The Last Dinner Party at Festival Hall

22 July 2024

Singer-songwriter Tia Gostelow graces the stage with her danceable folk-rock sound filled with catchy hooks and dreamy vocals. She confesses that she’s never worn heels on stage before but pulls them off like a pro without falling over and rocking a tartan skirt with a red ribbon in hair.

Powering through her hits including Strangers, Spring To Life and a glowing brand new song too, Gostelow’s hypnotic and soulful vocals command the audience’s attention and brings the stage to life.

Prelude To Ecstasy plays over the speakers to welcome The Last Dinner Party to the stage. The classical overture cordially invites us to join their debaucherous performance complete with baroque aesthetic and musical style. They waste no time in getting started with the haunting opening track Burn Alive, loaded with explosive choruses, soaring falsetto and crescendo.

“Good evening, Melbourne, we are The Last Dinner Party,”shouts Abigaille. Together the five-piece girl group) plus a touring male drummer) all bring something unique to the stage, showcasing their exceptional musical talent and individual flair. From Abigaille’s impressive lead vocals to Emily’s incredible work on lead guitar, flute, and mandolin, they each shine and bring their distinctive renaissance rock sound together perfectly.

Playing the entirety of their debut album live for the first time in front of a Melbourne audience, they conjure up inspiration from their favourite romantic poets and gothic novelists, combined with the glam rock and new wave from the likes of Kate Bush, Queen and David Bowie, to deliver an exceptionally charming performance with euphoric melodies, emotive lyrics and authenticity.

By their second song Caeser On A TV Screen, we see themcompletely in their element having so much fun on stage with natural chemistry doing what they do best. They form a circle with their instruments as if they’re casting a spell on their audience.

They interrupt Feminine Urge to reveal a banner at the back of the stage that unfolds mid-song announcing, ‘Georgia’s homecoming 24’. “Welcome home bitch!” Shouts Abigaille before continuing the song. “Music has brought me back with my lovely British friends here,” says Australian bassist Georgia, who encourages us to be as loud as humanly possibleto get them to come back again soon. Having previously been on the cancelled Splendour In The Grass 2024 lineup, they hint at a possible future return to our shores sooner than later.

Halfway through their show they reach the portion of the set they like to call the ‘weeping hour.’ “If you’ve come here with any grief, a breakup or a bad day, now is the time to get out all your wailing and sobbing out. Because you’re not gonna have any time for it later as we’ll return to our scheduled program of violence, dancing and sex so no tears then,” says Abigaille. They continue with Beautiful Boy including a stunning flute intro from Emily.

They include two covers tonight including Chis Isaak’s Wicked Game and the super quirky Sparks’ hit This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us. It’s only their second time playing this cover so it’s a real treat for fans.

Keyboardist Aurora showcases her Albanian heritage with a song called Gjuha which means tongue or language in Albanian about feeling ashamed about not knowing her mother tongue very well. The spellbinding, heart-wrenching piece transitions into their next song Sinner with a staccato piano chord ready for a dance.

We join them for a singalong by sharing our lungs, our souls and throats on Portrait Of A Dead Girl and Mirror before a brand new song they claim as a silly, fun one called Godzillathat’s a heavy rock’n’roll anthem to shake things up.

It gets a bit rowdy when Georgia does a swig of a goon bag that lands on stage then Abigaille does a shooey. “I feel alive!” She shouts, before launching into their next song about going to catholic school.

Nothing Matters serves at the final song without an encore and it’s the perfect way to finish. If they hadn’t won over the audience by now, they’ve certainly done with this huge number and continuing to gather a fanbase guaranteed to keep attending their dinner parties with future performances.

Words by Michael Prebeg

Behind the lens: Joshua Braybrook