On a Saturday night with some of the worst weather Sydney has seen in a while, The Last Dinner Party put their best feet forward and delivered an intricate, fun and overwhelmingly brilliant set as part of their From The Pyre world tour. Returning to Australia 18 months on from their inaugural tour, the English act (plus one Australian) were welcomed with warm hearts by an adoring crowd doing their best to fill the void in a venue that didn’t quite sell out.
Acting as main support was New York native Sir Chloe. Playing their brand of dramatic rock (not dissimilar to The Last Dinner Party), Sir Chloe played a tight 45 minute slot that got an eager crowd excited for what was to follow later in the night. With a sound that borders on Australian acts like Teenage Joans, Teen Jesus and Jean Teasers or WAAX, there was enough occurring in this support slot to more than easily justify the streaming numbers Sir Chloe has accumulated since releasing their debut album little more than five years ago.
Entering the stage a little after 9:15pm, The Last Dinner Party hit the ground running, opening with “Agnus Dei”, the opener from their superb 2025 album From The Pyre. One of the more expansive tracks from the album, it was the perfect opener for the night, setting the scene for what will likely be the show of the year for many of those in attendance. Leaning heavily into the rock opera dramatics of their sounds, their stage setup was elaborate and expansive, allowing each member of the band plenty of space to show off their wares while embracing a lighting show that fit the mood and space perfectly.
With the set split reasonably well between both of their albums (From The Pyre and 2024’s Prelude to Ecstasy), the night hit multiple peaks with songs from each album all coming into their own for varying reasons. “Second Best” was musically fantastic (despite a mid-chorus tumble from front woman Abigail Morris), while the sprawling “I Hold Your Anger”, led by multi-instrumentalist Aurora Nishevci, was layered and brilliant from its opening notes. Other heights came from “Rifle”, a new song titled “Big Dog”, and “The Scythe”, where the lead guitar of Emily Roberts proved to be the MVP.
The Sydney crowd lapped up the homecoming show for bassist Georgia Davies, with plenty of her family in tow showing their support. One take away from the show was the sense the band were genuinely having fun on stage. Quite often you’ll see bands seemingly go through the motions of a live show, and while some of their movements were seemingly choreographed, there felt like a sense of spontaneity in a lot of the night which only enamoured the band and crowd even further.
The back quarter of the set was filled with hit after hit, including “Sinner”, “My Lady of Mercy” (featuring a crowd run from Morris) and “Inferno” all getting a run, while my favourite on From The Pyre, “Sail Away”, proved to be a toned down masterpiece in this closing run. Ending the main set with “Nothing Matters” was pure magic (including the holding of a raffle as part of a charitable fundraising campaign the band is taking worldwide), as the crowd embraced the magic the band was delivering on stage.
Returning for an encore that included dance lessons for the crowd and a wide ranging thank you from the band to their crew, supports and fans, the night closed on “This Is The Killer Speaking”. With its theatrics and wide ranging musical dramatics, you get the feeling “This Is The Killer Speaking” could become a long-term set closer for the band.
While the terrible weather did its best to impact the crowd’s enjoyment of the earliest stages of the night, the quality of music and musicianship The Last Dinner Party displayed throughout their two hour set really elevated the show to a point where no external variables were realistically a chance of negatively impacting the night’s outcome. It was a joy to watch The Last Dinner Party at this Sydney show. If you’re still in a position to catch them on their remaining dates, don’t waste any time in securing your tickets. Their show may be dramatic and sprawling, but it’s definitely worth it.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Last Dinner Party complete their Australia and New Zealand tour in Brisbane and Auckland this week. To get tickets, head here.
Reviewer attended on 17.01.26 at Tiktok Entertainment Centre in Sydney
Images by Pete Dovgan – you can see more images from the night HERE
