I’ve been a follower of dodie since her YouTube days—singer-songwriter Dodie Clark is a gentle ball of light who has never failed to delight with her original songs, often demoed on her YouTube page with simple acoustic guitar/ukelele and dodie’s soft voice. dodie played at the Royal Oak Music Theatre last night as part of her Build a Problem tour. It was a fantastically orchestrated concert, from beginning to end.
Before dodie, we got to see Lizzy McAlpine, a 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, as the opening act. McAlpine commanded the stage with just her guitar and indescribably smooth voice, playing snippets of newly released music, old top hits, a fun cover of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag,” and a soon to be released song called “Ceiling” that the audience listened to with reverent ears.
After McAlpine’s lovely acoustic set, we were ready for dodie, awaiting her appearance with great anticipation. The hints of strings tuning and lights changing signaled the show was about the begin, and soon enough a shimmery bright blue curtain was falling away to reveal dodie and her lovely band, complete with musician friend Orla Gartland backing up on guitar, keys, and sometimes percussion.
The concert was both soft and energetic, with moments ranging from the heartbreaking, pining song “When” to the incredibly fun dance jam “In the Middle” (complete with cute choreography from the band). dodie jumped from ukulele to piano to guitar to clarinet to percussion, interacting with her band and delivering short asides to the audience. It was a treat to watch such a talented, angelic human doing their thing on stage. It was incredible to see her in person.
dodie’s concert was a kind and open space. Crowd members were kind to each other, complimenting on outfits and hairstyles, singing along but respectfully listening as well. If you aren’t familiar with dodie, I recommend checking her out, and seeking out the experience of a concert one day.
