NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2026
When indie pop artist dodie (aka Dorothy Miranda Clark) announced her “Not For Lack of Trying Tour”, I was excited since it’s been over six years since she last performed in Toronto. I had first heard her music in the interim but her 2022 show in Toronto was cancelled so I’ve had to wait patiently until she toured North America again. While I’ve identified her genre as indie pop, her music is not so easily pinned down as she flows across jazz and even a bit of bossa nova as evidenced by her sophomore LP “Not For Lack of Trying”, released October 3rd of last year. The album is said to chronicle her growth through mental and emotional trauma with intimate down-to-earth lyrics that speak to Gen-Z so directly that it’s easy to see why they relate to and adore dodie so much. Being able to speak about anxiety and depression so honestly is cathartic and, for many, a wonderful escape. The number of people standing in line at the Danforth Music Hall for the early meet and greet showed the devotion of her fanbase. This sold out show on March 3rd, 2026 was definitely generating excitement!
Opening for dodie was New York City based Andy Louis. Born in France and musically trained in Paris and Berklee College of Music in Boston, he is obviously more than just a bit talented. Armed with a guitar and an engaging sense of humor, he played a set of indie pop songs tinged with soul while hitting the crowd with one-liners during breaks that were sure to bring a smile to people’s faces.
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The show started with an “Arms Unfolding” instrumental with the band (including Andy Louis) playing in the dark. As dodie pranced onto the stage, I felt a strange feeling like I was seeing a favorite show as a kid. You know how there are certain artists that exude a magical air: Aurora is one such artist but she feels otherworldly, like a fairy come to life. dodie is much more like one of us, our childhood in living color like Peter Pan and Wendy, especially with her hair up in pigtails! While she doesn’t sing of childish things, her obvious joy and affect makes you feel young again. Even the set, with flowers and mushrooms on top of the piano, evokes a feeling of magic. There is absolutely no pretentiousness about dodie and that eliminates any boundaries between herself and her fans. She went straight into “Hot Mess” from her 2022 EP of the same name before performing “I Feel Bad for You Dave”, the first of eight songs from her latest record. Watching her bounce around the stage can’t help but make you happy.
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As she worked her way through her set, it was easy to sit back and just enjoy each moment although many in the audience were singing along to every song! At one point, dodie mentioned that she had written some of these songs when she was a teenager but was now thirty!! But age is just a number and we hope that dodie never loses the youthful exuberance that she shares with the audience in abundance. In our current day when many bands that have been around for awhile and still only play seventeen songs during a show, it’s amazing that dodie played twenty-one songs, exemplifying her wish to give her fans her all. One crowd favorite was “Lonely Bones” as the whole crowd swayed back and forth and clapped in unison with dodie! My personal favorite song of the night was “Monster”.
Before the encore, dodie joked that her normal routine at this point was to ask the crowd about the state of their country (obviously referring to the United States as she was on a tour of North America), laughing that this was something Canadians didn’t have to worry about. And now that many performers have dispensed of the need to go offstage before an encore, her penultimate song was “In the Middle”, an ad-hoc request from the crowd. You could feel the audience knew the show was almost over as they sang along intently. The finale was the upbeat “Darling, Angel, Baby”, written about her cat. When else are you going to hear an audience meow along with the artist?!?! Appropriately, at the end, dodie cartwheeled across the stage. Is it possible for anyone walk out of that concert without a smile on their face? Nope. Impossible! Catch her on tour while you can!
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Setlist
Arms Unfolding
Hot Mess
I Feel Bad For You Dave
The Answer
Cool Girl
Smart GIrl
Hate Myself
I’m Fine
Someone Was Listening
Tall Kids
Not For Lack of Trying
Now
When
She
Human
Guiltless
Lonely Bones
Monster
Boys Like You
In The Middle
Darling, Angel, Baby
