“It’s going to be over soon. Let me take it in,” shared Dodie, addressing her sold-out audience at London’s Roundhouse. Closing her UK tour at the iconic venue, the singer-songwriter shared a whimsical performance celebrating her lyrical storytelling and musical authenticity as she dived into songs about mental health, bisexuality and love.
As the crowd grew with anticipatory chatter, aron! opened the night with a dreamy set that felt akin to a nostalgic movie soundtrack. He immediately got the audience on board, with snaps (‘cozy you’), complex sing-a-longs (‘only you’) and swaying “like a little sea of fish” in ‘I think that I like you’. Performing solo, his musicality shone through, as did his recent career as a children’s birthday entertainer, when he pulled out a blackboard with his name written on it mid-set, not forgetting the exclamation mark. His set closed with the ever-relatable ‘I told my mom about you’, “how did you slip through / why am I in love with you.”
The ethereal harmonies of ‘Arms Unfolding’ received immediate cheers from the audience suspended in blue lights.
Dodie bounded on stage in feather bunny ears to ‘Hot Mess’, the title track of her 2022 EP, as she admitted, “I’ve been dreaming about this for years”. Bookending a gleeful introduction to the “best band in the world”, the set visited her latest album, ‘Not For Lack Of Trying’, for the first time, with an exploration of “a man who’s chronically online and annoying” - ‘I Feel Bad For You, Dave’ - and ‘The Answer’, which found Dodie briefly on piano, decorated with grass, flowers and a toadstool, the connection her bandmates clear throughout the magical set.
Returning to her debut studio album, ‘Build A Problem’, the intimate connection between audience and performer was clear as they booed “ignoring your needs for a man” in ‘Cool Girl’, followed swiftly by 2025’s ‘Smart Girl’. Now on piano, the multi-instrumentalist performed ‘Someone Was Listening’ written for the video game Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, smoothly transitioning into the subdued ‘Tall Kids’, a lesson in how to write a piano ballad; “Just dreaming about the day / When the tall kids wanna play.”
Ever honest with her introspective lyricism, the audience gained insight into Dodie’s reality as she described her latest album as “written in a few years of brain hell”. Her knowledge of her fans is abundantly clear: “you like crotchet, you’re mentally ill, or you’re gay”, before performing the title track of her latest album, ‘Not For Lack Of Trying’. Illuminated by a spotlight, Dodie's light acoustic guitar was complemented by cello harmonies from Katt Newton.
Following ‘When’, it was time for the “gay part” of the show that Dodie declared “her favourite”. Speaking to the Roundhouse audience, soon to be lit up in rainbow lights, Dodie shared, “thank you for being such a wonderful gay community. I’ve never felt so myself. I fancied a girl in school and I wrote a song about her, this is ‘She’”. The soft voices of a choir of 3,000 fans filled the room, a shared moment of collective healing.
Transporting many of the crowd to their teenage years, Dodie set the tone for ‘Human’, originally released via YouTube with Jon Cozart; “It’s 2016, I’m obsessed with the colour yellow, and we’re not sure if Dan and Phil are together”. After a brief interlude to sing her brother happy birthday, the audience swayed as one in the immaculate waltzing of ‘Lonely Bones’.
Lit in blue light, the crowd got low, dancing in the electric atmosphere of ‘Monster’, paired with driving drum beats, which got everyone moving. Building on the energy shimmering across the venue, the pre-encore show closed with a song dedicated to “f*ck boys”, ‘boys like you’.
Closing the night, the London audience was treated to an exclusive performance of ‘Darling, Angel, Baby’ as Fizz bandmate and flatmate Greta Isaac joined Dodie onstage, along with Dodie’s band, for a playful performance. Wowing the audience with their sonorous harmonies and beautiful display of friendship, this ode to their cat elevated an already unforgettable concert.
Maisy Neale
Images: Sofia Salazar Studer
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