BACCI POUCH + DREAD FM + RANTING – DUST, BRIGHTON 22.11.25
It seems like an age since I last managed to catch up-and-coming local Brighton three-piece Bacci Pouch perform. In fact, it’s been just over four months, or to be precise, 129 days. This may not sound that long, but in my busy gig viewing world, it is, especially as they are a band I’ve seen 15 times previously in a period of just over 2 years. I first saw them as opening support for Scouse guitar band The Kairos at The Hope & Ruin in October 2023. I was impressed with them at the time and was taken in with the enthusiasm of the local support they had that night. Just over a month later, they released their debut single ‘Learn To Love’ and further local gigs followed. In early 2024, their line-up changed a couple of times, with different bass players; they even performed once as a two-piece without a bassist.
They now have a solid line-up with mainstays James Neighbour (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Charlie Heasman (drums), joined by Sam Raymer (bass guitar, backing vocals). They played a good number of local gigs in 2024, as well as taking in their first London gig, and releasing two further singles. More singles followed in 2025, that included some national airplay by Radio X’s John Kennedy. They also released their first EP, ‘Pouch Core’, which has been well received, notching up over 50,000 streams within the first five weeks of release. They’ve played fewer gigs this year, although they did make their first festival appearance at Y Not Festival in Derbyshire, sharing the same stage as other bright new acts Pastel and Marseille, as well as fellow Brightonians: Crysometimes, Cows, and Canned Pineapple. The festival appearance was the last time Bacci Pouch performed live to a paying audience, until now so it’s good to have them back tonight at Dust. The gig has been billed as their biggest to date and has been put on by ‘Scruff Of The Neck’ promoters.
Prior to Bacci Pouch performing there were two local support acts. These were Ranting and Dread FM.
RANTING (19:30 – 20:00)
Ranting are a local three-piece band consisting of Adam Macauley (vocals, lead guitar), George Collins (drums, backing vocals), and Joel Stubbs (bass guitar). They were previously known as Grumpy Custard and played their first gig at Dust in September last year, supporting fellow locals Canned Pineapple. Further live performances followed at The Brunswick in Hove and The Prince Albert. They also played ‘At The Edge Of The Sea’ festival in August, then decided on their name change to Ranting last month. It’s a fitting name for the band as Adam does rant on about a host of topics in a punk style that mixes XTC with a touch of Welly, or is it Blur?
The venue is around a third full when Ranting enter the stage at 7:30pm with Adam saying, “Thanks for coming down early to see an unsigned band in the horrible weather. We hope we don’t hurt your ears.” They are quite loud, but are an instant hit with me. They open with ‘Kleptomania’. This is one of two tracks from the set that have been released as singles. The second song is ‘Super Glue’, and we are told it’s about having ADHD. Next, it’s the other single on the set list, ‘Jobsworth’. A catchy number with sharp lyrics about terrible bosses. I’m loving the way all these songs are ranting on about different subjects. ‘Middle Class Drugs’ is about indulging in too much of the party stuff, ‘Record Collector’ is, you’ve guessed it, about someone who is addicted to buying records, while ‘Stupid Things’ includes a line about charging your phone in the microwave. Prior to the last track, ‘Snakes & Ladders’ being performed, Adam once again thanks the audience for coming out on a wet and windy night. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Ranting play their next gig.
Ranting:
Adam Macaulay – vocals, lead guitar
George Collins – drums, backing vocals
Joel Stubbs – bass guitar
Ranting setlist:
‘Kleptomania’ (a 2024 single)
‘Super Glue’ (unreleased)
‘Jobsworth’ (a 2024 single)
‘Middle Class Drugs’ (unreleased)
‘Grumpy Custard’ (unreleased)
‘Record Collector’ (unreleased)
‘Stupid Things’ (unreleased)
‘Snakes & Ladders’ (unreleased)
DREAD FM (20:24 – 20:45)
Dread FM is a solo project of talented local rapper Flynn Murray, although for live shows including tonight we have the addition of bass player Max Stevens. Flynn blends together alternative hip-hop with electronic and rock. Dread FM are friends of tonight’s headliners Bacci Pouch, having appeared on shows together in the past and kindly stepped in as a late replacement for alternative rock band Not Right Here who pulled out of the show due to illness. Flynn and Max are ready to go at 8:24pm. The backing track kicks in and off we go with slick rapping from Flynn and some heavy bass playing from Max on opener ‘The Hit’, one of three tracks included in the set that is lifted from Dread FM’s debut album ‘Who Killed The Vibe’. Flynn is full of energy despite hurting his back prior to the gig. The frontman even asks us to “make some noise if you’ve hurt your back”. The quick-fire lyrics continue on ‘Sunset 1’.
At times, Flynn’s style reminds me of Rage Against The Machine’s Zack de la Rocha. It’s a similar energetic rapping style with the political element to the lyrics. There is some catch stuff performed, not least in the unreleased track ‘Jump’ when there’s crowd participation. Flynn asks “When I say hell, you say yeah” and “When I say jump, you jump”. ‘What’s Good’ includes some heavy bass beats. Things slow down a bit on ‘Another Day’, Flynn thanks the audience for coming out and seeing unsigned bands. He tries to get a pit going for the last track, but although the crowd opens up plenty of space for one, nothing much materialises; there is one keen participant along with two of his mates that appear less keen. Anyway, it was an impressive set made up of seven good tracks.
Dread FM:
Flynn Murray – vocals
Max Stevens – bass guitar, backing vocals
Dread FM setlist:
‘The Hit’ (from 2024 ‘Who Killed The Vibe?’ album)
‘Sunset 1’ (a 2022 single)
‘Nut Job’ (from 2022 ‘Void’ EP)
‘Jump’ (unreleased)
‘What’s Good’ (from 2024 ‘Who Killed The Vibe?’ album)
‘Another Day’ (a 2022 single)
‘Who Killed The Vibe?’ (from 2024 ‘Who Killed The Vibe?’ album)
BACCI POUCH (21:00 – 21:58)
After just 15 minutes of setting up time, the Bacci Pouch trio are ready to go. There is a good-sized crowd in, and things get up and running with an instrumental intro that leads into ‘Dilute’ with its Buzzcocks-like vocals from James along with the familiar fast-paced drumming style from Charlie. Before the next song, James says, “Hello everyone. We are The Pouch, thank you all for coming.” Charlie has an issue with his kick drum pedal, so James goes off stage to find a replacement. Next it’s a newish track. It’s ‘She Said’, which has more Pete Shelley (R.I.P.) sounding delivery from the frontman. The debut single ‘Learn to Love’ is next, Sam’s bass plays the opening chords, Charlie comes crashing in on the drums, James adds his lead guitar, then the vocals follow. James informs those that don’t know, “We’ve got merch at the back.” They have Bacci Pouch t-shirts, and it’s good to see some fans down the front are already wearing theirs. James continues by introducing ‘By My Side’, another unreleased song that is quite new. The opening chords to this one sound very much like The Stone Roses. Sam is on backing vocals on this one.
Some of the crowd start chanting the words “Bacci Pouch, Bacci Pouch” with Sam adding some bass-lines as they chant. There’s a slight change from the printed setlist as ‘It Ain’t Pretty’ was supposed to be next, but they play ‘Everyday’ instead, their most recent single and one that featured on their debut EP. There’s more backing vocals from Sam on this slower-paced one and a good riff from James. ‘It Ain’t Pretty’ (another from the debut EP) isn’t forgotten about, as they perform that one next. It kicks off with a bass intro from Sam. It’s another song that wouldn’t have looked out of place when Buzzcocks were appearing in the charts in the late 70s. Once the song concludes, James says, “Thanks to Scruff of the Neck for putting us on tonight and thanks to Dread FM for stepping in at the last minute.”
Next it’s ‘Someone Else’s Clothes’ , the closing track from the EP. This one is a lot different to your usual Bacci Pouch song as there is plenty of pace changing to it. It has a rollercoaster like pace to it with plenty of crashing drum parts. There is plenty of applause at the end of this one. James remarks, “Thank you very much, it’s the first show we’ve done since the summer” and continues, “Has anyone heard of Fatboy Slim?” There are cheers and they play a cover of the Top 10 hit ‘The Rockafeller Skank’. A track they’ve always played at every previous Bacci Pouch gig I’ve been to. As you probably expect, it’s a real crowd pleaser. Next up, we are in for a treat as James announces, “We’ve got a new song for you lot. It’s called ‘Girl On The Phone’.” On first listen, this sounds great. It’s a real catchy tune with a good beat and is surely going to be a future single.
Third single ‘Normal People’ is played next, another with a bass intro. During the song, Charlie has another issue. One of his cymbals has flipped up and is stuck in an upright position. He finds this highly amusing, as do some others, including myself, that have spotted it. Charlie rectifies the issue for the final song of the planned 45-minute set. James says, “Thanks for coming out. This is going to be our last song, but it’s a good song, though.” They play the second single and crowd favourite ‘When The Lights Come On’ with the audience clapping along to the instrumental break with plenty of enthusiasm. At the end of the song there’s a quick selfie from the trio with the audience pictured in the background.
The crowd asks for one more song. After a quick discussion, they play ‘When The Lights Come On’ again. There are more calls for another song. James asks the mixing desk if they have time for one more. They do, so we get another blast of ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ to finish off an amazing set. Incidentally, I’ve not seen a Bacci Pouch crowd as upbeat as this one since I first saw the band play just over two years ago at The Kairos gig. Everyone appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Someone even threw a pouch of Golden Virginia on the stage late in the set.
Bacci Pouch:
James Neighbour – vocals, lead guitar
Charlie Heasman – drums
Sam Raymer – bass guitar, backing vocals
Bacci Pouch setlist:
‘Intro’ (unreleased)
‘Dilute’ (unreleased)
‘She Said’ (unreleased)
‘Learn To Love’ (a 2023 single)
‘By My Side’ (unreleased)
‘Everyday’ (from 2025 ‘Pouch Core’ EP)
‘It Ain’t Pretty’ (from 2025 ‘Pouch Core’ EP)
‘Someone Else’s Clothes’ (from 2025 ‘Pouch Core’ EP)
‘The Rockafeller Skank’ (Fatboy Sim cover)
‘Girl On The Phone’ (unreleased)
‘Normal People’ (a 2024 single)
‘When The Lights Come On’ (a 2024 single)
(encore)
‘When The Lights Come On’ (a 2024 single)
‘The Rockafeller Skank’ (Fatboy Slim cover)
