LIVE FROM THE PIT: Lastelle, Blight Town and Displacer

Hailing from Oxfordshire, atmospheric post-hardcore band, Lastelle, spent the last night of their Exist tour in the darkened Room 3 of Corporation in Sheffield, closing out the nine date run with an evening of sad songs, heavy screaming and lots of crowd participation. Best known for their lyrics confronting the ‘emotionally uncomfortable’ with lines about the struggles of facing loss, living with neurodivergence and the art of discovering yourselves, Lastelle made a cold, Friday night in Yorkshire all worth the while.

Local support, Displacer, a newly formed emotional hardcore band hailing from Sheffield, warmed up the crowd with their powerful mix of choruses full of aggressive vocals, big breakdowns, blending with their emotional delivery. 

Nottingham based Math-infused UK post-hardcore band Blight Town followed next, with a few fans making their presence known in the crowd, singing along to every word; both to the clean vocals from the lead vocalist and the heavier vocals provided by the drummer due to a ‘fucked voice’ from the front man. What he lacked in what we assume are usually much stronger vocals, he made up for in some melodic movement across the stage, and stating that ‘Sheff crowds go mad’, which was about to become apparent once Lastelle graced the stage. 

Headliners Lastelle are quickly finding their audience amongst the UK scene, as well as further afield, where they are drawing comparisons to other bands like Welsh wonders Holding Absence and Casey, and gathering an army of fans in their wake. Performing with ‘EXIST’ signs hung above the crowd, it was only right that the band opened their set with the song ‘Exist’ from the recently released EP Exist Vol. II. It didn’t take long to see why the band are making waves within the scene.

With drummer, Mike Hayden, bringing back up vocals alongside lead vocalist Adam Rigozzi, the small but packed room started to really get into the sound we were hearing. The band slammed out track after track after track, with the crowd matching the energy of the band in complete harmony, which Rigozzi encouraged by stating ‘Sheffield, I wanna feel your energy’.

Continuing with the set list of absolute crowd pleasers, some even featuring a surprise flugelhorn, Rigozzi let the masses know that though he had ‘come to sing some sad songs’ there would of course be some fun ‘“Having fun at a Lastelle gig, who would’ve thought it?!’ Spending a large amount of time on top of speakers, peering and singing into the crowd, encouraging those on the edge to get involved, Rigozzi jumped into the crowd, ready to ignite the inevitable moshpit.

With fan faves ‘Coping Without a Cure’, ‘Tired Eyes’ and ‘Pine’ bringing Rigozzi and the crowd closer with each line, the front man never seemed to tire of the full on engagement from the congregation. At one point during the evening, the band let us know that a music video was being recorded that night, which only made the atmosphere even more intoxicating and energised, even with the introduction of a slow mosh. 

Surprisingly, it took until the final song of the night ‘Breathe Me In’ before the well loved but potentially overdone ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire’ chant came out to play, but the night ended on a high with the entire crowd, be they a fan of old or new, chanting the words back at Rigozzi. 

Closing out this tour in Sheffield was definitely a choice well made for Lastelle; from the neverending crowd participation, the typical Yorkshire energy, and the venue choice adding the cherry on top. The bands new EP Exist Vol. II is out now and you can catch them again at Alt-Fest in Cardiff on 28th November before they head out to Europe in January.

Words: Lou Viner-Flood

Photos: James Smyth