The queue for The Last Dinner Party at Bristol’s Prospect Building starts early and doesn’t really let up. It’s a different kind of crowd to most shows in the city, people dressed for it, leaning into the band’s world of corsets, lace and theatrical detail rather than just turning up. It feels closer to an event than a standard headline gig.
It wasn’t that long ago they we caught them playing The Fleece, a much smaller room just across the city – by the time it had been rescheduled after an initial comeback they were already way too big for that room but committed to us early fans.
Coming back now, off the back of From The Pyre, this feels like a clear step up. Bigger room, bigger stage, and a band that already knows how to fill it.
Support comes from Imogen and the Knife, who set the tone early with something darker and more restrained. There’s a tension running through the set that builds rather than breaks, and it works in the room. Midway through, Lizzie Mayland joins her for “Mother Mother”, the two voices locking together in a way that feels completely in step with what’s coming next.
After a short wait, the lights drop and The Last Dinner Party arrive to a wall of noise. The stage is already set, velvet drapes, archways, heavy lighting, even a church bell sitting above it all. It’s theatrical without feeling overdone, and it fits the band perfectly.
They open with “Agnus Dei”, going straight into “Count the Ways”, mirroring the album and setting the pace early. There’s no slow build here, they’re fully in it from the first note. “The Feminine Urge” follows and the front rows are already leaning over the barrier, shouting every word back.
What stands out straight away is how controlled everything is. The arrangements are dense, layered vocals, strings, guitars, but nothing gets lost. If anything, it all sounds bigger live. Songs like “Caesar on a TV Screen” and “My Lady of Mercy” carry more weight in the room than they do on record.
There’s space for smaller moments too. “I Hold Your Anger” and “Woman in a Tree” both land early on, giving the set a bit of balance, and showing off just how tight the harmonies are across the whole band. It’s not just Abigail Morris carrying things, everyone is contributing, swapping lead vocals and building that full sound.
Morris keeps the crowd engaged without overdoing it. There’s a moment where she spots a group at the front asking for help naming their band, something they’d clearly organised online, and the whole thing turns into a quick back-and-forth. She jokes about how The Last Dinner Party came up with their own name in the pub, and throws out “Milk Moustache” as a suggestion. It’s loose, but it works.
Later on, she talks about the band’s partnership with Banquet, raising money for food banks on the tour, with around £20,000 already raised. It’s a brief moment, but it lands, especially in a room like this.
By the time they hit “Nothing Matters”, the whole place is locked in. It’s the biggest reaction of the night, full singalong, no prompting needed. It already feels like one of those songs that’s going to stick around for a long time.
They close the main set without dragging things out, and the crowd immediately pushes for more. The encore comes quickly, opening with “This Is the Killer Speaking”, the band moving in sync across the stage, before finishing with “Agnus Dei (Reprise)”.
It’s a strong way to end, bringing things back full circle rather than just going bigger for the sake of it.
