Four years is a long time to hold your breath. But as Casey returned to headline stages for the first time since 2021, a sold-out Key Club in Leeds let it all out at once, and the walls felt every single second of it.

Words & photos by Katy Shewan (@katys_studio) | Mar 30, 2025

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The Key Club in Leeds is one of those venues that completely changes depending on the night. The last time I’d been there, I was shooting a wee Scottish band to a crowd of maybe 30 people – loads of space, easy to move around. This time? A completely different story.

By the time the first band started, the room was already filling fast. By the time Casey was due on, it was packed tight. Walking out at the end to streams of people spilling into the street really put it into perspective. It suited the night perfectly. Intimate, intense, and exactly the kind of space these bands thrive in.

Mirrortalk opened with a slower, more emotional tone. Tracks like Disgrace and Circle the Drain leaned into softer, more controlled vocals before building into something heavier, while Real Love stood out for the way it grew – starting gentle before the drums kicked in and the vocals pushed further. There was a natural flow to the set, really felt that you were jamming with the band, they would play long instrumental sections together with songs like Decay and Clarity letting the band sit in those moments before shifting gears again. By the time Things I Don’t Feel closed things out, the room had properly settled in – not explosive yet, but fully locked in.

Then came Lastelle, and for me this was a long time coming. I’d missed them at a few shows and festivals before, so finally getting to see them – and this close, in a room like this – felt worth the wait. I stayed planted at the front the whole time.

The shift was immediate. Where the opener eased people in, Lastelle pulled the room forward. Tired Eyes had the crowd swaying and shouting back, while during Bitter Seeds, vocalist Adam Rigozzi split the crowd, clean down the middle, the frontman pacing the gap before the drop hit and the pit collapsed in on itself. That balance between control and release ran through the whole set. 

Their set felt personal. Not just in the music, but in how they handled the room. Vocalist Adam barely stayed still – constantly at the edge of the stage, leaning into the crowd, making eye contact, pulling people in. At one point I ended up taking a photo of a fan right at the front, fully singing every word back with Adam. After the set I told her I’d send it over and found out she’d actually gotten engaged during Lastelle’s Download set last year. Suddenly that photo meant way more than just a gig shot.

Of course they close their set with Breath Me In which is the track most people discovered them with, seeing Mike Hayden deliver those vocals whilst playing drums live – it’s a talent that drew me into this band, and after this show and the kind of connection this band creates – you can’t help but be in awe. And in a room like this, you feel every bit of it.

By the time Casey stepped on stage, the atmosphere had shifted into something else entirely. This wasn’t just a headline set – it felt like a release.

It’s been four years since their last headline tour, and even early on there were reminders of that. A quick joke about already being knackered on night two got a laugh, but it also made everything feel more human. Less polished, more real. Half the room hadn’t seen them live before, but you wouldn’t have known it once the set got going.

The energy didn’t explode straight away – it built. Song by song, the room got louder, more involved, more emotional. The heavier moments brought bursts of movement and pits opening, but it was the singalongs that really defined it. Entire sections of the crowd shouting lyrics back, voices cutting through the mix.

This tour is built around their album How to Disappear, which was released back in 2024. Even with that gap, the connection to the material clearly hasn’t faded – if anything, it’s grown.

Tracks from the record sit comfortably alongside earlier material, Puncture Wounds To Heaven really stands out live, bringing the first big bursts of movement from the crowd. There’s a real balance across the set – heavier moments sitting next to more emotional ones – with songs like Bruise landing in that space where the room goes quiet just before everyone shouts the words back. 

When the band started to play Bruise, Tom Weaver missed his vocal cue. The kind of thing that could throw someone off, but instead made it feel even more real. He laughed it off, giving himself “a bit of grace” – the first time that’s happened since 2017, apparently – and carried on. It didn’t break the moment. If anything, it reminds us we can all make mistakes but have grace to forgive and keep going.

There’s something about Casey’s music that sits in that space between vulnerability and release. Lyrics that dig into something heavy, paired with the option to either stand still and feel it, or scream it back and let it out. And Leeds did both.

The last stretch is where it all properly kicks off. Louder, heavier, no holding back. Teeth into Hell into Little Bird and suddenly the whole room’s moving – pits going, voices gone, everyone fully in it. Not every show needs to go full chaos from the start. Sometimes it’s better when it builds, and this one really did.