The Last Dinner Party – E-Werk, Cologne; November 2nd, 2024
Sometime at the beginning of this year I had seen The Last Dinner Party on ZDF Magazin Royale and instantly liked them. When tickets for their tour became available, I didn’t hesitate and bought one for Cologne, then never got around to actually checking out their music. Therefore, I didn’t really know what I was in for when I finally went to their concert and just about ready for anything. It turned out to be a wonderful evening.
I got there a little after 17:00, surprised at how long the line already was. Judging by the blankets, a lot of people must have been there for hours. While we waited, we watched the huge line across the road where they started letting people in at 18:00 – by the time our doors opened, they still did not have everyone inside. I walked straight upstairs and was the first person there. Soon, some others joined me and I had people to talk to while we waited. I learned that there were going to be 2 support acts. The stage looked amazing with a bunch of pillars, a disco ball and the moon in the background.
The first support, Luvecat started at 20:00 – after a brief hello they started playing ‘Lipstick’ and I immediately liked them. I have no idea to describe their style, but I know that they drew me in. 🙂 From what I could hear, the lyrics were pretty cool and I enjoyed the music as well. The singer introduced herself and the second song – ‘Alien’. It was nicely different from the first one. We learned that Luvecat is from Liverpool and ‘Matador’ was their first single and is about “some strange nights in the city”. There were lots of cheers, people must have known the song. It was my favorite so far, very likely to get stuck in your head. Judging by the reactions of the audience, I can only assume this was not their first concert, but what do I know?
‘Love & Money’ was announced as a love song and ‘Bad Books’ described as one about causing trouble. That one sounded really cool – lyrics and music. 🙂 Considering the band had only released a few songs, they showed great variety. She introduced the band, then told us that ‘He’s my Man’ “is a murder ballad about a house wife, slowly poisoning her husband with arsenic” – right up my alley. There final song was ‘Dinner @ Brasserie Zédel’ – it started slow with only an accordion and picked up speed later. Great song to end the set with. I was already happy to be at this concert.
Setlist
Lipstick
Alien
Matador
Love & Money
Bad Books
He’s My Man
Dinner @ Brasserie Zédel
We got a short break and Katy J. Pearson was up next. I guess I would describe her as a Singer/songwriter with a band. Really nice too. She started with ‘Those Goodbyes’, then greeted us and told us we looked beautiful. We learned that she was from Bristol. The next song, ‘Save me’ was quite dancy. So far, I didn’t like her as much as Luvcat, but it was still really nice stuff. ‘Grand Final’ had a great beat to it and I could not help but move in tune with the music. ‘Beautiful Soul’ was my favorite of her set – there were strings, what can I say? I didn’t care much for ‘Long Range Driver’, but ‘Maybe’ was great and I liked ‘Sky’ too. A solid set overall.
Setlist
Those Goodbyes
Save Me
Grand Final
Beautiful Soul
Long Range Driver
Maybe
Sky
Another break and finally it was time for the band e had all been waiting for. ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ was played from tape as they stepped out on stage and were greeted with cheers. They started the show with ‘Burn alive’ and I was almost immediately moving with the music. It sounded amazing. With the second song ‘Ceasar on the TV screen’ so many people were singing along – it felt weird not to. I enjoyed listening and watching very much though. Especially the singer was on the move all the time and only the drummer stayed in place for the entire concert
Before it started I had learned that the band only has one album out so far. Thus, they played an unreleased song next (or so the setlist said). People knew it already, so it must have been played at other concerts. It was a fast and wild one called ‘Second Best’. Great stuff. They greeted us and thanked us for being there before continuing with ‘Beautiful Boy’ starting on flute and piano. It was a gorgeous song with lots of harmony singing. 🙂
We were asked to cheer for the support acts and of course we did. Next up was a wonderful cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ – that song is always great. We learned that the next song had come out exactly a year ago and how much longer it felt, because so much hd happened sind. Then we all got to laugh because they messed up the start. Nothing can hurt ‘On your Side’ though – it was awesome. Everyone but me knew the lyrics too. 😉
For ‘Gjuha’ the keyboarder introduced the song, saying it is Albanian for “tongue” or “language”and about feeling ashamed of not knowing her mother tongue very well. She did a fantastic job singing. Without as much as a pause they continued with ‘Sinner’ and everyone was back to singing along. I really liked that song, and once again felt the urge to move along with then music. Awesome guitar work too.
“You have just solidified yourself as our favorite cities to play in,” the singer told us after the sing-along and spoke about the last time they had been there, when someone had brought their favorite item to sign: a pack of Marlboro Reds and something els eI didn’t understand. Judging by how many people were dressed up for the gig, she concluded there would be no problem with us singing along some more and told us ta ask the well dressed persons if we didn’t know the words. 😉 As soon as we spoke or sang the words, magic would happen. Thus, we got to hear ‘Portrait of a Dead Girl’ – t was beautiful.
There were quite a few first timers in the audience, but also people in the front row that the singer recognized. She told us how much joy that meant for her and introduced the band: On drums Casper, on vocals and key Aurora, on lead guitar and flute and mandolin Emily, on rhythm guitar Lizzie, on bass Georgia and I am Abigail. ‘The Feminine Urge’ followed and I loved it, especially the great sing-along.
‘Mirror’ was very cool too. Their music has great variety and it all sounds pretty fresh and unlike most other stuff I listen to. Not that I managed to grasp all of the lyrics, but what I heard was interesting in the best sense of the word. Abigail pointed out that she was distracted by a sign someone held up, so she went and looked at it. “Draw me a tattoo” it read. “Are you sure? What if I do it horrible?” “I don’t care” was the answer, so she drew a bird on their sign. 🙂
We got a special treat, i.w. another unreleased song, called ‘Big Dog’.It really rocked! “And now for an old favorite. This one is about going to catholic school” was the introduction to ‘My Lady of Mercy’ and it started with everyone clapping along. What a great song to end the set with.
We cheered loudly for them to come back and got another unreleased song called ‘The Killer’. It had slight country vibes, but there was so much else mixed in that I cant put it in a box. That’s always a good sign and this song was lots of fun! Afterwards they joked that it was from their forthcoming country album – “It’s coming out before Lana’s. We thought of it first!” 😀 We got one last song, ‘Nothing Matters’, the final great sing-along of the night. It was the perfect end to a perfect show. They were so much fun, I should absolutely go to see them again and buy their music too.
Setlist
Tape: Prelude to Ecstasy
Burn Alive
Caesar on a TV Screen
Second Best (Unreleased)
Beautiful Boy
Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
On Your Side
Gjuha
Sinner
Portrait of a Dead Girl
The Feminine Urge
Mirror
Big Dog (Unreleased)
My Lady of Mercy
Encore:
The Killer (Unreleased)
Nothing Matters