Casey’s tour has reached the penultimate date, selling out Birmingham’s The Asylum 2 days prior to the show.
Ontario based band RARITY (7.5) did well to warm up the filling venue. From the start, it’s clear that the five piece have a fanbase, with a clear connection between the band and audience being formed almost instantaneously. One of the strengths of their set was communication, using their performance to spread a positive message of mental health as well as producing an energetic performance, playing on top of the barriers and even encouraging moshpits among the crowd. While their set may not have been the most memorable of all, they performed a well-practiced, energetic set to start off the evening.
Coming all the way from Australia, ENDLESS HEIGHTS (7.5) brought a different approach to the musical coagulation of the night. Bringing a more melodic hardcore, emo crossover, their set was far less rampant/angsty, but instead flowed smoothly through the set. While the slight change in style may have thrown audiences ever so slightly, this didn’t hinder the energy on stage in any form. If anything, the lower use of between song talks helped the band keep their carefree, enjoyable style on stage and amongst each other. Endless Heights took advantage of their stage time and definitely did it well.
Embarking on the penultimate date of their EU/UK tour for ‘Where I Go When I Am Sleeping’, CASEY (9) showed just why they can sell out shows. Despite being an album promotion tour, the setlist was well balanced across tracks from their latest album, ‘Love Is Not Enough’ and ‘Fade’ creating a perfectly mixed balance for fans new and old.
Creating an atmospherically ambient sound in a recording is hard enough, but replicating such a style live is another factor. Yet, from the slow ambiance of opener ‘Making Weight’ to the atmospheric instrumental bridge track of ‘Where I Go When I Am Sleeping’, the same feel was captured almost flawlessly throughout the venue. Yet, be it the lighter side of tracks such as ‘Bruise’ or heavier releases such as ‘Fade’, energy amongst the audience and band refused to dip. Despite reaching the end of a twenty-date tour, the energy was the strength of an opening show, with no sign of slowing down at any point of the set.
However, there wasn’t the best communication in-between songs. While there was the odd talk at times, it was mainly down to the music to create a connection between the two sides of the audience and musicians. On the other hand, this amplifies the power Casey truly have at spreading an emotion, a message, even a story across to the audience without even using words or lyrics in their tracks.
Development is also a factor noticeable in Casey’s performance. incorporating ‘Hell’ and ‘Teeth’ from debut ‘Fade’ it’s not only clear that they’ve improved in performance over time, but musically and in a way that they can still appreciate their old music just as much as the new. Even playing different material such as ‘Phosphenes’ and ‘Fluorescents’ from their latest album, each song has the same level of energy, determination and effort put in and is just as appreciated by fans, an aspect that can sometimes cause a noticeable change. In the end, finishing on old favourite ‘Little Bird’, the band put a great closing end to the second to last date of tour, clearly more than satisfying audience members at the same time.
Casey are building up fast. Selling out eight of twenty shows in places they’ve never even headlined before is quite an achievement for a building band. Make sure to catch these guys touring across the year; this is not the last you will hear of them.
EUPHORIA OF BREAKDOWN 