Prelude to Ecstasy – It Certainly Was
Not often do you get to enjoy a 6 piece all female band dressed in a electic mix of romantic, gothic and baroque outfits with accessorised Doc Marten boots. The Party is led by a charismatic lead singer Abigail Morris in stark contrast to her bandmates, she shone in a a 2 piece black suit with white shirt as the acting circus impresario.
However, the spectacle was not all about flamboyant attire the musical accomplishments shimmered. Abigail has a wide ‘Kate Bush’ vocal range and intonation, has real stage presence making multiple jives on the stepped set, which stressed connections to a Hollywood film lot of the 1930’s. But the Party are not just a one women band, the rest of the tribe contribute magnificently to a sensuous set of music kicked off with Prelude a orchestral prologue before terrific renditions of Burn Alive and marvellous Caesar on a TV screen, Beautiful Boy with bleating flute (Emily Roberts) and a deliciously haunting cover of Wicked Games by Chris Issack, then wonderful harmonies from On Your Side. More followed, Gjuha a short piece in Albania tongue, then Sinner climbed the heights with pulsating guitars (Emily & Lizzie), followed by Portrait of a Dead Girl where the drummer ( Rebekah Rayner I believe) is lost as she weaves her batons in a sea of swampy hair – a vision of the mad muppet ‘Animal‘. My Lady of Mercy referenced upbringing at a catholic school !
It is all very much a team effort with bass (Georgia Davies) and keyboards (Aurora Nishevci) adding to the complexity and depth of the sound all captured in Mirror. The encore followed include a excellent cover of Ride (Lana del Ray) and a birthday salute ‘icing’ for Abigail then the crew finale of Nothing Matters bought the house down with a ticker tape ending. A fitting epitaph – a fucking brilliant show.
SET LIST
Burn Alive,
Caesar on a TV Screen
Second Best
Beautiful Boy
Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
On Your Side
Gjuha
Sinner
Portrait of a Dead Girl
The Feminine Urge
Mirror
Big Dog
My Lady of Mercy
Encore:
The Killer
Ride (Lana Del Rey cover) (Live debut)
Happy Birthday to You (Mildred J. Hill & Patty Hill cover) (Abigail’s birthday with cake and a Smirnoff Ice which she drinks on stage having been ‘iced’)
Nothing Matters
Support act was Lucia and the Best Boys – Lucia was excellent.
Plus a rare rare bargain ticket price £43!!
Reviews
Palatinate
FT review
https://www.ft.com/content/8ac0f9b4-f7ce-4f41-85d5-5ed154f4c94b
Hammersmith Apollo Saturday 19th October 2024 S&J
Posted by: Fawkes