bReview: The Last Dinner Party
Thursday 22 January 2026 at Spark Arena
Written by Mikaela Stroud
Photography by Nico Rose Penny
Thursday January 22nd 2026, my first live music gig of the year and the weather had sweetened up just in time. After a summer so far scattered in the weather department, it was a welcome change and a good omen for the events of the night jumping together into the fiery passion that is The Last Dinner Party, opened for by the fabulous Sir Chloe at Spark Arena.
(Sir Chloe at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
As soon as we stepped into the familiar Spark Arena the tone was different, the stage was gorgeously adorned in flowing white fabrics, decorated in greek columns, some resembling wedding arches fit with a wedding bell, with the standout piece being a beautiful mirror mobile hanging from the center of the set of mirror doves, casting shadow and light across the arena and stage. It looked like a scene out of a story book, somewhere you’d expect a masked prince to fence for his life calling “As you wish!” but instead was home to the baroque, gothic rock icons all the way from Central London.
Sir Chloe took the stage first, rough and emotive yet effortlessly cool. The New York singer skulked the stage with an air of complete control and confidence, like a black cat on a tin roof watching the world around her. Her vocal control on crowd favourites such as Passenger lended a haunting to it that made you shiver so perfectly, followed by the rockstar song of the set, Company, that oozed cigarette smoke and Jagger-like swagger. The two top hits of the set were of course Animal and Michelle, the hauntingly doomed romantic essence of them the perfect warm up for what The Last Dinner Party had in store for the audience.
The five piece band consists of a plethora of multi-instrumentalists, including the ethereal Abigail Morris, Emily Roberts on lead guitar, mandolin and flute, Aurora Nishevci on keys, Lizzie Mayland on guitar, Georgia Davies on Bass and their drummer for the evening, introduced as Dave. All five leading ladies of the band sang interchangeably and together, weaving intricate harmonies like fine lace paired with Emily’s ripping guitar solos, insane catches on odd time-feels from Dave caught effortlessly by each musician on a set that balanced uptempo headbangers like Sinner, My Lady of Mercy and Second Best with gorgeous power ballads like Woman is a Tree and Rifle. The musicality of each member was proudly showcased, the project very obviously loved, cherished and shared in reverence between all five members of The Last Dinner Party.
(The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
(The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
The five were beautifully in sync, each showcasing their talents, voices and stories as a team and as individuals shining across the stage. There were many moments I closed my eyes standing swaying with them, not needing to watch but feel the energy of the music through my chest, especially during Rifle and Woman is a Tree.
The show soft-ended with Nothing Matters, a nihilistic runaway love song, before which they revealed their raffle prize winners for their charity of choice for this stop on their long stretching tour. They collected donations for Kiwi Harvest in the form of raffle, pulling three winners for a merch bundle on their behalf. After their soft-close, the band returned mimicking a funeral march leading into This is the Killer Speaking, their most recent hit off their new album From the Pyre, teaching the audience a fun dance to follow along as they played the extended version of the piece, all while playfully bantering together on stage and shrugging off technical difficulties with giggles and giddiness. After endless thank you’s, they blew the house away with a reprise of Angus Dei, their opener, before bidding us a final adieu.
The strong lyricism and evocative imagery of feminine rage, faith, love, fear, nature, life and death and their respective holiness was clear and intentional in every lyric and every breath. Lyrics that pushed for the allowance for life to run its course, romantic serenades over gravestones, a fiery fever dreamscape that couldn’t decide if it was heaven or hell, or maybe didn’t want to. The ceremony of it all was undeniable and completely intentional, and the crowds and myself completely fell to our knees at their altar of rock.
The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena was an affair to remember, and I can safely say that I eagerly await their return, hungry for whatever they have next in store.
Listen to From the Pyre, their most recent album, wherever you get your music. You won’t regret it.
(The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
(The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
(The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
(The Last Dinner Party at Spark Arena / Photo: Nico Rose Penny)
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