Emerging into the indie-rock scene earlier this year with only three streamable songs to date – The Last Dinner Party invited audiences to a ground-breaking and effortless performance at The Welly Club in Hull earlier this week.
Not many bands can support the likes of The Rolling Stones and Florence and The Machine with no album and still become a household name for the causal BBC Radio 6 listener as well as the wider musical enthusiast population – but that is what this London-based Renaissance inspired five-piece has achieved in their short – yet breathtaking career. The band silences critics and misogyny – crushing rumours of nepotism and industry plant behaviour – by fuelling the lucky Yorkshire crowd with shredding guitar riffs and killer vocals – which proves the worth and talent of the band.
Supported by Picture Parlour – an up-and-coming group of slick rockers – already being compared to Alex Turner himself – prepare the crowd for a night of seamless guitar riffs and memorable moments. Stand-out tracks such as ‘Sawmill Sinkhole’, ‘Neptune 66’, and their debut single ‘Norwegian Wood’ enchant the crowd and warm up everyone’s dancing shoes. The laid-back and effortless stylings of the singer Katherine Parlour mesmerise – simultaneously mirrored by the hypnotic riffs of guitarist Ella Ris, bassist Sian Lynch, and hidden-in-the-back drummer Michael Nash. Leaving the stage in a blazing flare – anticipation rises ahead of the main set from The Last Dinner Party.
A triumphant and somewhat gothic theme plays as The Last Dinner Party take the stage – mirroring that of an emperor taking the spotlight in Greek and Roman times. Standing behind each of their instruments – draped in the gig theme of Grimm Folklore and Fairytales – lead singer Abigail Morris floats mythically onto the stage and belts the first song of the night – ‘Burn Alive’.
Back-to-back unreleased tracks fill the room – ‘Caesar on a TV’ and ‘On Your Side’ prove some of these – the crowd falls into silence as they listen to each note and lyric ahead of these songs one day potentially being released. Guitarist Emily Roberts solos ‘Beautiful Boy’ with her flute – guiding the rest of the band to fall into a choral and hypnotic vocal riff – similar to angels serenading from the gods above.
Aurora takes the spotlight for the next song – introducing ‘Gjuha’ as a song which replicates the feeling of her not knowing her mother tongue – Albanian – very well. Her powerful vocal expressions are allowed to shine amongst the band – allowing her to acknowledge her roots and the band’s support for Aurora. The ending of ‘Gjuha’ leads effortlessly into their second single – ‘Sinner’. A group of women push towards the front of the stage during the chorus and reach for Morris’s arm – which she takes and dances around with the crowd. The entire room in the dingy Yorkshire club vibrates as everyone jumps in unison to this ABBA-esque song about coming of age and attempting to understand sexual lust in difficult circumstances. The crowd chants: “Turn to the altar of lust,” as Morris twirls and spins around the stage – accompanied by rhythm guitarist Lizzie and bassist Georgia playfully mirroring each other’s movements towards the side of the stage.
Introducing another new track – ‘Second Best’ – highlights The Last Dinner Party as capable of a funk/soul-inspired anthem which plays alongside acapella harmonies. The entire room beams over how seamless and flawless the band is – there is nothing off about their performance – they gel together as artists. It is truly inspiring to see a group of musicians all playing to each other’s talents whilst individually shining.
Preparing the Hull crowd for a treat – Morris introduces a brand new song – ‘Big Dog’. Being the first time the song has been played live – the crowd cheers in excitement and anticipation. This big, powerful, and eccentric song appears as one of the band’s best yet – Georgia’s heavy base drowns the room as the lights flash red and the crowd falls into a trance.
“This one is about going to Catholic school,” the lead singer bellows as the clapping intro of ‘My Lady of Mercy’ brings a smirk across the faces of Lizzie and Georgia. This heavy and theatrical song leads the crowd to chant each word to the band perfectly. ‘My Lady of Mercy’ perfectly blends genres – similar to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen – and is covered head to toe in religious imagery – something The Last Dinner Party achieve gracefully. A stand-out moment of the entire set is when Morris enters the crowd into a mosh and screams into the faces of gig-goers – shocking to the causal listener – but for a die-hard fan – a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
The moment the crowd waits for approaches – ‘Nothing Matters’ – the entire room jumps and dances with the band. The admiration on The Last Dinner Party’s faces is visible – they are so proud of this empire they have created in such a short time. An uproar of cheers reaches extremely high decibels: the band takes their final bows and exits the stage to Dire Straits – ‘Money for Nothing’.
If you missed this gig – commiserations – there will never be another opportunity to see this band in such a small and dimly-lit capacity room as their success is about to skyrocket. With rumours of an album approaching and their almost sold-out performance at The Roundhouse in London next year – The Last Dinner Party are simply a triumph – mirroring the success of Kate Bush and Bowie whilst replacing the fashion choices of Victorians and mythical sea nymphs. A stellar and unforgettable performance.
