The Last Dinner Party are sinfully spectacular at TRNSMT
by Matt Bower Kail
As the first notes of the keyboard intro to ‘Burn Alive’ ring out, Abigail Morris steps out onto the King Tut’s stage at TRNSMT. Sporting a glorious detailed royal blue dress, somewhat reminiscent of a Renaissance-era Venetian tunic, a large buckle swashbuckling belt and stacked heel boots: she is every part the frontwoman. The singer crosses the floor with a graceful captivating feline charisma, her flowing movements seeming almost (but not quite) choreographed. Moving as she performs, she winks at her bandmates and dances around them like a sprite.
This comfort and spirit of fun between the members of The Last Dinner Party is obvious throughout the set and undeniably refreshing to see in an age of wooden clockwork performances from other bands. With their brilliant raucous energy and the visual aesthetic of a twisted orchestra, they are frankly a dying breed of artist.
Before launching into fan favourite ‘Sinner’, lead guitarist Emily Roberts took up a mandolin and with the help of backing vocalist Lizzie Mayland, they together cast a spell on the audience with a truly bewitching balladeer harmony. This beautiful quiet moment was quickly juxtaposed as the group performed the thunderous rock chorus of the track – a standout moment, rich in addictive melodrama.
During ‘My Lady Of Mercy’, a song described by Abigail as being “about catholic school” the band’s tight musical ability was on full display. With its instant raw transitions from the sweet heavenly verses to a pagan rock chorus, made complete with a transcendent harmonic climax, the song’s performance was breathtaking.
Abigail's comfort in front of an audience and natural crowd work was clear from the start. In coy sultry fashion, she introduced an unreleased track ‘Second Best’ by saying:
“We missed you Glasgow, you are definitely a group that deserves to hear something special.”
After this performance, she joked, “No good deed goes unpunished,” before asking the crowd to shout out a particular lyric as they played their new song. ‘The Killer’ was a wild Roxy music-style musical rollercoaster ride.
Closing of course, with an electric performance of their smash hit ‘Nothing Matters’, their set proved once again that The Last Dinner Party have mastered the delicate balance of light and shade necessary to have a crowd constantly on their toes. Watching them was a captivating, unpredictable and seductive experience. Though their audience can never be quite sure what is to come next, the one certainty is that it will be satisfying and memorable. We look forward to seeing what they have in store for us. And hopefully next time they will grace the main stage “cough TRNSMT cough*.