brakence performs a sold out show at Chicago's Lincoln Hall - First Headlining Tour

Chicago, November 27th, 2022

On the second stop of his first headlining tour, brakence comes to Lincoln Hall in Chicago, a show that sold out in less than a week during the presale. Fans lined up in the brick cold, waiting to hear him perform, and his newest album Hypochondriac hadn’t even been released yet.

The crowd was insanely hyped when he and his guitarist Wyatt Otis stepped out, opening with bugging, the latest single and the opening song to the album. Following that, they played caffiene, a high-energy, glitchy pop song that is impossible not to jump around to.

After playing venus fly trap, a single released earlier in the summer, it became clear they were playing the unreleased album front to back. Though no one knew the words outside of the singles that have been released previously, the fans still hyped up the performance by cheering throughout. Supportive comments were thrown between songs, like “We love you Randy (Brakence’s government name).” The rest of the performance consisted of new tracks including, 5g with such a contagious drill beat, and introvert a slowed-down heartfelt breakup song.

Women speaking- who often can be heard in Brakence’s songs saying “i am using my imagination” and “bloomtodeath”, made a robotic speech throughout the performance and as Brakence left the stage, that set in stone the concept of his upcoming album.

What makes Brakence special is that he defies the ‘rules’ of hyper pop. He adds flare and pop while bending and breaking barriers within the genre. From the album selection, there is definitely a song that will appeal to everyone. It's highly recommended that if you can get tickets to his 95% sold-out tour, you should.

Photos and Words: Sloane Johnson