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Review and setlist: The Last Dinner Party sets Roadrunner on fire
At a sold-out show, the British five-piece band conjured a night of baroque spectacle, Shakespearean sonnets, and at least one chainmail bikini top.
The Last Dinner Party at Roadrunner, Boston, April 18, 2026.
The Last Dinner Party didn’t just play Roadrunner on Saturday night. They set it ablaze. From the moment lead vocalist Abigail Morris — dressed as a nautical imp in a black sailor top, shorts, and a three-pointed hat — pranced to the lip of the stage, it was clear this was going to be a deliciously lavish evening: baroque, transporting, and entirely its own.
Before any of that, though, there was Florence Road. The Irish band delivered a set of head-rattling rock with soaring vocals from lead singer Lily Aron. A concert-goer standing nearby summed it up succinctly: “I’ve been to 90 shows. This opener was probably in the top ten.” As a huge fan of their music, I’d go even further and place their performance among my top five openers of all time.
The Last Dinner Party took the stage promptly at 9, launching into “Agnus Dei” before a backdrop of mossy arches and gossamer curtains that called to mind “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
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The set was theatrical in the best sense: lush and deliberately excessive, it was a visual argument for putting the “baroque” in baroque rock. The band’s instrument choices, too, harkened back to the campy flamboyance of ’80s hair rock; lead guitarist Emily Roberts moved fluidly between a flying V guitar and quieter melodic work on mandolin, while keyboardist Aurora Nishevci prowled the stage on a keytar.
Much of the set drew from “From the Pyre,” the band’s sophomore album, released last October — an album of character-driven, allegorical songs populated by cowboys, saints, scythes, and sailors.
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Fans in the crowd were eager to embody the imagery, with extravagant costumes of frill and ruffles, and leather and metal — not to mention many a flowy skirt.
The bard, the bikini, and the other Abigail Morris
After performing a sizzling “The Feminine Urge,” Morris spotted a sign in the crowd. A Wellesley student had arrived bearing a poster advertising her school’s Shakespeare Society’s annual 24-hour marathon reading of the complete works. Morris, delighted, promptly read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 115 to the room.
The Last Dinner Party played their first-ever show in Boston on March 24, 2024, at the Royale as part of their first North American tour. Morris thanked the crowd for returning as they toured their second album.
“Boston, my babe,” Morris told the crowd, before launching into fan-favorite “Caesar on a TV Screen.” “Thank you for coming back and thank you for bringing reinforcements!”
The band navigated a notable absence with grace: bassist Georgia Davies, who sustained a back injury during a Texas stop in March, was absent for this leg of the tour. Before “On Your Side,” Morris paused and asked the room to raise its glasses and hearts to Georgia.
“She misses you so much,” Morris said, “and I know she would love to be here.”
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Later, another sign stopped the show: “My name is Abigail Morris too. Seriously.” Morris demanded to see the fan’s ID, exclaiming “This is crazy! Dude, wait, we’re twins! I’ve never met another Abigail Morris.”
The band’s five-part harmonies — whether in full choir or stripped to a duo — were their most exquisite and quietly devastating weapon. “Woman Is a Tree” resounded with the force of a hymn, followed by a tender performance of “Gjuha” by Nishevci.
After performing an unreleased song, “Big Dog,” a fan presented Morris with a handmade chainmail bikini top constructed from soda pull tabs.
Morris accepted it with glee and used the moment to deliver an earnest plug for the fan’s craft.
“I’m sorry if you get an influx of orders and you’re stressed and you have to drink so many Cokes and you explode, but we support small businesses!”
‘It really is such a gift that you give us’
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“Nothing Matters,” the 2023 single that introduced much of the world to the band, was preceded by a simple request from Morris: no phones, just dancing, just being here. The crowd happily obliged.
The band returned to the stage for an encore performance of “This Is the Killer Speaking,” complete with Morris teaching the crowd choreography, and a reprise of “Agnus Dei” that sent everyone out into the misty April night slightly dazed, slightly giddy, and very glad they came.
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The Last Dinner Party, it turns out, is even better in person than their spectacular reputation suggests. They play big rooms now, and they fill them — not just physically, but with the genuine warmth of a band that seems genuinely grateful for the support and fanbase they’ve built.
“It really is such a gift that you give to us. It’s because of you that these songs are given life every night,” Morris said.
The Last Dinner Party promised fire. On Saturday night in Boston, they delivered it — and rose from the ashes.
Setlist for The Last Dinner Party at Roadrunner on April 18, 2026:
- Agnus Dei
- Count the Ways
- The Feminine Urge
- Caesar on a TV Screen
- On Your Side
- Second Best
- I Hold Your Anger
- Woman Is a Tree
- Gjuha
- Rifle
- Big Dog (unreleased)
- The Scythe
- Sail Away
- Sinner
- My Lady of Mercy
- Inferno
- Nothing Matters
Encore:
- This Is the Killer Speaking
- Agnus Dei (Reprise)
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