Ciara Purton recalls her experience of seeing The Last Dinner Party in concert.
Image: Megan Crombie
You wouldn’t think that when God sends down his angels, they would arrive in the form of an indie rock band and their killer opening act, but this is what I found to be true when I went to see The Last Dinner Party in concert. As a long-time fan of the British indie rock band The Last Dinner Party, their concert at the Brighton Centre last December was highly anticipated and certainly did not disappoint.
Their debut album “Prelude to Ecstasy” was a resounding success, shooting them headfirst into stardom and earning them several awards such as the BRITS Rising Star 2024, BRITS Best New Artist 2025, BBC Sound of 2024, and the Rolling Stone UK Rising Star award 2023. “From The Pyre”, their sophomore album, was released on the 17 October 2025 and has since built on their fame. Both albums encompass the feeling of feminine rage and divine decadence, with recurring themes of religion, sex/erotica and romance. These two albums are incredible projects, perfectly brought to life by the band on tour.
The air going into the venue was electric. Crowds of fans dressed to the nines, an overflowing merch stand, and the typical pre-concert buzz radiating in my bones. Doors opened at 6.30, so my cousin and I arrived at the venue around 7pm not wanting to stand around for an eternity as the opening act was set to come on at 7.45 and the band itself at 9. We perused the merch table, however -despite being on the more reasonable side of merch prices- were shocked by the cost of a single t-shirt. Whilst there were cheaper souvenirs, we were -at the end of the day- poor, jobless, students.
I -the fool I am- bought standing tickets, and anyone whose bought these tickets before knows that it’s usually a total scam. Unless you’re camping outside the venue for hours before doors open, chances are you won’t see a thing – except maybe the big screen that the comfortably seated fans are also watching. My expectations for my view were low, so you can imagine my shock at easily securing a place 5 rows from the stage. Even better, I was met with (for the most part) the most respectful crowd I’ve ever been a part of. Entirely unlike the aggressively squished crowds of Sabrina Carpenter at Hyde Park or the pack party of Hozier at Finsbury Park. My own personal heaven.
If you ever want to hear the most gorgeous screams of rage, try listening to Imogen and the Knife. Before attending the concert, I had checked out the opening act on Spotify and I would advise doing this if ever you attend a concert or festival – think about it, would you rather see one artist you like or two? Whilst her songs did not originally stick out to me, she certainly has her own sound that well accompanied The Last Dinner Party’s music. However, seeing her live was an unreal experience. It is rare that an artist sounds as perfect as the studio recording, and even rarer that they sound better, but Imogen certainly surpassed my expectations. Whilst all her songs were incredible, ‘Mother of God’ hit me in a way none of the others came close to. It’s the kind of song you want to belt in the shower, letting out all your emotions. Her voice was absolutely stunning and her band played incredibly – she’s definitely an artist I’ll have to see again.
Now onto the band itself. What. A. Show. I like indie music and I like rock music, but I love The Last Dinner Party. The air in the room was electric, everyone buzzing with anticipation for the show. The band began with Agnus Dei, a killer first song from their second album that immediately set the crowd on FIRE. The vocals were ethereal, especially that of the lead vocalist, Abigail Morris (the ultimate queen of eccentricity), who continues to act as evidence that God is in fact a woman.
The next song they played was my absolute favourite, Count the Ways. Having a favourite song is both easy and impossible: every song is so incredible that it’s so difficult to choose just one as the best. Watching the band perform was entrancing, and I felt like a cat being charmed by a group of singing, dancing, screaming, lamenting witches.
The skill that they display is immeasurable, but what I find most impressive is their ability to cohesively work together. Every single member had their moment to shine, and they are able to come together perfectly as a band. This is extremely clear at the start of their song Woman is a Tree, where all instruments were put down, and the five band members gathered in a circle to harmonise in the most magnificent, celestial, enchanting manner possible.
The song Gjuha is one that I was really drawn to after hearing it live. It’s a song from the band’s debut album but had never really stuck out to me. The song is entirely in Albanian and sung by Aurora Nishevci, who wrote the song to express her feelings of shame at not knowing her mother tongue well, naming the song ‘Gjuha’ meaning ‘language’ in Albanian. Hearing this song live, I was able to resonate my own feelings about not speaking Irish (like half of my family does) with the message of the song. It has since motivated me to start learning the language and connect more with my heritage. And of course, this beautiful epiphany of self-discovery was interrupted by my cousin gracefully informing me that she wanted a banjo.
After a phenomenal set of spectacular songs that had the crowd roaring with delight, all eyes glued to the stage, the band brought attention to the charity F.E.A.S.T who they were helping to raise money and resources to supply low income households in the UK with food, and encouraged everyone to purchase a ribbon from the merch table to help support their mission.
The show concluded with a moving message from the lead singer, Abigail, to all the young adults and students in the crowd: “Don’t listen to anyone telling you that you don’t have power. You have the most power of all. You’re in charge of the future.” And then she launched into a high-energy, nonstop-dancing, raising-the-roof rendition of This is the Killer Speaking and a reprise of Agnus Dei, before the swarm of fans was released to the streets of Brighton. The perfect concert with the perfect end.
