Dido - Union Transfer, Philadelphia, 6/22/2019, Her Performance was Powerful; Jack Savoretti Delighted the Dido Faithful with His Opening Set



Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Dido played Philadelphia's Union Transfer Saturday night, June 22nd and offered her usual masterful performance. Although she played the much larger Tower Theater the last time through, Dido reportedly opted for smaller venues this tour. Perhaps because it had been fifteen years since she last toured here, she wanted the intimacy of smaller houses. When the show was first announced last winter, it sold out immediately.

The upshot of all this was that the fans secured their tickets early, and I did likewise when the show was announced back in January. And so, the multi-generational crowd was missing the component that you usually get at a weekend show, the folks that just want to go out on a Saturday night. That's the sort of crowd that talks continuously through the show; venues generally deal with that by running the sound at a bludgeoningly loud level.

The sound mix was superb. Every instrument was well defined, even when loud, yet there was always room in the mix for Dido's voice. At full tilt this band could rock out gracefully with the excellent drum sound of Adam Falkner augmented by Jimmy Sims' ballistic bass guitar and by propulsive percussion played by Jody Linscott, reprising her role from Dido's last tour in 2004. Switching between piano and other keyboards was Jamie Norton. Guitarist Pete Rinaldi played some really tasty electric leads when he wasn't accompanying Dido's voice on acoustic.

Dido's twenty song set was well proportioned from her five studio albums, with most of the selections coming either from her new album or the first two. When she documented her first two albums with the Live at Brixton Academy DVD/CD, I found those live recordings to be the definitive versions of those songs. Although I usually consider studio albums versions to be definitive, Dido's live renditions at Brixton were so much more powerful.

Fifteen years on, the excellence of Dido's live performance continues. When a concert stays with you after it's over, and for the next week or so you are recalling songs from her set, you know you've been to a good one.

Watch "Life For Rent" complete with Dido's stage comments:


Setlist: Click on linked songs to listen
01 Hurricanes
02 Hell After This
03 Life For Rent
04 Hunter
05 No Freedom
06 Grafton Street
07 Sand In My Shoes
08 Give You Up
09 Thank You
10 Friends
11 Sitting On the Roof
12 Quiet Times
13 Here With Me
14 See You When You're 40
15 Mad Love
16 End Of Night
17 Take You Home
18 Take My Hand
19 Have To Stay
20 White Flag



Dido's Website
Dido's Twitter
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Dido's Facebook


Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Jack Savoretti opened the show thanking Dido for giving him the opportunity to tour with her. Although he talked about this being his first time visiting Philadelphia, Washington D.C., etc., his latest album Singing To Strangers is his sixth.

In the UK, Savoretti generally headlines and has sold out some major venues in the London area. Singing To Strangers represents his first time reaching #1 on the British album charts. He has a good band and a voice that when energized sounds a bit like Joe Cocker.

Watch Jack Savoretti explain the significance of the title, Singing To Strangers.


Setlist: Click on linked songs to listen
01 Home
02 Other Side
03 Better Off
04 Singing To Strangers
05 Candlelight
06 When We Were Lovers

Jack Savoretti's Website
Jack Savoretti's Twitter
Jack Savoretti's Instagram
Jack Savoretti's Facebook

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