Soon after the house lights dimmed at Vancouver's General Motors Palace on Sunday, an advertised Travis/ Dido double bill was nearly overshadowed by its understated, under-promoted opening act, Icelandic talent Emiliana Torrini. Taking the stage with her three-piece band, the diminuitive singer's roots became immediately known. Morcheeba would be the most obvious vocal reference, but mix that sound with the languid flow of Furtado (Nelly, that is) and the booming show-tune affection of Bjork, and it all falls together as one infectious, charming trip-hop package.

When Travis bounded onto the stage an hour into the night, the division of fans in the near-capacity hall became excruciatingly apparent as a quarter of the audience went absolutely wild, while the rest clapped apathetically, curiously looking at frontman Fran Healy's brand new hairdo, a side-shorn, bleached-blond, floppy mohawk. "Some of you may be thinking who the hell is this?" he smiled. "And some of you already know." With that, the group leaped -­ literally and figuratively -­ into "Sing," the lead track from their new album, The Invisible Band.

Skipping up to the microphone, the beaming Healy proved himself to be a gracious, hearfelt host, telling stories about his life, his new love and tales behind Invisible's creation. "I've found the woman I want to have babies with," he glowed, and dedicated a new tune "Flowers in the Window" to all those attending the night in-utero. The thirteen-song, sixty-minute set was dominated by music from the new disc, including the lullaby-esque "Safe," and a rousing version of "Pipe Dreams." Hungry fans sprang from their seats, however, during performances from 1999's acclaimed The Man Who, including "Why Does It Always Rain on Me", "Driftwood" and the anthemic "Turn." In the end, years of playing stadium shows in the presence of their adoring U.K. fan base has honed Travis' set to a powerful, personal affair, and Healy's chorus-matic ways served to draw new fans into their fold.

With that kind of competition, Dido had a tough act to follow, but she was smart enough not to tackle it alone. As the lights rose, the humble concert stage had been replaced with an incredibly expensive set-up, including six massive octopus-like riggings that created a soft, Sarah McLachlan-like light show. (No surprise, really, as both artists are managed by the same company). Not bad for a debut disc tour.

Indeed, Dido Armstrong is in a very unique situation. Aided by Eminem (now, how many women can say that?!) and his sampling of "Thank You" on the massive hit "Stan," Dido is in the ambivalent position of having sold millions of copies of her debut, No Angel, worldwide, which requires her to play to large audiences without the benefit of years of touring under her belt. The result is that Dido has the finest in light and sound, as well as a second-to-none trip-hoppy backing band, but she hasn't quite yet figured out what to do with it.

After a funky instrumental "Worthless" warmed the room, Dido appeared from the darkness, backlit, providing an angelic glow as her voice took flight with the opening notes of the spooky "My Lover's Gone." Dressed in hiphuggers and a spaghetti strap blue shirt with "Vancouver" on the front, the singer's crystal-clear voice was strong and unhesitant, an impressive feat on opening night.

Leading into her next tune, Dido admitted that she was experiencing a few jitters. "This is all a bit surreal," she said, laughing. "Last time I was here, I was playing in a little place called Sonar" (a local club that fits a few hundred people). Launching into "All You Want," her vocals continued to broaden, but she remained fairly physically staid. With her musicians set behind her, the singer's limited interaction was with the first few rows in front, which kept the mellow-meter running high during songs like "Here With Me" and "Isobel."

Halfway through the set, Dido finally limbered up, bringing her incredible drummer Alex Alexander to the front of the stage, Djembe in hand. As the tune progressed, the building rhythm got the crowd spontaneously cheering for the first time since she took the stage. The rest of the night stayed on that elevated plane, her songs evolving into funked-up versions of the originals, including "Slide" and "Honestly OK." "Take My Hand," one of No Angel's standout cuts, was reborn into a bumping, thumping house anthem, which finally brought the sedentary crowd to their feet. For the next track, Dido cheekily queried, "So I wonder does anybody think I wrote a second verse to this song?" and jumped into "Thank You," inviting the largely female audience to sing along to the chorus. "Hunter" followed, and those nagging reviews that make reference to her Cranberries-like qualities proved eerily true on this track. Any hesitancies disappeared during her solo encore, however, a beautiful keyboard-backed number entitled "Do You Have a Little Time."

At the end of the night, hearing the evolution of the old songs and mixing them with the direction of the new (three in total, including the poppy "See the Sun" and the bittersweet "Don't Leave Home") meant that fans walked away not just satiated by what Dido has done, but confident that her progression is going to be a powerful one.

DENISE SHEPPARD
(June 12, 2001)