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As I promised, and as late as usual, here is the second (and final) concert review of the year:

I had to go to Nimes in order to see this concert, which meant that not only I had to pay the ticket, but also the train & the hotel for the night. Around 100€. But boy, was it worth it !

The first surprise: after a crappy week in Lyon, good weather greeted us in Nimes. And I thought: 'What if the concert had been outside and it had rained ?!'

As it turned out to be (second surprise), the concert WAS outside. When I went to check in for the hotel the guy there took a map to show us where to go, and draw a circle around... a Roman arena !!! You've probably seen Gladiator; well, imagine the Colosseum, only intact and a lil' bit smaller. Are you there yet ? Here, let me give you some help: Nimes - Roman Arena

As we arrived at around 8PM and the concert started at 8:30, there were naturally no more places left except in the top part. Fortunately somebody had the GREAT idea to put two giant screens, one on each side of the scene, and so we got to see the overall effect AND who was singing.

In the opening we were treated with an Oasis-like band from... Paris. I actually couldn't believe my ears, they had a quite cool English accent that I never would have thought was learned. Btw, they're called Phoenix. Who knows, you might hear of them when they become famous...

In the meantime there was another thing interesting to see, apart from this band: the sunset and the orange clouds. And the two ruins on top of nearby hills, and the two tours of a Gothic cathedral rising above the edge of the Arena.

At around 9 Phoenix finally said their goodbyes and we started a first round of applause to get the heroine on stage. At one moment in one part of the oval Arena somebody started a wave, and it went on and on until Dido made her appearance.

No 'lights out' - kind of hard when the sun isn't cooperating. Instead the big screens were turned on and we could see her face and... well, not just the face...

The coolest thing was that she found something to say about each song she played, and while I probably don't remember all that she said, I'll try to give you some examples.

Life for Rent: A song about finding out *how* to live life. Or, more precisely, about the inability to do so.

quote:

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But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

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Mary's in India: "If the story were true, I'd be a real b**ch; but it's not, and we're still friends." That probably means that at one point there was a 'Mary' who went *far, far away* and her lover stayed 'home'. And she probably couldn't catch him in her web So, friends it is...

quote:

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And we danced and we drank and I've seen some things
you probably never got the chance to see
Don't worry, Mary cos I'm taking care of Danny
And he's taking care of me

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quote:

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Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

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See you when you're 40: The concert version is a little bit more acid than the album one. She said she usually doesn't get mad for long on a person; this might be the exception that breaks the rule. (That's what exceptions are really for, anyway )

quote:

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You think misery will make you stand apart from the crowd
well if you had walked past me today I wouldn't have picked you out
I wouldn't have picked you out

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quote:

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And I arrived when you were weak
I'll make you weaker, weaker still
Now all your love you give to me
when your heart is all I'll need

Oh, don't leave home
Oh, don't leave home

And if you're cold, I'll keep you warm
And if you're alone just hold on
cause I will be your safety

Oh, don't leave home

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quote:

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I've still got sand in my shoes
And I can't shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you
But why would I want to
I know we said goodbye
Anything else would've been confused but
I wanna see you again

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Hunter: A very *Jamaican* version, with tam-tam rhythms and *shaky* dancing It's about wanting to be lonely, "which happens to me every three weeks or so." Man, that AND the periods... She's not an easy person to get along with...

Take my Hand: Her first song, composed when she was a teenager who just discovered sex. "And I wrote it to get boys in bed. That's what songs are for, you know !" The truth is, it really sounds adolescent, but it's a good song nonetheless.

See the Sun: The final song & the final touch. The ending with an optimistic song was a really nice thing to do. And what a song...

Of course there are others that I don't remember right now. And there were the superb lighting & projecting effects on the scene and three large grids hanged just in front of the curtains. A sunflower for the final song, some crazy outbursts of color for Take my Hand, and many others that will only remain in some obscure corner of my brain.

That's about it. That night I slept with See the Sun in my head and woke up next morning on See you when you're 40.

It has been just one of those times when everything fits, everything concurs in order to lift you out of this world if only for an evening...

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