Before even stepping inside Victoria Warehouse, the evening’s theatricality has commenced.
Huge flashes of sheet lightning illuminate the queue between intermittent showers. TLDP’s hardy fans brave the weather and a bit of rain is nothing to the best-dressed crowd in the country – people have gone all out, with gorgeous flowing dresses, ribbons and all manner of finery. It’s Saturday night in Manchester and the atmosphere is already crackling as people make their way into the huge space.
Kaeto opens the show with a short set of mighty bangers. Pop-infused trip-hop and dreampop stylings make for a wonderful opener: Kaeto is on fine form in the early evening, bouncing about the stage with fantastic energy which infuses the growing crowd. Her tunes and stage presence are huge – Kaeto has all the makings of a future star.
Shortly thereafter Victoria Warehouse is treated to a mammoth set from Lucia & The Best Boys, who do exactly what they do best. Big, defiant, punky tunes with soaring vocals and sleazy guitars. The pairing of Kaeto and Lucia is perfectly picked, gearing the sizeable venue up for the main act.
By now, Victoria Warehouse is absolutely packed out: the room is full of young women, who make up the majority of the ‘pit’ area in a refreshing sea change from most band shows. It’s notable just how committed The Last Dinner Party’s crowd are: several have been queueing for hours to make a mad dash to the barrier, and as their heroines take to the stage, the noise is extraordinary and it ripples from the barrier all the way to the bar. TLDP emerge triumphant and resplendent: this tour has a different feel, with higher production values allowing a multi-level stage set up, a grand piano and some brilliant Last Dinner Party-styled banners hanging from stage left and stage right.
Abigail Morris is the last to emerge: the band have begun to play ‘Burn Alive’, which is fantastically dramatic in its sound, and the theatricality suits the band, and Morris down to the ground. She bounds on, running her hand through the TLDP banner and making it to her mic right on queue for her opening lines. ‘Ceaser on a TV Screen’ is a highlight, as is ‘Second Best’, an unreleased number which has been a set staple over festival season: ‘Second Best’ is TLDP at their brilliant best: emotive and wrought, but it’s a driving rock banger which allows the band to go a little harder into full-blooded, rock tunes.
There’s a brilliant rendition of Catherine Howe’s ‘Up North’, which sees guitarist Lizzie Mayland take on vocal duties before we’re back into cuts from the band’s debut, Prelude To Ecstacy. The usual back-to-back of ‘Gjuha’ into ‘Sinner’ goes down an absolute treat – the band have been touring this material relentlessly over the last eighteen months, but there is no suggestion of fatigue or boredom here. TLDP are on top form tonight and as Morris bounds about the stage, writhing and dancing to the adoring screams of their crowd, the sheer talent on display here is abundantly clear. The band are so consistent in their quality, with every single note in perfect place: their songs sound robust and muscular in such a big room.
We get another superb cover, this time Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ gets the TLDP rock n roll treatment: it’s swiftly followed by ‘Mirror’ from the debut, which features a blinding solo from multi-instrumentalist virtuoso, Emily Roberts (who is also on mandolin and flute duty). This heavier trio is closed out with another new tune, ‘Big Dog’, which is the high watermark of the set. Once again, it’s posturing, swaggering rock from TLDP with massive hooks, crunchy guitar and boisterous percussion. This could be a glimpse into album two, where we could see TLDP eschew the floaty dresses for leather jackets and biker boots: it’s a sound that suits them down to the ground.
‘The Killer’ is another suitably rocky new one to open the encore, then of course, the house is brought down with ‘Nothing Matters’. There has been a lot of hype around this band for some time now, but with their new material blending so well with the songs from the debut, The Last Dinner Party are more than justifying their reputation. Each unreleased cut sees the band blossoming into new influences, new sounds and brilliant new territory: if you thought The Last Dinner Party were one trick ponies, think again.
featured image: Cal McIntyre
