Dido headed to the Brighton Centre on the 4th of December as part of her first worldwide tour in 15 years. As well as performing material from her latest album, ‘Still on My Mind’, the singer delivered excellent performances of her timeless hits such as ‘Thank You’, ‘White Flag’ and ‘Life for Rent’.
After successful legs in America and Europe earlier this year, Dido is back in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the final few shows of her ‘Still on My Mind’ tour. The tour is in support of her fifth album of the same name, released to critical acclaim in March of this year (and recently re-released in a deluxe edition).
This year marked Dido’s return to touring, with the ‘Still on My Mind’ tour being her first worldwide one in 15 years. Yesterday, however, the ‘White Flag’ singer was visibly at ease on stage, as if she never “disappeared” (as Dido herself said) all this time. Her confidence shone throughout the night, carried by a genuine smile and playful attitude that wonderfully complemented her soft vocals. Her voice sounded the same as it did 15 years ago, if not better, and she showcased her vocal ability since the very beginning, opening the show with the haunting ‘Hurricanes’ – an appropriate choice, being the lead single of her latest project. Not only by singing, but also by playing guitar, Dido opened the show in the best way possible: showcasing her talent and versatility to the brimming venue of the Brighton Centre.
Emotions peaked from the very beginning, when the singer performed the mega-hit ‘Life for Rent’, the third song on the setlist. It was the moment you realised her voice hasn’t really changed a bit, after all this time. After a few songs, including the melancholic ‘Hunter’, and ‘Grafton Street’, the show changed pace thanks to the upbeat ‘Sand in My Shoes’, which featured an extended dance outro, marvellously performed by the 5-man band on stage.
After that, the concert carried on, alternating between a variety of fan favourites like ‘Quiet Times’ and classic hits like ‘Here with Me’ and ‘Thank You’, with her most recent tracks taken from Still on My Mind. Among them, a very touching moment was during ‘Sitting on the Roof of the World’, intimately performed in the dark solely by Dido and her guitarist, sitting at the edge of the stage. Another noteworthy section of the show was the triptych ‘See You When You’re 40’, ‘Mad Love’, and ‘My Boy’: to begin with, the singer showcased tremendous vocals on the first song, then she served a very energetic and lifting number while singing the catchy ‘Mad Love’. ‘My Boy’ (a song taken from her brother Rollo’s album ‘The Last Summer’ – released this year – featuring Dido’s vocals) brought the whole venue down thanks to its powerful dance beats and Dido’s vocal versatility.
When the show was about to end, the encore provided two more very powerful moments, the first of which was when the singer softly performed ‘Have to Stay’, a very sweet declaration of love written about her son.
Finally the moment everybody was waiting for arrived: the answer to the question that Dido asked the crowd was unanimous. “I’m going to sing one last one, which one?”. “WHITE FLAG”, a few hundred people shouted at the same time. “And ‘White Flag’ it is”, she said. The iconic classic song united the voice of Dido with those of every one else in the room, creating a magical moment and the perfect goodbye for one of the most exciting concerts the Brighton Centre has seen in recent times.
Dates for the rest of the tour can be found here.
