The Last Dinner Party, and The Dinner Party before...

Some ramblings with a review

You are cordially invited to my review of The Last Dinner Party and The Dinner Party before that.

The Last Dinner Party (Oxford)

In May I saw The Last Dinner Party in Oxford. It was a solo event and enjoyed myself immensely, so indulge me in a quick hop down nostalgia lane:

I went to Oxford in the morning with my Dad, we ate at Molly’s Diner on the way up, and then had a walk around the centre. We did some writing at the Bodleian Library cafe amongst the students and their MacBooks, then went to our favourite shop in Oxford: Scriptum. Azeem who owns and runs Scriptum knows me each time I go in, even though I only make it up to Oxford a few times a year. He talks me into an expensive purchase, this time a £40 leather notebook too small to be any real use. I walked out feeling quite proud of my financial prowess, as I had almost bought the £90 notebook which was big enough to use.

My Dad left Oxford and I caught the bus to my hotel. It was a bit out of the centre, a bit shabby, a bit busy, but quite a bit cheaper than other hotels. Above all, it was pretty close to the venue where The Last Dinner Party were performing. I had time on my hands and a beautiful city to be in, so I rushed back to the centre and did my normal main character routine (read in the most beautiful place you can find and then go to The Ivy - The Ivy in Oxford is my fourth favourite of the chain).

I was working on a poetry sequence at the time centred around Diana, Goddess of the Moon and Hunting. The poems explored the changing relationship that humans have had with the moon over time. My first poem was a sonnet and focused on the idea of hunting and the intangible female muse. It was based on one of my favourite paintings The Hunt in the Forest by Uccello from the 15th Century. The painting is famous for its use of perspective towards a ‘vanishing point’ at the centre back. It was painted on top of a mathematical diagram, and the logs and tree knots point in the direction of the prey. The water on the right hand side also marks this angle. I love it because it has so much movement directed at a specific point, but that point cannot be seen - just as the muse of sonnets are rarely present in the lines. To hunt at night is of course impossible, which shows that the success is not the point. When viewed in person, the leaves on the trees shine with gold, as do the buckles on the horse’s bridles. If you look closely at these you can see the crescent moon symbolising the Goddess Diana. The moon is not present in the painting and it is likely that it is the goddess herself that is being hunted. The painting is huge, and was made for a private client’s house, likely the bedroom, perhaps as a wedding gift. The more sinister undertone to the painting is (as in many of the sonnets of the period), the capturing of Diana, who is also the goddess of virginity.

The gig was in The Bullingdon, a club that is not to be confused with The Bullingdon Club, venue of Cameron’s beastiality. As I walked in I saw a group of people in gorgeous dress, all velvet and corsets and flower crowns. I also saw my friend Georgia, which as a solo concert goer, I was very glad about. We had a few drinks whilst her boyfriend’s band Slow Country, who were supporting The Last Dinner Party, played. He was wearing a crop-top that said ‘Nothing Matters’, and sometimes sang directly at her. It was quite gorgeously romantic and standing next to her I could feel the connection between them in a way that feels soppy when I am writing but was actually just insanely cool to see in real life. I am not cool, and so neither are my points of reference, which is why I can only describe it as being similar to watching the main characters in Camp Rock or Hannah Montana, as one gets on the stage and performs to the other. It was delicious seeing her live her main character life.

Then there was a break and I chatted to Georgia, so much in fact that Georgia said ‘Shit I need to get on’. Did I mention Georgia is the bass guitarist in The Last Dinner Party? Well, now you have a sense of just how cool a main character she is.

The Last Dinner Party were sensational in both Oxford and in the bigger London venue, but there was something about being so close in Oxford, and with so many fans who knew the words and dressed extraordinarily well that made it captivating. Their sound blends Florence and the Machine with something more old school, the electric guitar is heavily influenced by Queen and the gentle opening of Nothing Matters (below) has echoes of Abba. A blend that is entirely unique to them. Lyrically and aesthetically they derive much from Catholicism, both the drama and solemnity of it and the rebellion from it and joy in sexual freedom. This dichotomy is encapsulated in ‘turn to the altar of lust’, which is screamed by the crowd in the middle of Sinner, my favourite of the three singles released so far. Playing The Last Dinner Party loudly makes me feel powerful and a bit like the Goddess Diana, existing in a world of

violence and patriarchy but actually a fucking celestial object who at night in the right circumstances, feels as though they can rise above it.

Sinner - Spotify

See videos from the Oxford gig below.