With only two acts on the bill for this sold out show, the doors to Granada opened at 7 pm to a line consisting of eager young fans wrapped around the building. The indie/pop YouTube sensation – gone full out rockstar – Dodie, made her way through The Lone Star State for the first time. You could tell these young fans had been hoping for this day for a long time as they physically could not contain their excitement. The tiniest things were followed by boisterous cheering and chanting, not to mention the collective scream-singing to the house music.
As the time grew closer to 8pm, the lights dimmed and opening act Adam Melchor took the stage. The sounds of synthesizers and reverbed vocals rang out as the crowd cheered at the top of their lungs. Adam is probably one of the most genuine and humble talents I’ve seen. With an absolutely incredible voice and wonderful stage presence, he definitely gained a fan in me. His set only lasted about 30 minutes, but it felt much longer. He didn’t rush through the set and took time to build rapport with the crowd and give backstories to his songs. I hope to see more of Adam and I hope he continues having success.
Promptly at 9 pm, once again, the lights dimmed and Ariana Grande’s “God is a Woman” rang out from the speakers. The entire crowd harmonized together and sang as loud as they could, giving Dodie the warmest of welcomes to Texas. The lights dimmed again afterwards and a backlit spotlight illuminated Dodie as she opened with “Arms Unfolding.” With a quick change of pace, the next track, “Monster,” got Dodie moving around and showing off those quirky dance moves. Song after song, the crowd grew more intense and Dodie couldn’t help but smile back at all of the welcoming faces. After a couple more songs, Dodie started the opening chords to “6/10” and the crowd responded by raising handmade cards that were passed around, reading “10/10” on them. This took Dodie by surprise, forcing her to stop the song and show her gratitude towards her loving audience. Each song felt genuine, like she was having the time of her life on stage. After a few more songs, she played her newest single, “Boys Like You,” set to release this week. Dawning the cowboy hat a fan handed to her, she played her final three songs. This was one of the most exciting closes to a concert I have ever seen. She had full-on crowd participation and an impressive light show behind her as she played through “Absolutely Smitten” and “Would You Be So Kind.” And as a finish to her enormous 18 song set, she played “In The Middle,” which even had the dads in the back bobbing their heads. Unfortunately for them, they probably didn’t know that song is about a threesome.
Anyway, I digress, this was by far one of the most fun concerts I have ever been to. It was genuinely a great time to see one of my favorite artists being welcomed to my hometown by a sold out crowd of her supporters. I don’t think there was a moment where I didn’t have a smile on my face.
– Lauren Frederick
