Review: Cambridge welcomes back The Last Dinner Party
It’s not often that a musical act truly lives up to the hype, but in the case of South London all-female indie rock quintet The Last Dinner Party, the praise seems to be fully justified.
The intense press attention they were receiving a year ago has given way to a Rising Star gong at the 2024 Brit Awards, a number one album, Prelude to Ecstasy, positive reviews right across the board at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival, and now a wide-reaching UK and European tour, much of which is sold out.
Before the all-conquering band, whose music has been described as “gothic glam-rock” and “post-punk baroque pop”, among other things, took to the stage at the Cambridge Corn Exchange on Monday, 14 October, however, there were two support acts to get through.
I’m usually left feeling a bit flat by opening acts, but tonight’s two, Lucia & the Best Boys and Scottish singer-songwriter Kaeto, were excellent, the latter receiving a huge cheer when she came out on stage, indicating that much of the crowd - many of whom were dressed like their heroines The Last Dinner Party in flowing dresses, ribbons and the like - were familiar with her work too.
When it was time for the main event, the talented fivesome - plus a drummer named Victoria - came out to the strains of Prelude to Ecstasy, a sweeping orchestral piece which keyboard player/vocalist Aurora Nischevi revealed to the Cambridge Independent in an exclusive interview last year that she had written herself.
The piece made me feel that we were about to witness a piece of opera or musical theatre, not a rock gig, and to a certain extent that’s exactly what we got.
From guitarist Emily Roberts’ costume with angel wings, to bass player Georgia Davies’ beautiful long dress and ribbons hanging on the end of her bass guitar, from singer Abigail Morris’ frock coat and powerful Kate Bush-like vocals to rhythm guitarist Lizzie Mayland’s billowy blouse, this band is pure theatre.
The stage set-up was also quite theatrical, with banners and dreamlike imagery, an impressive light show and a raised stage set with a piano and drumkit at the top.
For the first two songs, Burn Alive and Caesar on a TV Screen, Aurora, Emily, Abigail, Lizzie and Georgia stood in a line at the front of the stage, Abigail commanding the space with her undeniable charisma and constant twirling around the stage.
The other band members were also clearly enjoying themselves. “Good evening Cambridge, thank you for having us, enjoy the show,” said Abi warmly, before launching into a superb cover of the Chris Isaak classic, Wicked Game.
This followed a sublime rendition of Beautiful Boy, one of my favourite Last Dinner Party tunes, on which the group’s harmonies truly soared. It’s an absolute gem of a song and tonight it was a real treat to hear it done live.
Another of my favourite Last Dinner Party songs is the tender On Your Side and that too was delivered with real aplomb.
Aurora, whose parents emigrated to the UK from Kosovo in the 90s, took over lead vocals on the atmospheric Gjuha, which she explained means “mother tongue” in her “native language”, Albanian.
Abi noted that it was “fun and funny” to the band that the last time they played Cambridge was nearly a year ago to the day, on 19 October 2023 (“my birthday!”), when they performed at The Portland Arms on the same level as the fans and with the monitors right in front of them. They’ve certainly come a long way since then.
She also spoke about the food bank charity Bankuet, for whom they’ve been raising money on this tour - and for whom they’ve raised £16,000 so far.
Other musical high points were Sinner and The Feminine Urge, though not all of the songs were top-drawer - Big Dog, for example, I felt was just noise.
At one point, Abi and Aurora conversed in southern American accents and Abi joked that the band would be going back to their “country roots” on album number two.
A country album from the Last Dinner Party - now that really would be something! I for one am definitely looking forward to seeing what the band do on their next album.
Abi has been known to make political speeches but thankfully there was none of that tonight - just a first-rate show, which finished on a high with Nothing Matters.
The song brought much of the seated audience members to their feet, even though personally it’s not among my favourites.
From The Portland Arms to pretty much selling out the Cambridge Corn Exchange in the space of a year, where will The Last Dinner Party be performing this time next year? The O2? Madison Square Garden?
On the strength of all they’ve achieved thus far, that seems a distinct possibility.
For more on The Last Dinner Party, visit thelastdinnerparty.co.uk.