The First Rebreather by Big Big Train live at The Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands, September 2022

Big Big Train are on tour in Europe in August and September 2023. Gig details and ticket links here: www.bigbigtrain.com
The First Rebreather was written by Gregory Spawton
Video director: John Vis / Geert Jan Schoonbeek
Camera operators: Meriam Verkleij / Rob Ditmar / John Vis / Geert Jan Schoonbeek
Video editor: Geert Schoonbeek - videOmega.nl
Sound engineer: Rob Aubrey
Monitoring engineer: Dammes Nienhuis
Lighting operator: Yenz Nyholm
Technics: Boris Stipdonk
Concert promoter: Arie Verstegen
Big Big Train:
Lead vocals, acoustic guitar & keyboards: Alberto Bravin
Drums & vocals: Nick D'Virgilio
Guitar: Dave Foster
Keyboards & vocals: Oskar Holldorff
Violin & vocals: Clare Lindley
Guitars, keyboards & vocals: Rikard Sjöblom
Bass & bass pedals: Gregory Spawton
Big Big Train would like to thank the crew and management at the Boerderij

[@lisawetton5539]

From the moment I experienced their first rehearsals with Alberto, my question about whether BBT should continue on were forever put to rest. Not only does Alberto’s voice have a solid place in Big Big Train history, but his willingness to respect and honour the great David Longdon is a testament to his integrity as a great artist in his own right. All Aboard for what will continue to be a memorable ride…

[@tomarthur564]

Lisa, You are gorgeous and I totally respect your comments. But while I would like BBT to keep rolling, I think Alberto is just a fill in. He is a talented musician but vocally he is a shadow of the man he replaced. I would have rather had Dave Kilminster from Tin Spirits fronting this band.

[@newstuff1107]

@@tomarthur564 I think it’s a bit rude for Alberto. David may be un-replaceable, but Alberto is a lot more than a shadow of him.

[@lisawetton5539]

@@tomarthur564 having read your reply both in the general comments and directly to me (for some reason), I may say with confidence that this train most likely will have no sadness leaving you at the station

[@tomarthur564]

Lisa, you are probably right. The train has not been the same since the departures of David, Dave, Danny and Rachel. Although the new new guy manning the keys is fantastic. Thanks for the feedback.

[@jasonjenkins6373]

the older you get the more you realise there isnt much point in debating subjective stuff. i actually typed another three sentences then decided to just delete them 😂 i like my genesis, i like my yes,my old and modern prog, i like the old vocals, i like the new vocals. havent quite decided what i think is best suited to this song but who cares anyway since its subjective and relative to me. for sure though, the vocals at 6:10 get a thumbs up from me!😀

[@tonyg3793]

After the tragedy and hardship that this band has undergone over the last few years, I really am amazed that they are actually still getting better. Wonderful! And bravo to Alberto for filling such big shoes.

[@kenfalloon3186]

Wow what a great band. Can't imagine how they've escaped my attention till now. KZbin keeps doing this to me. I love it.

[@TheJohnmb46]

Absolutely brilliant! That just personifies Prog in one song! Even my wife likes it!

[@SparyZWanTuhNayHo]

I love this guy's voice, Alberto's voice. I also love the fact that BBT did not try to find someone with a voice exactly like David Longdon's (RIP). These harmonies are really beautiful. Looking forward to their first album of new material with Alberto.

[@sapien5205]

Whenever I listen/watch BBT it is special and so emotional. After all this band has been through, incredibly it has emerged so strong and magnificent. Alberto in great voice and indeed the band harmonies are wonderful with so many involved. Oscar a great addition on keyboards. Owing to health issues I doubt I’ll see them live again but I’ll always support them.

[@wilkinsnl]

I was skeptical when I saw some of the first snippets of him performing with the band but man this solidifies it. I’m glad the train is back on the track.

[@francescocardella7438]

Bravo Alberto! Big Big train fantastici!

[@newstuff1107]

Wow, great song. A very good job from Alberto. Can’t wait to hear the new songs where HE is the original studio vocalist.

[@TheProgCorner]

Alberto killing it!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@tomarthur564]

Yeah killing it like a dead cat. He has a good voice but compared to Longdon, it is like having hamburger when you want a steak. They should have gotten the vocalist from Tin Spirits.

[@josecarvallo3384]

Triste...ya es otra banda...grande David Longdon...adios Big big train

[@billsaunders5717]

What an amazing performance of a classic song. Alberto is absolutely outstanding, just love this. Congratulations on producing something so special

[@Jordan-cd7zj]

BBT has been my favorite band since English Electric Part 1. Love it!

[@patrice8796]

Truly amazing! 👏👏👏 We really need a Blu-Ray of this concert 🙏🤞🙂

[@jreid641]

Now there's a good idea

[@brentheathersimons7042]

Totally agree! CD option as well please! It looks like this was a tremendous evening!

[@garryk1952]

You read my mind !!

[@HGphotography]

Actually it was announced earlier, but don't know what happens with this release, it's fully filmed and recorded was told before on twitter. Maybe the band have no that much cashflow. I suggest to follow the Marillion path, by crow-funding.

[@tonyvandergaag8765]

Patrice, i suggested this already in an earlier stage when another track from this fabulous concert was released (i was there btw ;)) but the answer i got from BBT desk was that it's too expensive for the band. So in return i suggested an 'official bootleg' release without fancy booklets or other things which could make it expensive or maybe a bandcamp thing to pre-finance a cd/dvd but that was not answered sofar...

[@vladimirsandtner4438]

Mr. Gregory Spawton, nice to see You! ❤

[@joseluizpaizjunior3907]

Fantastic rendition. DL's legacy is in good hands.

[@BrendanCasey]

That is tremendous. So much talent in a small space it's bursting!

[@jkl2000]

The whole band sounds (and looks) just great! Very powerful.

[@JeffCooper10538]

Bravo Alberto! Bravo BBT! ♥️♥️🚂

[@fabioconstantinescu3561]

C'è chi sale sul treno e chi scende, ma i Big Big Train restano un gruppo meraviglioso!

[@rjmdrum]

Great way to honor the last and move forward! Best wishes and we will be there to support BBT along the way!🎼🇺🇸

[@davidbarker77]

Sounding great, BBT! Looking forward to Canada gigs.

[@johncassidy3071]

First time seeing Alberto perform older material. While the loss of David's voice is present, I could adjust.

[@charlenetaylor5548]

Alberto belongs here, this is stellar. I miss David, but bands move and grow like individuals do. I think he's a spendid fit. I'd watch PFM videos hoping Alberto would get more time to shine on his own.

[@linneasaoirse]

Can't wait to see them next week in Stockholm. They sound so good here❤️ Heja Rikard!

[@erikleenhouts834]

What a band ❤

[@buffplums]

AMAZING!!!! Well done everyone spines tingling right to the silence at the end,,,, Alberto your voice just gets stronger … such a shame Dave F a ant be there for the tour but Maria will do Great. Despite all the good stuff that’s going on I do want to give a thought to dear Sarah and hope that she is doing ok these days, I can’t imagine it’s easy for her with everything that has happened and also to the memory of dear David L too, very much missed and you will never be forgotten and your amazing contribution to the band will always be remembered by so many I’m certain. ❤❤

This is absolutely gorgeous!!! What a fabulous band!! Alberto singing his heart out... Can't wait untikl August and the show in Gothenburg!! ❤❤

[@ealingschoolofdrums3692]

Great Vox !!!!

[@fmassieu]

Fantastic! Los mejores deseos en el tour 2023 para BBT y la incorporación de Maria Barbieri .. Excelente Alberto Bravin.

[@justinbeaney8168]

Fantastic. I’ve said it before but we REALLY need a CD, BluRay and vinyl box set of this show. Can’t wait for the Autumn tour.

[@richardsmith1487]

Fantastic, nothing more to say really.

[@JulesAtCumbria]

Isn't that brilliant? So much energy from the band (as ever) and boy! are they enjoying themselves? Really great quality filming and a performance to treasure. I really envy the Boerderij punters who get to stand - all the UK gigs seem to be seated and I need to mooove to BBT, lol😄💜

[@tonyvandergaag8765]

This (club)gig at De Boerderij was also the first one for the band in front of a standing audience!

[@bigbigtrainband]

@@tonyvandergaag8765 The Boerderij show was indeed the first indoor standing gig (since the 1990s given the early incarnation of the band). Outdoors the band performed at Loreley in 2018. We're looking forward to playing a mixture of seated and standing venues this year, including our first ever show in Italy which is an outdoors festival.

[@geoffjones4352]

Wow! Great performance!

[@MawcDrums]

Sounds amazing! Great work all!

[@TheAdventChronicles]

Nothing short of perfection all round.

[@kgordon855]

New singer is perfect, still excellent.

[@maxvinella941]

Brillant!

[@chrisotter401]

Just loved that little taster of whats to come. Looking forward to the Dvd release and maybe a few more tasters off the tour. 😃

[@vallaindigital]

OMG that was so good! One of my favorite BBT songs as well! Thank you so much for sharing 🥰

[@carolrogers402]

Fantastic!!! ❤❤❤

[@robcroft5930]

Brilliant!! The whole band, killing it! 👍👍 🙏🙏

[@artramos2880]

Great version! Can't wait for a new album with Alberto on vocals!!!

[@malcolmclarke3033]

Wonderful. Can't wait for Birmingham

[@danielmisz7262]

Sounds Still fantastic. 😮

[@johnbaligrodzki9672]

For a bit wondered how things would be. Now there is no doubt. This is superb!

[@tweedeldee8122]

Thank you! I love it! I've listened to that album so many times it just plays in my head now when I lay awake in bed trying to sleep.

[@alvinburrell]

Wow! just WOW!

[@rickeaston8963]

Yes. That hits the spot!

[@Chewyy]

awesome

[@EdZeroProg]

Excellent job guys! Sounds incredible

[@philiphurst831]

Good grief! That's just outstanding. Brilliant work on the sound mix, too. 👏👏👏

[@martinhaskell376]

It was a brilliant gig, so wonderful that it’s been captured so well!

[@gabitoprog]

You are so, so amazing!

[@ProgLiveMusicProjeKcts]

This was a great concert!!

[@rokamusica]

Amazing

[@grahamhowes6904]

We are at Cadogan Hall on the Wednesday - is it out of order to Hope EAST COAST RACER is on the menu?!

[@stuartwaby3081]

It would be great if they played this classic, sadly they seem to have left the classics behind. Would love a love rendition of Brooklands, they haven't played it yet! Also they only played The Underfall Yard on the Three Kings Place dates 8 years ago. Maybe difficult to play the more complex stuff without, Danny, Dave Gregory, Rachel and surely difficult without David too, at least we witnessed them at their peak.

[@bigbigtrainband]

@@stuartwaby3081 The tour follows shortly after the release of Ingenious Devices, which features ECR, Brooklands, Voyager and Atlantic Cable, so we plan to play at least one song from that album at most if not all shows in August & September. This year it's going to be a very different set list from 2022.

[@bigbigtrainband]

Set lists on the Tuesday and Wednesday nights are likely to be pretty different. Can't say more than that currently!

[@stuartwaby3081]

@@bigbigtrainband Great Stuff, looking forward to seeing this 😊

[@tonybayliss987]

@@stuartwaby3081 This is a classic and from last year so you can hardly say left behind and superbly done. Any band especially one that loses members and keeps making new music is going to lose some fans who just want them to stay the same. No danger of them losing me with performances like this - RIP David L but long live BBT.

[@carlosarroyo1802]

In a place where the river banks draw near Men work a heading to the west Where streams like giants' fingers close From the hills to the emptiness beneath To the depths of the mere Morning light Midwinter sun Underneath The river song In a place where the river banks draw close (Men break stone to make new ground) Light and air are hard down deep to find (Engines work to hold the water back) To the edge of the mere "Run boys run toward the light" "The river's in, the tunnel's in" Here she comes The sleeper wakes, ten thousand years She lay in wait for this Every night their dreams were filled With the fear (of the river breaking in) But this was not a river god This was something (rising from the deep) From the depths of the mere "Run boys run make for the light" "Save yourselves, the tunnel's in" Here he comes The first rebreather, like a mummer Like a souler Come to save them Rising up to the height of the river (river) At flood tide Engines fail, lost to the water As silence falls This man will walk into darkness One foot in front of the other Into the unsounded depths Of the heading Into the fifth circle of hell With no light to lead him home Man is all alone At the end... Watching the surface grow (quite still) Waiting for hope at the ninth hour Man all alone in the darkness Here he comes

[@jreid641]

Awesome!

[@nicok509]

1:19 Steve Morse👍🏻

[@gerardbassols5268]

Alberto does pretty well but given the so English-tinted music by BBT, they should have taken an English, or at least British, new singer. At any rate I'm really looking forward to seeing them at this same venue on August 2023, I already have the ticket 🙂

[@grahamhowes6904]

They get more and more multinational though Alberto Bravin, Italian, drummer Nick D'Virgilio, Italo American, guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom, Swedish, Fbassist and writer of much of BBT and founder Gregory Spawton, is Anglo Italian, violinist Clare Lindley, English, keyboardist Oskar Holldorff Norwegian and for the tour Italian guitarist Maria Barbieri!

[@claudiocisternas2920]

Not the same obviously, but still good! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@nicok509]

I miss Beardfish

[@ChrisLeeftink]

Nope...

[@Huskerguy316]

Genesis at home performs: Stagnation with the Moonlit Knight. At least try to be original

[@jakelm4256]

I’ve been afraid since we first got some sound bites of Alberto that his English would be distractingly broken. This unfortunately confirms it. Great singer, but doesn’t go very well with the heavily English-influenced music.

[@gazbert88]

There's always one .......close the door on your way out then.

[@graemeblack7850]

Yawn

[@jakelm4256]

@@gazbert88 oh my. Criticism. It’s so offensive.

[@OurFamilyInMotion]

To me, he sounds great. Love it.

[@tomarthur564]

He is not wrong.

[@tomarthur564]

The band is tight, but the vocalist is the weakest part of the band.

[@klemenskupper7028]

I think it's impossible to replace David Longdon vocally. Saw the show in Cologne in 2023. It was a really great concert, unfortunately without David!

[@pv_bassplayer]

Amazing!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽