Bacchanalia Magazine

by Reb Jordin

Just nine days after the release of The Last Dinner Party’s debut album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’, I was delighted to experience the revelry of an album release concert. At Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, their mini tour drew to a spectacular end with an all acoustic set of their brand new album, bringing their cult-like audience into an even more intimate ceremony of celebrating feminism, sexuality, heartbreak and love. With fan favourite songs like lead single ‘Nothing Matters’ stripped right back to just lead vocalist, Abigail Morris’s ethereal vocals, the battle cry of a guitar trio played by Emily Roberts, Lizzie Mayland and Georgia Davies and Aurora Nishevci’s beautiful piano serenading an audience hungry for their lyrics of advice and experiences told through stories relatable to Shakespeare. The moment I stepped into the venue it was clear the show would be driven by the pleading voices of an audience drawing new meanings from songs they already deeply resonated and identified with, and the moment The Last Dinner Party stepped foot onto the stage it was clear they would transform a small 21st century venue room into a mystical tavern fit only for dreams and
fantasy.

Opening the show with ‘Beautiful Boy’, a sombre song full of the longing to be worthy of the love you crave but being held back by something so frivolous as gender, the audience is captivated from the start. Morris floats through spell like lyrics joined by her other band mates creating a kaleidoscope of a sirens call, forcing the listener to gift them with their whole attention for the
remainder of the concert. Closely followed by single ‘On Your Side’, the solemn atmosphere continues, a song about giving everything you have to a person who will never appreciate it, the audience is reminded of their past calamitous love affairs as the band bare their souls to the equally broken listener.

However, the festivity soon returns with single ‘Caesar on a TV Screen’, told in three parts mirroring the epic Shakespearean tragedies it draws influence from. Telling a feminist story of a woman being worthy of the hero title, Morris invites the audience to sing along to the lyrics of empowerment. Although this powerhouse song is somewhat toned down due to the acoustic backing, the meaning behind it is just as important and powerful and this moment allows the audience to hear them in their true form for the first time.

Leeds not being far from guitarist Mayland’s hometown, their single ‘Sinner’ hits even harder than usual. Singing the original version of the song fans have loved for months now, but with its discarded into further grows Mayland’s story of wishing to leave the small town in which they grew up in order
to truly taste the luxuries of the world whilst also being terrified that the comfort of their town will disappear if they betray it for the city. The audience is euphoric with their new insight into a vulnerable tale they already related too.

The show continues into the gothic ‘Portrait of a Dead Girl’ which weaves an ancient tapestry of feminine rage in the face of the absence of someone you deeply cared about who tried and failed to break you. The lyric change from ‘if anyone could kill me, it probably would be you’ to ‘oh, anyone could kill me, and I’d never ever let it be you’ leaves the audience ecstatic as they are invited to
resent the sometimes toxic nature of love for their own survival.

The concert is soon slowed down to accompany the haunting tones of ‘Mirror’, a song Morris revealed to have been written when she was seventeen and awash with teenage angst. A sorrowful atmosphere returns as the band reflects an experience of infatuation with being a mirror for the person you adores problems. The acoustic backing enhances the unearthly vocals and Nishevci’s piano is like a ghost song possessing the audience with its evocative notes. All together, ‘Mirror’ is a symphony that an audience can be captivated by.

‘Nothing Matters’ closed the show in a rapturous way, highlighting the community the Last Dinner Party have created within their concerts guestlists. Although not backed by the usual booming drums, fans still belted out the lyrics like nothing mattered.

So, after my second experience of being cordially invited into the smoke filled world of this truly amazing band, it is safe to say that In this ocean of both perilous and joyous metaphors a ritual of self-growth truly begins within the enchantment laced walls of a Last Dinner Party Concert.

So go and give their debut album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ a listen and purchase your tickets to their tours later in the year to truly experience the freedom of expression this young band creates.