The Last Dinner Party present a theatrical gig for the senses that promises so much more than a live music set, one that can only really be described as performative art of the very highest caliber.
The weird and wonderful five piece took the London gigging scene by storm in the year preceding their first release: indulging in a process of performing songs live until they felt it had reached perfection, and then entering into the studio to record and release the evolved, tried and tested. Now on the festival scene, playing the likes of Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, and Isle Of Wight, with an upcoming UK tour in October The Last Dinner Party are very much on the rise
This string of gigs will go down as ones where the band were completely in touch with their authentic and innovative image; one that bassist Georgia Davies believes will evolve and change over time as they explore new avenues of music. She spoke about how the band values music and visuals almost equally. ‘We want our performances to be a spectacle!’
The band, draped from head to toe in Baroque frills and frocks, clamber fervently onto the stage as if it were a barricade in Les Misérables. Grasping their instruments as the lights fade up, lead singer Abigail Morris later recounting, ‘This is the most Dinner Party venue there ever was’, with royal red curtains drooping down on either side – it looks like a life-sized puppet show.
Morris reaches for the microphone then holds it delicately as if it were a dance partner of sorts, whilst the band start up with the opening chords to ‘Burn Alive’. Although an unreleased track, this hasn’t deterred the crowd’s familiarity with the song – they clearly must have scavenged the band’s archives on YouTube to acquaint themselves. The keys and drums carry along Burn Alive, the aching ringing of the guitars turn nasty to give the song a gut-wrenching punch.
Next up was Caesar on TV, a song about momentary greatness to attain frivolous approval. Morris stands on her tiptoes as she roars, ‘I felt like an Emperor!’ with godlike conviction that her stage presence has become known for. The song’s pacing was expertly done, calming down at just the right point for lead guitarist Emily Roberts to execute her jivey riff which, reminiscent of The Virgins. With backing vocals from Lizzie Mayland absolutely pitch perfect it was as if there were two lead singers on the stage – Mayland and Morris working in unison and harmony.
Further on in the set, Roberts swaps out her guitar this time for a flute to play Beautiful Boy, showing off multifaceted expertise – overlapping harmonies and the drums on this song make it one of the most finished of their unreleased material.
After Gjuha, written and sung by keyboardist Aurora Nischevi, the band pounce into latest single Sinner where the cult-round-the-campfire energy continues – all members haphazardly frolicking across stage, Morris kicking her legs in any given direction, as though she had become the puppet to the larger-than-life music working the strings.
Preceding the finale of the show, the band take a minor detour to play My Lady of Mercy – without a doubt the punkiest and heaviest track of the setlist, with Nischevi pulling out the keytar and bassist Davies stealing the show. A track that, upon release, will be urging the crowd into a mosh pit.
Closing out the set is hit debut single Nothing Matters, immediately apparent to the crowd from the first synth, before Morris’s quintessentially English voice echoes through the theater. Hands raise up all around as the crowd scream the words to the unforgettable chorus, Morris executes a deliberately breathy delivery on the bridge and Roberts shows off the most accomplished guitar solo of the set, playing almost nonchalantly. The show ends on one soaring high note from Morris, which must’ve rung pleasantly in the audience’s ears long after the venue cleared.
Words by Jack McMeechan
October Tour Dates:
- 8th – Blackpool, Central Library
- 9th – Glasgow, King Tut’s
- 10th – Newcastle, The Cluny
- 12th – Manchester, Academy2
- 14th – Leeds, Live at Leeds
- 15th – Hull, The Welly
- 17th – London, EartH
- 18th – London, EartH
- 19th – Cambridge, Portland Arms
- 21st – Cardiff, SWN Festival
- 22nd – Bristol, Fleece