Live Review: Dylan - The Garage, London 22/02/2022
There has never been a more perfect occasion to sing your lungs out and dance the night away while casually bashing your ex to the sound of dreamy electro-pop anthems than Dylan’s electrifying London headline show at The Garage.
By almost all accounts, Tuesday 22/2 would have been a typical quiet spring night at Islington… not many people on the street, very few cars driving by, and pretty much not a single sound to be heard by the tube station. However, for a rather large group of Gen Z’s, this was a very cathartic evening where they got to sing and dance in a very accepting and friendly crowd lead by Dylan, one of the most exciting young pop talents in the UK at the moment.
As the lights went down, an almost ghostly mix of electronically enhanced vocals suddenly took over the 600+ capacity venue, directing everyone’s attention to the stage. Anticipation started to build up as every person in the crowd knew that they were about to be given permission to jump, scream and pretty much just hold a middle finger to the sky to release all inhibitions. That’s when 22 y/o Dylan strutted onto the stage with a level of confidence reflected by an edgy power suit ensemble only she could pull off and EVERYONE understood it was time to let go.
Opening with fan live-favourite “Live Without It”, the young pop star set the tone for a beyond energetic performance, flirting with the crowd and actively engaging with fans in all corners of the venue. After the first few songs, she took a pause to officially greet everyone and shamelessly shoutout her ex boyfriend who had shown up despite admittedly having been the inspiration for 80% of the songs that were played that night.
The setlist included multiple released and unreleased (yet well known) singles from the artists ‘vault’. There were loads of surprises and key moments which sparked captivating and almost unexpected reactions. From “Nineteen” — the song that jumpstarted this whole journey, as Dylan explains herself — going through her most popular songs “You’re Not Harry Styles” and “Someone Else” to her latest single “No Romeo”, the 22 y/o had the whole venue singing along.
The super young and mostly fem fans were also very into the inside jokes of every track, including popular references to Taylor Swift — “I remember All Too Well, how could I ever forget, how quickly I fell” —, Harry Styles (obvs) — “must have hit your head too hard when you fell from heaven cuz you’re not quite Harry Styles” — and more. But there was a collective gasp as the transition into a cover of yet another iconic pop song took place. Without hesitation, Dylan and her fabulous band jumped into a pop-punk version of “I Kissed A Girl” by Katy Perry which certainly hit a spot with the audience who could not help but to almost moshpit to it.
Having had several shows in a row, it was almost expected that Dylan’s vocal performance was going to be slightly pushed as any artist would be fighting exhaustion at that point, however, she effortlessly took the mic and showcased her wide vocal range while jumping around and pretty much doing a whole cardio session on stage. It was just impressive how she belted through every single bridge and hook without sweating it.
It is always incredibly intriguing to see an artist who blew up on socials over the pandemic IRL since it could go both ways; they are either unbelievably charismatic and have an unexplainable grip over the crowd or they massively flatline due to the digital barrier being suddenly removed. Dylan certainly proved herself to be one of the few artists who was successfully able to amass a large cult-like following using TIkTok and materialise that into sold out shows. All this to say she not only delivered but she indeed slayed one of her first headline performances ever.
With another headline tour coming up in November and multiple support slots already on the books in the meantime, including Tate McRae’s European Tour, Dylan’s show is guaranteed to grow along with her standing in the industry. And with a full EP in the near horizon, fans can definitely count on more heartbreak anthems to come their way.
Words by Nicole Otero
Photography by Ant Adams
