles of people I can count on for the live music events I want to attend (which is obviously a lot better than trying to go to these shows all on my own). I have made some of my sweetest and closest friends in lines and in crowds at concerts, and I love that going to local shows means I get to see those people thrive in our favorite kind of environment together.

The point of me saying all of this here is I knew I had found my people when it came time to discuss the timing of our arrival for this show. None of us wanted to be in the sun all day, and we all agreed that this would be a nice show to be mixed in the crowd for (meaning we did not feel we had to be front row this time around). We bought fast passes through the venue (which I hate, though, in this particular circumstance, it was worth the money), and we planned to arrive mid-to-late afternoon. When we arrived, the lines were already separated and well-organized, so we joined the one for the fast passes and spent a few hours playing cards and listening to music with people we met there. We wound up in the second row once we were inside the venue, which was a bit closer than I was anticipating with our time of arrival, but I had not fully factored in the fast passes or how many people would be willing to wait out all day in the sun for a show like that one. Most of the crowd was pretty laid back, and it kept the experience very easygoing, even at the front, which is always something I love to find at a show.

The opener did have to stop for about 15 minutes during their set for medics to assist people further back in the crowd who overheated. There were a lot of fainters due to the heat and the number of people in the room, especially since the show sold out. The opening band was Free Range, who I followed on Instagram and looked up on Spotify after the show. Not only was the music good, but they were also very pleasant and sweet, and their care for the crowd exceeded the expectation of finishing their own set, which I thought seemed very thoughtful. They did finish their set out the way they planned, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I would recommend looking them up if you haven't!

I'm always torn between which album by The Backseat Lovers is my favorite. I think they each bring completely different things to the table, so I have difficulty choosing between them. Seeing them live only made the choice even more impossible. Their setlist was a good mix of newer and older music, which I appreciated as an audience member who has not seen them on previous tours but has been listening for a while. They did play "Olivia" off of When We Were Friends at the crowd's request, which is not something they typically do or play, so that was a very special moment specific to the Dallas show on this tour. My favorites live were the encore songs. I thought they picked the perfect mix of songs to end the show with. I loved the energy of the crowd and the energy of the band themselves, which was something I expected from a show like this one, but I was more impressed with that than I thought I would be. 

I went to the show with one of my coworkers who has become one of my really good friends and with my younger sister, who just completed her freshman year at Texas State, and we met up with her roommates after the show. One thing I love about going to concerts with my sisters is our consistent tradition of looking forward to the fast food we get to eat afterward, and the Whataburger run with this group of people was one of the highlights of my night. This was my sister and her roommate's first time "reuniting" since summer break began, and although it had only been a few weeks apart, it was still nice to catch up with them for a little while.

Overall, this was a really fun show. The whole day felt very low-maintenance for us, which is always a pleasant surprise for an exciting concert. I loved getting the chance to see the band, get introduced to new music through the opener, and see so many friends while we were there. I'm hoping they tour this album again sometime soon (though I'm not sure they will because this is technically the second leg of this album's tour)... but I still hope they do. I wouldn't pass up another opportunity to see them live.