From Nottingham to Newcastle: The Bracknall’s Tour Triumphs. Gig Review

The 5-piece grassroots guitar band, The Bracknall, hails from Collier Row in Essex, but a rapidly growing U.K. fan base, driven by a successful social media presence and over one million Spotify plays, has led to their second set of nationwide gigs in under 12 months.

The Nottingham gig was the first to sell out on the tour, and the intimate venue meant the band trod a path to the stage by parting a way through a crowd ably warmed up by Kazabian support band Rolla. The gig kicked off with the searing intro to Fell By The Wayside, before Jack Dacey’s powerhouse vocals kicked in with the opening line “I rolled a rock down London Road, to see where it began…”. The audience is instantly onside, and the floor is vibrating as the rhythm picks up. The 2023 single Ethereal is followed by Long In The Tooth, a tale of a lover’s weary contemplation of a failing relationship. Like most of the set, it’s from the band’s first album ‘Going Nowhere Fast’, a release that clearly showcases the diversity of their material.

The band followed up their debut album with the 4-track ‘More Than Ordinary’ EP, and the EP title track along with Good Looking and You and I cement the middle of the set.

The Bracknall marks their 75-minute live shows with a single well-selected cover. On previous tours, this has been Heroes and Baba O’Riley, but tonight it’s the turn of a barnstorming version of Paperback Writer, which leads into a spectacular two-song finale. The 6-minute crescendo of Ballad Of Winnie and Jim leads to the finale showstopper of I Don’t Understand It, their most-streamed track, which leaves the audience baying for more.

Nottingham Rough Trade was the third gig of the current tour, and it’s a measure of the band when they can raise a standing ovation in an L-shaped room even amongst those that can’t actually see the stage!

The tour continues on Wednesday, 14th Feb, with a sold-out show at Portsmouth’s Edge Of The Wedge, followed by Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff on the 15th and another sell-out at Bristol’s Exchange on the 16th. Currently, there are just a handful of tickets left for Brighton’s Green Door on the 17th before a few days break when the tour then heads north to Edinburgh and Glasgow on the 22nd and 23rd before the sold-out Newcastle Cluny finale on the 24th. Well worth grabbing a ticket to this tour if you can get one.

There is no doubt this seasoned group of musicians is having to tread the tougher route to success, but their determination and quality of musicianship shine through. The band is still unsigned and promotes themselves through social media and word of mouth. They have a successful Patreon group for the hardcore fans and recently started crowdfunding to finance the recording and release of their second album. It’s a sign of their rapidly growing fanbase that the total rushed past £6000 in less than 48 hours. (Details on their website)

The Bracknall Set List:

Fell By The Wayside
Ethereal
Long In The Tooth
Going Nowhere Fast
QuickDraw
You and I
More Than Ordinary
Good Looking
Good To The Bone
Paperback Writer
The Ballad of Winnie and Jim
I Don’t Understand It

The Bracknall are

Jack Dacey guitar/lead vocals
Harry Dacey guitar
Dan Hurley drums
George Coster bass
Ed Smith guitar /keyboards
Matt Hookings guitar

From Nottingham to Newcastle: The Bracknall’s Tour Triumphs. Gig Review @ www.rocknews.co.uk

You can check out even more from The Bracknall here.

https://www.thebracknall.shop/
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