Before Sweden's sleaze hard rockers Backyard Babies headed off for an American tour supporting Social Distortion they were kind enough to play a few shows for the Swedish fans. One of the stops was Platens Bar in my home town of Linköping and of course I had to be there even though it was a Thursday night.

I was not really in a mood to go out at all this evening but I finally dragged myself out which meant that I missed out on the opening act, a punk rock band from Stockholm called Subvision which I did not even know would be there and who I have no interest in seeing whatsoever I'm afraid. It's just not my thing.

Backyard Babies however is kind of an unusual band for me. In general I don't like this kind of sleazy rock music at all but they are nonetheless a band that impresses me becuase they have the ability to write songs that really stick to you like glue. There are the radio hits of course like "Minus Celsius" which is in my opinion one of the worst songs they've ever created but then they have these hidden diamonds which are not played on the radio or TV stations.

Most fans of Backyard Babies have already seen them many times as they have been very generous when it comes to live shows throughout the years. Dregen has also become a very popular TV and media personality which has kind of helped marketing the band towards mainstream crowds who have really come to love the band. This was however the first time for me and I must say that they are a great live act, much more energy than hearing the songs in your stereo.

I must say that I despise the rock star encore but that's part of the game I guess and something you have to live with. Being rooted in punk rock, the music of Backyard Babies is unusually riff happy and this together with the highly efficient dual vocals between Nicke Borg and Dregen makes their music and live performance highly interesting. The stage presence of those two is amazing. In general I don't like rock music that much but Backyard Babies are impossible to dislike. They are an incredibly tight live act and if you ever have the chance to see them don't miss out on it!