Watch out, this is almost a novel. DIDO @ THE 400 BAR, MINNEAPOLIS, MN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 27 ------------------------------------------------------ As I mentioned on the list previously, I saw Dido at the 400 Bar here in Minneapolis this past Friday, August the 27th. I arrived right at 8pm when the doors were supposed to open, and was a bit surprised to see that there was already a small line. Unbeknownst to me, an "adult-alternative" radio station here in the Twin Cities has added "Here With Me" to its regular rotation, and that no doubt was partly responsible for the size and response of the crowd. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The opening act, Kendall Payne, was really quite good. She played a fairly stripped-down acoustic set, with herself and another on acoustic guitar, as well as a keyboardist. I was impressed with her vocal range, although for the most part, I found her a bit too mellow. I did buy her cd (Kendall and Dido were both selling discs at the show), so I guess I voted with my wallet. The 400 Bar is not big. Capacity is four hundred people, and it wouldn't surprise me if we came close to that during Dido's set. The crowd was <i>very</i> into it, and some people were even (gasp!) singing along. Let me say this: seeing Dido live is not the moral imperative that is seeing Faithless live. That being said, it was wonderful. She's touring with a seven-piece band: Dido, Vinnie (guitar), Keith (bass), Alex (percussion), Chris (dj), Markie (keys), and Mindy (backing vocals). BTW, Alex is a madman on his hand drum (as Dido called it). The set list included almost all of the songs on the album, with the notable exception of the US bonus track "Take My Hand". They included a ROCKING version of "Hunter", led by the baseline. The guitar riff of "Isobel" was much more prominent, which was a cool change. Dido also did a couple new songs, one which was called "Don't Leave Home", and another one that she played as the first song of the encore - it was just her at the keyboard, and she said she had been messing around with it. If she gave the name of the song, I've forgotten it. The final song of the evening was an almost reggae-ish cover of the Police's "Every Little Thing HE Does Is Magic". :) Dido claimed that as a child, the Police were her favorite band. Never heard the Police sound like that, but it was fun. Dido's voice was excellent live, albeit lacking Rollo's studio celestial-ness. I get the feeling that she's still not entirely comfortable being the center of all the attention, but that will come with time. After their set, the band came out and tore down the stage. Dido signed a few autographs on her way out to the tour bus. I ended up talking with most of the guys in the band. Alex said that the current configuration of musicians has been playing together since May, and that he got the gig because he knew someone in A&R at Arista. During the show, I found some of Chris' scratches to be very Portishead-esque. He denied them as being an influence even though he does like them. Once the equipment was packed up, the band (with the exception of Dido and Markie) hung out and drank. I began telling several of them about how I drove down to see Faithless in Chicago last November. After several tequila shots and promises of being on the guest list, I agreed to go to Chicago the next day to see the show. I also managed to get Alex to take some pictures I have of myself with all the members of Faithless (there's a lot you don't know) onto the bus to show Dido. I was then invited onto the bus and talked with her for about 15 minutes. She's lovely. She said that she was homesick, but my pictures of Faithless helped to alleviate that for her (yay me). Among other things, I expressed my concern for Jamie's recent absences at Faithless' festival appearances. She said not to worry, that often he doesn't attend if Faithless is playing in a dancier, rave-type setting. I told her that I would see her tomorrow. DIDO @ THE DOUBLE DOOR, CHICAGO, IL, SATURDAY, AUGUST 28 -------------------------------------------------------- After returning home at 3am, I got up on Saturday at 11am. I did not want to drive the 6-8 hours it takes to get to Chicago. So I flew down. I called a friend who lives in downtown Chicago and hooked up with him. Saturday I got to the show just as Kendall was ending her set. (At the door they couldn't find my name on the guest list, although Alex said he wrote it on there himself. Oh well, what's an $8 cover charge after buying a plane ticket?) I ran into Keith (who I believe had been suffering from a bit of a hangover that morning), and he welcomed me back, saying he was glad I had made it for the show. I also saw Dido just before she went backstage for her set, and she said hello as well (even remembering my name - I'm impressed!). The set was pretty much the same as the night before, although Dido did not play the song during the encore where she was on stage alone at the keyboard. The setlist may have varied a bit, but again I didn't keep track as they went. Dido ended again with the Police cover. On a bit of a downer note, the Chicago crowd seemed much more reserved that the Minneapolis crowd. I don't know what the radio support is like in Chicago, but I saw several people with "Band Passes" on, whom I'm sure were media representatives (radio/newspaper/etc). On a bit of the same note, I found out that the second-in-command of Arista records was at the concert, and he met with Dido after the show (they went and got a bite to eat in a place called the Earwax Cafe, if you can believe that). Again, after the show, the band stuck around and I talked with all of them. Chris asked how I liked the show and I told him it probably wasn't worth what I paid to come, but what the fuck. You only live once right? I got a chance to talk to Markie a bit this time. (BTW, he was the only other Brit on the tour besides Dido.) It turns out that he had just finished recording an album with Rollo, although he wouldn't tell me the name of the project. He did say it wasn't Rollo Goes Camping, or anything along those lines. Markie said that once this tour finishes he's going back to London to finish off the record. Going back to the Arista guy being there. I like to bitch at Arista just as much as the rest of the Faithless/Dido fans here in the states, but I have a feeling something may be up. I ended up talking to Don, the bus driver for a bit, who is really a cool guy. He was saying how much he enjoyed Dido's politeness, and what a great person she was (which, from my limited exposure, I can completely concur with). Anyway, Don felt that Arista was either in the process or would be very soon of turning Dido in a very major rockstar. From what I've seen, it looks like they're losing a lot of money on this tour, which I'm sure they're viewing as an investment (because record companies do not lose money - they screw people over so much it's a statistical impossibility). :) Well, this time I remembered to bring my camera, so I was able to get pics with a few people, including a couple with Dido. (Film, please turn out.) She seemed surprised that I'd fly to Chicago just to see little 'ol her, but I said that it wasn't as bad as flying to Europe, which is where I would have to go if I wanted to see Faithless live. (Before I forget, she said that Faithless would be touring through October in Europe and then they were going back into the studio to make another album!) I asked if she was still homesick, and she said yes, so I gave her copies of my Faithless pics. She thanked me and said I was an angel, to which I <u>should</u> have made some slick comments about "I'm no angel...", but I was too giddy to think clearly. All in all a great time. Go see Dido while you have the chance. Buy the album. Live life. And if you happen to run into her (or Alex, Chris, Keith, Markie, Vinnie, or Mindy) please mention that Dave Kuster says good luck and god bless. -- This message was sent through the Faithless Mailing-list. To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with UNSUBSCRIBE FAITHLESS in the body of the message.
