Live Review: Cassyette, Academy 3, Manchester 15/09/2022
Still rising through the rock scene from Essex to beyond, Cassyette has brought her brand of out-there barrier-shaking alternative rock to the punk capital of the UK once again. Making her Academy debut, she goes above and beyond to show everyone that Sad Girl Summer is just beginning.
Opening the show is Kid Bookie, a London rapper with much promise and a great combination of collaborative pals behind him. Bringing the energy to the stage and the power to the people, he and his band of talented rockers managed to get everyone moving, jumping, and with himself included, moshing. Bigging up friends such as Slipknot’s own Corey Taylor - a musician he had found himself working with in recent years - and producing an intriguing cover of Radiohead staple ‘Creep’, it became a night of the artist proving he has what it takes to walk that line breaking up rap and rock. A fine line that’s only thinned out as time went by. Just makes one wonder how he will change things up as he grows bigger and more influential in his field.
After a short break, and the audience gathering their breath from the support slot that had just passed, it was time for the purple-hearted star of the show. Following her two-man band onto the stage, Cassyette introduced herself with a brand new, yet to be released track titled ‘Picture Perfect’. As a singer who has yet to bring out an EP or a full-length, there are many musical tricks up her vest-top sleeves and the crowd will be amazed and amused by them all. Following on is one of her biggest successes; the single that shot her to stardom only a year ago; the still oh-so-catchy ‘Dear Goth’. This won’t be the only appearance of such a track during this show, but this is the most tame it will ever seem.
She got the pits going during her more recent and arguably her more passionate singles, ‘Mayhem’ and ‘Sad Girl Summer’, and rightly so. The empowerment these songs hold cannot be measured in others Cassyette has yet to release or perform for the public, and that is hardly a bad thing. It shows more that she can command her crowd and bring out the excitement in everyone in that room. Hundreds of adoring fans, both of Cassyette and/or modern rock music, were bouncing and bopping and generally having a ball of it all.
Mayhem by name and by nature.
There were no signs of stopping or slowing down as the Chelmsford rock chick kept everyone going. She bared her emotions fused with her boundless adrenaline to every person in that room, and got her fans involved every step of the way. From inviting one of her fans Hannah onstage to take part in her song ‘Behind Closed Doors’ - originally duetted with Kid Brunswick - to standing at the barrier screaming her lyrics along with everyone before her, to even handing the mic to fans to let them belt their favourite words out in front of their idol. With a small-scale venue, she can still allow this intimacy between herself and her fans and it’s always a sight to behold as one party makes the other happy and vice versa. Cassyette would not be there without the fans, and the fans definitely would not be there without Cassyette.
Ending the night on a second rendition of ‘Dear Goth’, this time with harder kicks and a stronger sense of unity and power among the crowd, this was the best way to wind down the night. Opening and closing with an artist’s biggest track is a power move within this industry, as it shows the bravery to give everyone the same song but in two different times. With two different atmospheres. In two different contexts. Cassyette is not the first to make this move, but being one of the latest shows it’s a practice that is trialled and resulted in success every single time.
Cassyette’s live performances made everyone mad, but there was no sad girl in sight that night. Sad Girl Summer is just a name, but Cassyette is more than just a singer. Here’s to seeing what the 2020s hold for this shooting star.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
Photography by Sinead Ferguson
