We were at the concert at Mojo. Find out here why we would drive the getaway car for them now.
Since the end of January, Dylan has been traveling through Europe as part of her “Rebel Child” tour and arrived in Hamburg with her support act Sody on February 7th. In the evening, she turned the completely sold out Mojo into a safe space for all visitors – including us.
Dylan fans line up early
A few hours before Sody at 8 p.m. and then Dylan at 9 p.m. were scheduled to take the small stage in the underground club, a queue formed around St. Pauli’s Dancing Towers. Defying the cold with thermal blankets, the first fans lined up early in the morning to see the singer up close. Despite the icy four degrees, anticipation seemed to prevail and the gray winter uniformity didn’t stop them from wearing coordinated outfits – including glittering stars on their faces. Some of her followers are currently really following the artist, which probably proves that the 24-year-old has a lot on her plate and can already be at the top when it comes to her fan base.
After the floor flaps that hide access to the venue during the day were finally opened at 7 p.m., we were able to warm up quickly. With such a rush, one can only imagine how nervous Sody must have been. The role of pre-act is as much an honor as it is a challenge. After all, you’re standing in front of a crowd that, in many cases, didn’t come because of you. The Englishwoman nevertheless took on this task confidently.
She definitely looked confident as she took the spot at the microphone wearing leather pants and a white shirt and sang the first lines of her song “Star Potential.” Even though, according to her own statement, she almost only has “Sad Songs” in her luggage, that didn’t stop the front rows from supporting her with great applause – and stars. In keeping with the title of their openers, some of those present, perfectly prepared, held yellow paper stars over their heads, transforming the room into a kind of night sky. Some Dylan fans could probably be on the mat for the next Sody tour.
The 23-year-old’s perceived motto: If Dylan delivers pop bangers later, you can start the evening calmly. Nevertheless, instead of unenthusiastic faces in the audience, there were more nods of agreement and rocking to the beat. Her tracks always came with the explanatory story that inspired her to write the piece. This is also the case with their previously unreleased song “Stockholm” – a classic heartbreak song about a relationship that couldn’t survive the distance and from one perspective wasn’t even worth trying.
But as nice as it was to find out the background of their art, the pre-story also took some impartiality and it wouldn’t have taken them to understand each track and let it have an effect on them.
A safe space for anyone with a penchant for rebelling
After a good handful of songs, Sody cleared the stage again and made room for her friend Dylan, who didn’t wait long to arrive. She opened her headlining slot with a bang and the title track of her tour “Rebel Child”. And what can you say, there probably couldn’t have been a better song to start with than the one that describes her character so well and to which some people in the mostly young crowd can relate.
In the first five minutes we get full power, a stage outfit that every rebellious teenager with rock star potential would have dreamed of at night and an overwhelmed Dylan who probably never expected such loud enthusiasm from her fans.
Even though the audience favorite had already finished with “Rebel Child”, things continued no less energetically. With the “Girl of Your Dreams” the Brit was able to score another hit – at least with everyone who likes to indulge in their romantic ideas. Their quieter pop tune “Nineteen” briefly cooled the crowd before Dylan brought their country-pop track “Every Heart But Mine” to the stage, proving that while some songs may not become streaming hits, they may simply be made to be played live.
The singer doesn’t just let her feelings out in her music – communication about mental health at the gig also seemed to be very important to her. She made this particularly clear in the first third of the show by reminding us that everyone who came together at Mojo certainly had their own baggage to bear – otherwise they probably wouldn’t have ended up at her show, she joked and meant it serious. But joking at least half aside – she made it clear that her concerts were intended to be a safe space for everyone in attendance and that she hoped to be her fans’ therapist for an evening with the help of her songs. Plus: At the same time, she also wants to use her fans as therapists for herself.
As she continued to confess that evening, she had a new, previously unreleased song that she would like to present to people – but only if she got good feedback. Because that’s the only thing that would honestly improve her excitement. No problem for Mojo visitors – said and done.
All in all, Dylan seemed comfortable on stage. One moment she belted out “Liar Liar” (her joint work with Bastille) on her own without any problems and then, to the delight of all Swifties, she played the acoustic medley “Out Of The Woods” together with her own piece “Sour Milk”. Even when she momentarily forgot the lyrics and had to ask her drummer for help, and on top of that she was about to get her period all worked up, as she said, she still delivered.
No appearance of tiredness
While it became clear that during another cover of Sam Smith’s “Unholy” and their originals “Someone Else” and “Blue” it became a little quieter, especially at the edge of the crowd, and that the halfway point had been reached, Dylan quickly activated it again with another unreleased song. She had already teased “Alibi” on her socials weeks before and published snippets that were immediately available thanks to its catchy chorus, so that the audience slowly but surely thawed out again. The track is about unconditional, perhaps a little too unconditional love, for which you would do anything – even to provide an alibi if the other person had to make a corpse disappear (for example, of course). What did we take away from it? Well, if Dylan keeps giving performances like this, we might be ready for that soon too.
Any semblance of tiredness was completely gone when she unleashed her hit “You’re Not Harry Styles” as an ace, causing the club to shake once again. People were just as happy to accept the ringing ears for this as they were for “No Romeo” – in which one almost saw broken hearts heal a little. If Dylan says he’s not Romeo, then he probably can’t be. She ended the evening happily with her dance-pop song “Nothing Lasts Forever,” which almost felt a bit nostalgic, even though the show was still going on.
After the stage lights went out and the band disappeared behind the proceedings, it briefly seemed as if they had been pulled out of a dream a little too hastily. Instead of calls for an encore, within seconds there was a rush to the cloakroom. Even though experience has shown that extra tracks are not to be expected at Dylan’s gigs, one was still surprised at how quickly the audience finished the last song and began their journey home.
But that was quickly digested and after two hours of singing along in the club, it was quite pleasant to be able to breathe air above ground again. In conclusion, there’s little more to say than – thank you, Dylan! And call if you need an alibi. In the getaway car, your tracks are playing on a continuous loop…