26 March 2025 | The Bomb Factory | Dallas TX
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
Seven Years.
After the seven years of silence, Brand New has returned from hiatus—now the storm is coming. The venue hummed with anticipation after the surprise opener Summer Rental.
The air thick with nostalgia and uncertainty, returning to the last place they played live publically, The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas, on October 29th, 2017, 2,705 days later.
Finally. Jesse Lacey, Brian Lane, Garrett Tierney, Vincent Accardi, and three others (unnamed) enter, seven members. Then, the first crashing chords of 'The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows' rip through the speakers, and in an instant, time folds in on itself. Jesse Lacey steps to the mic, eyes shadowed beneath the stage lights, and the crowd screams every word back. So keep the blood in your head and keep your feet on the ground—but no one here is grounded. Not anymore.
The setlist is a carefully curated descent. Not a single 'Your Favorite Weapon' track or the very popular 'Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades' off the album 'Deja Entendu', but 'I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light' picks up its weight, spiraling into 'The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot', the audience swaying to the quiet devastation. Then 'Sowing Season (Yeah)' kicks in, and suddenly, it’s a war cry. Yeah! I am not your friend, I am just a man who knows how to feel. Seven years of waiting dissolved into a single, cathartic moment.
The night deepens. 'Out of Mana' and 'You Stole' weave a darker energy, while 'Gasoline' burns hot. 'Luca' lingers like a ghost until they drop the “luca bomb” and everyone knows WHERE YOU’VE BEEN. Next was a personal favorite of mine, 'At The Bottom', (it’s been my ringtone for over 15 years) and the audience transcended as every person screamed, some men die under the mountain just looking for gold some die looking for a hand to hold.
Then, silence. A slow build. 'Welcome to Bangkok' hums like an impending collapse, giving way to the eerie opening to the album tape intro of 'Lit Me Up'. Then a wonderful surprise to many—'Waste', performed live for the first time publicly. The room stills as the boys deliver its haunting refrain, Every night you were tripping out, in the morning you were coming down.
The energy shifts again. '137' creeps in like a slow detonation, each note pushing toward something irreversible. Let’s all go play Nagasaki, we can all get vaporized—the crowd shouts it back, an eerie, almost apocalyptic chant. And just when it feels like everything is ready to implode, 'Degausser' rips through the tension. Lacey howls, Take apart your head! and the room explodes in unison.
As 'You Won’t Know' stretches out into the void, it feels like an ending—but it’s not. The final chords fade, and for a moment, it seems like they might just walk away—then everyone besides Lacey does.
A moment of pure vulnerability. Lacey steps up, alone, bathed in dim light, his voice cracking over the first chords of 'Play Crack the Sky'. The band still silent; this is just him. Before he plays, he speaks— wishing he had more words to offer than ‘thank you’, he speaks about music, about its ability to heal. About how, even after all these years, it still means everything and the immense gratitude he has for allowing them to play music for all of us. The audience hangs onto every word, and as he begins to play, it feels less like a performance and more like a communion.
With the members returning, the public debut continues with 'Batter Up', its slow, measured acceptance closing in like the inevitable end of something bigger than just a show.
But then, the familiar opening of 'Jesus Christ' rings out, and the crowd roars back. Jesus Christ, I’m not scared to die, but I’m a little bit scared of what comes after. Maybe that’s the answer to the unspoken question lingering over the night. Maybe they don’t know what comes next either.
For now, none of that matters. Brand New is back, and whether this is a new beginning or the beginning of the end, the music still feels—sharp, raw, and alive.
edit:
31 March 2025
SUMMER TOUR ANNOUNCED
setlist
