The Rockwell, a dimly-lit theater stashed under a bar in Somerville, hosted BIG SPECIAL, a powerfully voiced, UK-based band of two on Dec. 8. In the intimate room, fans rose to their feet and clustered around the stage as the duo stepped out.
In their second-ever headliner show in the United States, BIG SPECIAL celebrated their two album releases of 2025, POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES (Deluxe) and NATIONAL AVERAGE. Stacked with bluesy bass, insistent drum beating, and all-consuming vocals, the tracks that make up these albums are best listened to live.
Unfortunately, a significant delay, due to issues with their track player, kept crowds waiting. Despite this, the pair were in high spirits and, through their British banter, got everyone laughing about the mishap.
While the stage team worked on troubleshooting, BIG SPECIAL performed an a capella version of their pounding anthem, “BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC.” On a platform a few inches off the ground, Joseph Hicklin spoke the verses mere inches away from the faces of audience members.
Hicklin stomped and prowled around the stage like a caged animal as poetry spewed from his mouth. Even without its usual instrumentation, the weight of the song was still felt by the crowd as Callum Moloney beat his drum kit to illustrations of the post-industrial state of the Black Country, their home region in the West Midlands.
“With dirty children, off white angels kicking feral pigeons / And picking up half-smoked nub-ends / Taught to never look up and scour the ground,” Hicklin sang.
For the next song, Hicklin, the frontman and lyricist of BIG SPECIAL, picked up his electric guitar and planted the mic stand in the middle of the audience. The crowd twittered with excitement—they knew they’d be witnessing more special, stripped-down performances.
After emotional performances of “DRAGGED UP A HILL (and thrown down the other side)” and “iLL.,” Hicklin introduced “Hometown Blues,” an unreleased song which he had recently been practicing frequently in his free time.
“It’s about where I’m from, but it’s probably like where you’re from—it’s one of [those songs] if you know what I mean,” Hicklin said.
Blue light doused the misty-eyed audience and Hicklin as he sang of worn-out people in a worn-out town. During this raw moment, BIG SPECIAL showcased their talent in musical styles beyond their renowned punk sound.
Despite thoroughly enjoying the concert up to that point, the audience was still delighted when the track player was fixed. BIG SPECIAL officially began performing the promised set.
Determined to deliver the unforgettable performance their audience came for, Hicklin and Moloney transformed the theater into a circus ring. From spitting a mist of water onto the front row viewers to vocalizing with the microphone head held in his mouth, Hicklin released an animalistic spirit, and Moloney gave him an ever-present beat.
As indicated by its name, the next song, “PLAINTIVE NATIVE,” contained intense commentary on the socio-political condition of a nation overrun by turmoil. Specifically, the lyrics zeroed in on the effects of this unrest on a citizen caught in the midst of it.
Its final line was chilling, “Another plaintive native / Sings into a smoking gun.”
Before beginning “TREES,” Hicklin cracked a joke about the availability of marijuana in the United States, setting up the premise for their penultimate song.
As BIG SPECIAL descended from the stage to be among the audience once again, the lights switched to a neon green wash. This time, proximity to the pair felt less intimate and more of an invitation to join in on the wild performance. For many people, this meant lively dancing and moshing.
Riveting and cathartic, “DiG!” finished off the pair’s set list. The audience was left with a sense of uplifting elation as Hicklin’s modern poetry gave way to thank-you’s and goodbyes.