The Last Word

Vocals: Desirée “Lady Cacophony” Bell
Vocals/Bass: Dee Dee Diablo
Lead Guitar: Lance Simmons
Drums: Alice Springs
Keyboards: Special guest Slut Angel

The curtains drew back and the five members of The Last Word ambled on to the stage. Dee Dee Diablo placed a bottle of Jack Daniels next to her amp, earning several whoops of recognition, then stepped up to her mic.

“Hey Paragon. We’re The Last Word and everything you’ve heard about us is true.”

She launched into the frenetic bassline of the band’s anthemic show opener Slip of the Tongue , soon joined by thrashing guitar riffs and thunderous drumming. Bell ran to the front of the stage, emitting a raucous scream that seems to shake the buildings foundations and announce that anyone not ready to rock should run for cover. The band’s fanbase must have been represented in the crowd they joined in singing the first chorus: “What we did was fun/Won’t say it was wrong/But you and me, honey/Was a slip of the tongue”.

There was no letting up with the second song. Thunderous base and screeching guitar launched the band into the hard and heavy Chemical Burn .

As the song ended, Diablo came to the front of the stage; she name checked each member of the band and thanked their special guest Slut Angel who was filling in on keyboards. This Slut Angel seemed quite flustered at something Diablo had said, waving her arms until the haunting guitar of Simmons signalled the start of Mother's Ruin. Diablo on lead vocals duty for this number, sang with a desolate, dirty emotion that seemed to resonate throughout the venue.

Diablo continued her soul bearing with the intro to Turmoil, until Bell screamed the accusational chorus and led the band into frenetic overdrive.

Although there were rumours of the band debuting a new song, they closed their triumphant set with the crowd-pleasing The Place Where you Are. Bell’s vocal gymnastics and the band’s relentless, frenetic sound merging to create a cacophony that had almost every hand punching the air.