A busy night of live music last night wasn’t going to stop me from catching Backyard Tire Fire, a Bloomington, Illinois band whose live performances have been tearing roofs off clubs across the Midwest and garnering them quite a bit of favorable press over the past six months.

Fresh off a recent performance on My Old Kentucky Blog Sirius Blog Radio, the band started their hour long set opening for Mofro with an unreleased tune “I Only Cry” - a tear-in-your-beer lament about toughening up (with one exception).

Their set began with the above average crowd a good twelve feet away from the stage, the majority there only to see Mofro. By the time the band ended their rousing set which steadily veered from acoustic to electric, that twelve foot gap was filled up with dancers, head bangers, and fist-pumpers. The crowd had warmed to them, unbelievers found faith - Rock ‘N Roll.

Most songs performed drew from their most recent album, Vagabonds and Hooligans as well as incorporating tracks off Bar Room Semantics, with a notable highlight coming during the delicate, piano driven track “A Long Time.” Keep an eye out for these guys on this tour; they get better each time they pass through town.

Myspace: Backyard Tire Fire
Related: 5 Questions with Backyard Tire Fire
MoB Review: Backyard Tire Fire - Vagabonds & Hooligans