This was a concert that had been on my watchlist since its announcement, which feels like years ago. It seems nearly impossible not to have heard of The Last Dinner Party. A true breath of fresh air to have a band like this dominate the live music and radio scene.
Their show at Leeds O2 Academy was a love letter to women and non-binary artists. The Feminine Urge to create, some may say.
The bill of artists for the night was stacked with powerhouse supports perfectly aligned with the vibe of the tour – Lucia & The Best Boys and Kaeto.
Leeds Living has been following Kaeto and their impressive collection of singles for a while now, so it was brilliant to see them perform live. During TLDP tour Kaeto gifted the world Intro, a mixtape released through Polydor Records. Written and produced by Kaeto, Intro was inspired by her time in Seville, described as “such an inspiring place to work and one of my favourite places on earth.”
Whatever she is doing out there is working, as myself and our photographer for the night, Mark Wheelwright, have been hooked on this since release.
The joy of artists like Kaeto, where they have so much creative input into the production side of their music, means it transitions so smoothly from the recording booth to onstage. A surprisingly tough thing to do in the electronic scene, is take such a sensitive, whimsy bedroom beat and have it hold its own and command so much attention in a huge venue like The O2 Academy. With cult classics such as I-D and Clash singing their praises, we knew the night was off to a great start if Kaeto was setting the tone for the evening.
What The Last Dinner Party did, that other artists don’t seem to do as much, was carry a continuous link from the second you walked through the door right through to the last note from the band. In Between artists, a score that sounded straight out of a golden age blockbuster would be playing. There were no hype songs to “get the crowd going”. Instead, an operatic symphony slowly made its way through the venue, building up to the headline moment.
Artists have come full circle at the moment, with bands being really strong on what their identity is; the second coming of New Romantics. Every artist we speak to has those reference points: your Chapel Roan’s, FKA Twigs – we’ve seen how well themed and conceptual art works at the moment.
Fans love an occasion to put their uniform on and say ‘this is my tribe’. The Last Dinner Party have (be that intentional or not) nailed it. The world they have created is one I very much want to be a part of.
As mentioned above, this was a utopia of feminine heaven. The outfits from the band and the fans were spectacular. A sea of mermaids, pirates, pixies and punks; all brilliant. The stage backdrop looks like a Phantom of the Opera meets a Rodarte/ Molly Goddard runway show love child. Every inch of the stage and night and clearly tour has been curated to be how the band wants and that’s brilliant.
As well as impressive opening acts, another special guest of the night and collaborations were Leeds Foodbank, where you could donate a custom amount to get a The Last Dinner Party ribbon. The ribbons were so lovely, not only did I get myself one, but also my little sister, a very accessible way of obtaining special merch for the evening and also helping out a brilliant local cause.
The Last Dinner Party also welcomed a host of local and upcoming talent with their collaboration with Girls Do Gigs. The Equal Opportunities project was an open invite for submissions to be photography and/or videographers for the show. You can check out the incredible talent chosen through (instagram) @girlsdogigs .
They say live music is a feast for the ears, but this show for The Last Dinner Party was a banquet for all senses. Well designed and priced merch (I came home with a lighter/bottle opener combo), a set list with hit after hit, vocals that nearly took the roof off the O2 Academy Leeds and pure joy of sisterhood, where each band member felt just as cherished, talented and embraced as the next.
Get these artists on your must-see list as I feel like they will not be playing a venue this size again.
I would also like to thank the staff of The O2 Academy Leeds for being visible and vocal on safety. I was asked when outside the venue on my own if I needed anything – well-being checks, and next steps after the show…as someone who was sober and not in need of any assistance, this took me by surprise, but that shows how proactive they are being regarding visitors’ safety, and in a big city with a lot of university freshers, those actions can save lives.
All photography by Mark Wheelwright.
