SCOTT TADY
PITTSBURGH — Twirls, frills, sharp lyrics, pretty vocals and potent guitar.
That recipe, from The Last Dinner Party, stirred up a tasty night of alternative-rock Wednesday at a jam-packed Stage AE.
The youthful crowd numbered a few dozen fans in not-quite-cosplay, yet goth-Victorian-inspired attire, reflecting the Last Dinner Party’s visual vibes.
The female-powered English band, in its Pittsburgh debut, connected immediately with the audience, led by frontwoman Abigail Morris’, in a long black dress, commanding attention with her lovely singing and graceful stage spins with ballerina-like arm stretches.
To her right stood Emily Roberts, who proved to be a powerhouse on electric guitar.
Roberts’ rapid mandolin strumming elevated to epic level “I Hold Your Anger,” a song with forceful percussion, intricate time changes and the emotional lead vocals of keyboardist Aurora “Rora” Nishevci, who introduced the ambitious song by saying it reminded her of Albanian folk music. Imagine if The Tamburitzans tried prog-rock.
Nishevci said the “I Hold Your Anger” lyrics have taken on a wider meaning amid the current political landscape, asking the crowd to consider her personal view as a foreigner that one of the most beautiful things about America is its long-standing embrace of immigration. It’s important and enriching to explore other cultures, she said.
Earlier in the show, Morris thoroughly enjoyed immersing herself in western Pennsylvania culture when she said hello to all the “Pittsburgh-ians” there, then asked if there was a more common term to describe the locals.
Cue a lesson on the word “Yinzer.”
Hearing the crowd collectively yelling that unfamiliar Y word, a perplexed Morris handed her microphone to a front-row fan for elaboration. That female fan did a spot-on job explaining the origins of “yinzer”.
Two songs later, a laughing Morris circled back, and asked for more details on the word “yinzer.”
“What’s the etymology?” she wondered, ultimately concluding yinzer must stem from Scottish or Irish roots.
She harbored an even deeper fascination with Pittsburgh, through the lens of one of its native sons, noting how it’s the birthplace of Andy Warhol. Since the age of 15, Morris has carried in her wallet a small photo of Warhol taken in Andy’s high school days — when he was still a “Warhola.” Morris credited her Warhol obsession not so much for his soup can and Marilyn Monroe pop art, but his aloof and entertaining style when interviewed — a style she’d try to impersonate as a teenager to the chagrin of her mom.
The breezy stage banter added to Wednesday’s fun, but musicality carried the night, as The Last Dinner Party straight-up rocked in a way that transcended their image as a baroque art-pop act.
There was a sweeping elegance with a lyrical bite to “The Feminine Urge,” a song Morris has said references the pressures put upon women to conform to roles. An almost metal textural punch of drums and bass supplied the ammo to “Rifles.”
“Sinner” featured keytar, because why not?
The set opener “Agnus Dei” brought enchanting four-part vocal harmony.
The quintet was minus bassist Georgia Davies, who’s recovering from a back injury. The fill-in bassist performed admirably.
The band’s pre-encore song pick, “Nothing Matters,” presented the irresistible chance for fans to sing along gleefully to The Last Dinner Party’s 2023 breakout hit complete with languid melody and laden with the queen mother of dirty words.
A total delight live in concert.
Here’s hoping the Last Dinner Party returns to Pittsburgh again and again.
