Music / Review
Review: Isaac Gracie, The Exchange – ‘This is Gracie at his peak’
The Exchange is the kind of magical venue where you can make friends with the person standing next to you, bump into an artist after their set, and really feel the music vibrating through your bones.
It’s also small enough to successfully heckle, and after disappearing for five years, people are desperate to shout at Isaac Gracie.
It’s all in loving jest of course; someone yells that he’s like a better Harry Styles, someone else really, really wants him to play that was then – ‘that was when?’ Gracie keeps laughing back.
is needed now More than ever
There’s someone leading a commentary after each song, shouting variations of ‘that was so good!’, ‘oh yeah!’ and various whoops.
Gracie doesn’t once stop beaming. We can’t believe that he’s finally back, and he can’t seem to either. The crowd begin to cheer before he’s even finished; each song punctuated with him gently chuckling into the mic.
We already know all of the words to new single the man who flew into space, and played live, it’s clear this is Gracie at his peak.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpK_GPtjhmC/?hl=en
He’s always aimed for great heights, but has finally made it out of this world. His voice is truly magical; he’s the new Nick Drake, even a new Buckely. A group in front of me are already decked out in his new merch, eyes teary.
He starts going rogue and playing the requests people are so desperate to hear. He can’t quite remember the words to Darkness of the Day, but is adamant to get it right.
He plays a few songs in between before trying again. Some of the words are replaced with hums, but those hums sound just as sweet.
He promises that he’ll return with a full band (up until now I haven’t even noticed it’s just him, the show is so grand). We’re skeptical that he won’t disappear for another five years, but grateful that we managed to catch him now.
Lucky enough to chat to him after the show, I ask if he has any profound quips to add, and he laughs that the lights in the Exchange are a little too bright (he was so sweaty he had to do a costume change).
Long live Isaac Gracie.
Main photo: Mia Smith
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