Dido Live (DVD/CD Set)
by David Barnard
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: DidoDirector: David Barnard
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, Enhanced, Live, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Arista
Product features:
- DIDO LIVE AT BRIXTON ACADEMY (CD+DVD)
Movie Reviews of Dido Live (DVD/CD Set)
Movie Review: "It'll blow you away."
Summary: 5 Stars
If you've read the other reviews, you might recognize the title I chose. "It'll blow you away." I stole that from Jonathan Koe's review. Thanks, J.K., please don't sue me...my net worth is about $1.98, and that's only on payday. Also, this DVD is in widescreen (1.78:1, I believe), rather than the 1.33:1 (full screen mode) that this site says it's in. There are no Dvd extras, but you do get a song selection list that lets you jump to any of the 17 songs, instantly.
I listened to this Dvd in Dolby 2.0 channel stereo and it sounded amazing through my 4 speakers. It's also in Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 Stereo Surround (which you can select with your Dvd remote).
I enjoyed the brief but clever opening, featuring lighted cars whizzing along night roads, a sunset, and the path taken through part of the Brixton Academy (London) where this was filmed. I also liked Dido's comments about the origins of some of her songs, which she talks about just before she sings them in the concert.
Although, what's very odd, is that the first time I watched this concert, for the first 47 minutes or so, I was NOT blown away at all. In fact, I was quite annoyed. First of all, I wanted to see Dido! Not a Dido bathed in white light, than blue, green, pink, purple, turquoise...I think I imagined some of the colors, but when the stage turned red and two beams of red light from above the stage, focused on Dido, while she sang the words, "Take Me Home", during the opening song, "Stoned"; I was positive aliens were about to beam her to their mother ship. Luckily, this didn't happen, but I was still a bit shaken and was pretty sure I was only going to give this DVD 3 stars.
You could call this concert, "Dido's Electric Light Orchestra Extravaganza." It all looked cool enough and was very stylish and clever, but I was waiting for the light show to end, so I could concentrate on the hottie on the stage, rather than all the hot lights.
Secondly, I kept trying to figure out if Dido had a cold or not? One reviewer was so sure she had one, that for the one brief second I thought she sounded a bit congested, I thought she actually might start sneezing.
However, I finally realized that even if she had a cold, I wasn't going to be able to notice, so I just sat patiently, listening to her wonderful, yet perhaps, slightly sick voice (just kidding), as she sang her heart out. I've seen her on tv and listened to enough of her songs to know that she could sing beautifully, so I still wasn't blown away.
It was all just too much for my little brain to grasp. It was way over my head and too advanced a show for me to fully appreciate upon first viewing. I was expecting something like a "Natasha Beddingfield: Live in N.Y. City" concert, mixed with some of the "Jewel: Live at Humphrey's by the Bay" concert.
Instead, what I got, was a brilliantly and cleverly filmed light show, that happened to feature a wonderful singer named Dido, and superbly talented musicians, using a wide variety of instruments and strange objects (some most likely never used in a concert before, or certainly not that often), to entertain and dazzle the audience. I thought the glow-in-the-dark, green drumsticks, were a nice touch, but would someone please tell the bass guitar player to never wear a Detroit Piston basketball jersey while on stage. He looked so out of place.
It wasn't until chapter 10 (about 48 minutes into this 90 minute concert) that I got something I was expecting and waiting for. Dido playing her guitar, while singing "Mary's in India". No flashy light show, just a girl and her guitar. That was the Jewel part of the show, and a few more like it, were to come later on.
After that, I was hooked. I went back and watched some of the previous songs again ("See You When Your 40" {my 4th favorite}, "Isobel" {3rd favorite}, etc.), and enjoyed them much more. At that moment, I realized that this was a four star Dvd, at least. I then watched "Mary's in India" (my 5th favorite) once more, then a nice rendition of "Take my Hand" followed it, as well as an infectious version of "Thank You" (my 2nd favorite performance on this Dvd). Three more songs were sung, and then came "All I Want"(my favorite performance) and "See the Sun", to end the concert. Dido shouts, "Thank you London", and leaves the stage.
No Dido, Thank you!
Throughout the entire concert, the marvellous lighting crew, added so much to virtually every song, but I guess I was just too distracted and overwhelmed by it all at first, to really appreciate what they were doing. I couldn't connect with Dido, because it was hard to see her. Even when she started introducing her songs, she still seemed like a stranger to me. Had they started with "Mary's in India", or any song that didn't constantly feature blue or white light always on her face, I would have had a much easier time enjoying everything, right away.
I now enjoy every performance, because the second half of the concert made it easier for me to connect with Dido. For example, the last two songs of the concert, "All You Want" and "See the Sun", still had plenty of lighting effects, but they were not overwhelming, unlike the ones during "Stoned" (it does look cool though, and I now like it). The vocal performances and varied camera angles for the last two songs are good enough on their own, but when the beautiful pink stage lights slowly turn on, during "All I Want", I can't help but say, "Wow", each and every time I watch it. The green lighting that later bathes the stage during that song, also looks amazing! As well, the golden lighting for "See the Sun", is also brilliantly timed and presented in several different ways (such as the perfectly timed golden light flashes, appearing each of the two times Dido strums her guitar, during a close-up).
So, special thanks to the Lighting Crew Chief: Andrew Beller, and the Lighting crew: Edward Jackson and Robert Gawler. Also, to Andi Watson, for his set and lighting design. Sorry I didn't get what you were doing the first time around, but now I know better. Pure genius! Repeat viewing is a must to fully appreciate everything that's packed into this concert! 5 stars!
You were right J.K., I was blown away, after all. Thanks.
Summary of Dido Live (DVD/CD Set)
DIDO LIVE - DVD MovieRecorded at London's Brixton Academy in 2004, Dido Live draws on material from 1999 debut No Angel and 2003 follow-up Life for Rent. As she notes early in the show, "It's very nice to be in a place where I've seen hundreds and thousands of gigs." Dido and five-piece band--including two percussionists--proceed to execute a tight 14-song set, touching on favorites like "Thank You" (famously sampled by Eminem for "Stan") and "White Flag," followed by a three-song encore. In David Barnard?s soft focus film, the singer/songwriter mostly swings and sways to the music, joining in on keyboards for "Do You Have a Little Time" and acoustic guitar for "Mary's in India" and "See the Sun." Highlights include the driving "See You When You're 40" and trip-hop rave-up "Honestly OK." The DVD is packaged with a CD featuring 12 tracks from the same three-night engagement (in slightly altered sequence). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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