Last Dinner Party/Miss Grit

Had the opportunity to see Last Dinner Party with Miss Grit as the opener.

It was a 21+ show when we got the tickets back in January but was subsequently moved to another club that made it either 13+ or 16+, which is why there were a TON of kids in LDP or/and Billie Childish cosplay (as my g.f. said.) It also apparently picked up a sponsorship from the local "alt" station, which I don't listen to because they really don't play much new music - LDP apparently excepted (they sure as hell don't play Miss Grit in regular rotation.) We weren't the oldest ones there - there were some other couples there on date night - but it did skew younger.

Miss Grit played way too short - a few songs, lightshow projection to match the songs.

LDP also played way too short - I understand they're touring in support their debut album, but even WITH the encore AND a surprising choice of cover song (only hint: Chris Isaak), it was barely an hour.

Abigail Morris is an absolutely dynamic lead singer and was really engaging the crowd with some call-and-response and predictably, there was a ton of audience singalong for "Nothing Matters." There were moments when I was reminded of Pat Benatar or Florence & The Machine.

If (as knuckleheads of the world seem to believe) LDP are all industry plants, then Live Nation and Island (their label) are doing an absolutely horrible job at planting them because this was one of the worst possible venues for the show. (What, was local stadium already booked that night?) The show was apparently sold out but there was plenty of room to mosey up to the front of the stage.

People in England got to see them in bars with six-band bills for a few dollars, but once they go big in the States, they're not playing any intimate venues anymore? Damn, that is so not fair. Did they even ever do SXSW or any music festivals before this tour?

It was a good show - it could have been so much better. I'm guessing everyone at the Bad Religion/Social Distortion concert (same night) had a much better time.

How big was the club where they played?

With just one album out, do they have enough songs to play for more than an hour?

1,800-1,900 capacity, mid-range venue. Standing only except for if you can find chairs
by the bar.

I really wish LiveNation (who the Department of Justice is reportedly suing for antitrust) and the venue could have snagged a local opener: including locals on an indie rep bill is traditionally a goodwill gesture and the show wouldn't be wrapping up at 10:00pm (essentially less than two hours of actual performance time.)

I'm clearly way out of touch. I had to look the Last Dinner Party up to know who y'all are talking about.

I had to look them up, too! I don’t really read much about music, and haven’t in years. Except for this place. For me it’s radio, or occasionally going through record stores. But these guys do sound intriguing - getting comparisons to theatrically minded faves like Kate Bush, Bowie, Roxy. So thanks for the tip.

Vox ran an article on the possible lawsuit.

Do Live Nation and Ticketmaster also own IHeartRadio (in which case they're also hyping up the Last Dinner Party by making "Nothing Matters" an alt-rock radio hit so they can then profit from selling tickets to their shows)?