You might already know that when I stop at the merch after a gig it means that I really enjoyed the show, especially if I spend more than £30 on it. So you could have seen me asking about the fabric of the hoodie at the merch stand, while the woman behind the counter looked at me in a very annoyed way, like I was demanding she iron the entire pack of T-shirts they had behind the till. Totally understandable — I would have spat in my face if I were her; it was after 11pm, after all. But I was numbed by joy and excitement, still floating over the ballroom, carried away by the music of The Last Dinner Party.

Despite being awake since 5:30 in the morning, I wanted to enjoy the evening. Doors opened at 7pm at Barrowland Ballroom, and I was there ten minutes before, along with the guest queue and two other photographers. From the main doors you couldn’t see where the line of people ended, because it stretched around the turn that brings you in front of St. Luke’s. The security staff was buzzing as well, even though, as I discovered later, for other reasons. At the end of the stairs, before entering the main venue, a small gathering of people were collecting donations for food banks by selling The Last Dinner Party bows.

Once in the venue, the space filled up in less than half an hour, with people at the barrier already starting to sing. At 7:50, Imogen and The Knife came up on stage, and after a little warm-up with the first three songs, their incredible voice and sound exploded, overwhelming the entire room. And then we patiently waited.

The Barrowland was fully packed right before nine; the excitement was a continuous crescendo, and the temperature was steeply rising. Emily, Georgia, Aurora and Lizzie took their positions, smiling at the cheering crowd. This time there was someone else too, sitting behind the drums, and his name was Luca. And then Abigail Morris jumped onto the stage, spinning and bowing, and started singing the first song from their new album From The Pyre, “Agnus Dei,” followed by “Count The Ways.” After these, Abigail introduced every member of the band and brought us back to the last tour, kicking off with “The Feminine Urge” and “Caesar on a TV Screen.”

The band played twenty songs in total, and each one of them was a joy to experience. Aurora Nishevci sang “Gjuha,” opening the act by talking about the importance of languages and cultures. Lizzie Mayland — fresh from their solo debut EP The Slow Fire of Sleep — and Georgia Davis showed us their vocals, while Emily Roberts did what she does best with her guitar, and Abigail Morris followed them on the piano.

Honestly, listening to the tracks of From The Pyre live cannot be compared to listening at home. Seeing Abigail and Lizzie doing a chorus while playing “Rifle” moved me to tears. Same for “The Scythe” and “Sail Away.” “Inferno” was staged with an evocative choreography. And then it was time to jump and scream over the notes of “Burn Alive,” “Sinner,” and “Nothing Matters” from their debut album Prelude to Ecstasy.

It was indeed a great night, not only for music but also for Scotland. In the middle of “Woman Is a Tree,” a roar exploded through the crowd. People — and indeed the security staff I mentioned earlier — had been brandishing their phones just seconds before, watching Scotland’s game against Denmark for the World Cup qualification. Once the game was over and the screams of joy interrupted the song, the band joined the crowd in the celebration.

The band came back on stage for a very well-needed encore, enchanting us with “This Is the Killer Speaking” and a reprise of “Agnus Dei.” When we all left each other in tears, the band gave us another gift, letting us dance to “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” by Baccara.

Nonetheless, I’m still there after three days, and I can’t wait to see them live again — hopefully at the next TRNSMT.

Article: Marco Cornelli