I am an enormous Dawn fan, her records speak to me like few other artists. I have never caught her live since I discovered her music in 2017. I cannot tell you how hyped I was to see her live for the first time. I checked out YouTube live vids and wasn’t blown away but I was convinced that any poster had caught the live experience correctly.
Cut to the show date. The line outside ran long and delayed due to sound check running behind. Absolutely no hard feelings as I haven’t been this excited to sing, dance and honestly cry my heart out to every track from “Second Line”. Once inside the venue, it was very small but beautiful and I was grateful to stand, drink in hand and finally see Dawn live.
Once the show started I noticed the music was more organic than the electronic beats on her recordings. Coupled with her incredible dancers I had high hopes the show would be special. In terms of dancing, the show was phenomenal but I barely recognized any song Dawn performed and I really couldn’t sing along. It felt disjointed at times and not really representative of the incredible catalog I’ve become obsessed with over the years. Dawn is obviously talented, stunning, unique and legendary but this live show wasn’t the emotional experience I was hoping for. Nonetheless, I live for Dawn’s recorded music.