The crowd that queues up outside the Leadmill from 2 hours before doors tells you what you need to know about the connection Cassy Brooking has created with her fans. It’s an eclectic mix of people – punk, emo, goth – all co-existing in a beautifully inclusive line, eagerly anticipating the run to the barrier.
Charlie Harman on drums and guitarist Tylr Rydr strikes the first power chord, hyping up the crowd, electricity through the room. From stage left, Cassyette bursts through the stage door, sprinting on to the Steel Stage at this iconic venue. You can immediately see the excitement in her eyes and it’s matched by the velocity of the opening number – Picture Perfect.
It’s the start of a frenetic 70 minutes or so, racing through a 15-song set, each number lifting the energy higher than the last.
It’s a full on sound, drawing on influences from hard rock, electronic dance and emo. It mixes something of old school rock, pop punk of Paramore and Green Day with something new, futuristic and modern. It’s a genre blending success story that connects people in so many ways. The sell-out crowd bounce and head bang to every song, shouting lyrics back in absolute adoration.
At 27, it’s taken a little while for Cassyette to break through, having released her first solo music in 2018. Last year was a breakout year though, Prison Purse and Petrichor – the tunes that close the show tonight – accelerating her into the spotlight. 2022 kept that momentum going with Mayhem, Sad Girl Summer and the latest release September Rain, blowing up on mainstream radio, the latter being BBC Radio 1 Future Sounds Hottest Record just this week.
Those newer songs bring a euphoric reaction from the crowd, midway through the set. Cassyette is on the barriers, standing high above her fans as they scream lyrics back at their idol. Throughout, there’s a smile on the face of the headliner, evidently loving the experience of being out on stage and up close with her fans. Her unbridled exuberance is infectious and the crowd are in the palm of her hand. They obediently separate on Cassyette’s command, before smashing back together, moshing in time with Tylr’s driving guitar.
Cassyette commands the stage, and talking to fans before the show, she was the standout support act on the MCR tour earlier this year, showing that she is equally at home on the stadium stage.
Those at the barrier tonight made the most of the opportunity to be so close. It’s a chance they may not get again, as this surely is the springboard that propels Cassyette to bigger things.
Set list:
Picture Perfect
Dear Goth
Behind Closed Doors
DieHateCry
September Rain
Falling Down
Mayhem
Bad Girl Summer
Like That
Delete You
Boyfriend
Dead Roses
Boom
Petrichor
Prison Purse
