JADAR

★★★★★

Daði Freyr is a rare Eurovision artist who has found international fame, thanks to his innovative artistry, distinctive image, and infectious personality. His current tour opened at the iconic Albert Hall in Manchester, with support from Montaigne, another Eurovision 2020/21 act – who Daði collaborated with on a track in 2022.

Australian art-pop artist Montaigne was supposed to compete in Eurovision in 2020 with ‘Don’t Break Me’ but, of course, the contest was cancelled. Like most acts, they came back the next year with a new song: ‘Technicolour’ – which sadly did not make kt to the grand final. Montaigne performed both of those songs “because it would be stupid not to”.

Their best number, however, was the opening, in which they incorporated stylised movements into the performance. Montaigne grew up listening to Kate Bush, which is unsurprising when you see them live – but there are also elements of Björk. The audience were transfixed, from start to finish, which is rare for an opening act. It was certainly one of the most exciting and entertaining opening acts that I have ever seen.

Daði’s set combined music and stand-up comedy, though it did not appear particularly scripted. He’s just naturally funny, in that endearing nerdy Nordic way.

“Now I’m gonna sing a song, stop talking for a little bit, and then right when this song’s over, I’m probably gonna say something more,” he said after the first song. Later, he named the co-songwriter of the upcoming song, telling us, “You might know her. A moment of silent for [her name]… Thank you. She’s alive and doing really well.”

On the topic of Manchester, he said, “So, football, huh. You got one of the best teams,” to laughter, before telling us that be does not care about football.

On the name of the tour – The Sensual, Seductive & Sexy Tour – he said, “If you come from this tour and think, ‘That wasnt sensual, seductive and sexy… you’re wrong. Stop saying that. It really hurts my feelings. Tell me I’m sexy.” “You’re sexy!” shouted everyone.

Two of three times, fans thew funky pens onstage. Before the show, Daði had asked fans to bring him those pens as gifts to add to his collection.

The set was simple, with four portrait screens surrounding Daði. The videos of animations were all as camp and quirky as one would expect for Daði, from animal versions of him to a four-piece band, one member in each screen, made up entirely of him.

He, of course, performed his Eurovision songs: ’10 Years’ (2021) and ‘Think About Things’ (2020), closing the show with the latter.

Covers included Daði-fied renditions of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’, Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’, and Atomic Kitten’s ‘Whole Again’. He closed the show with the latter, which he first performed during ‘The Liverpool Songbook’ at Eurovision in 2023. I got to see the first-ever dress rehearsal performance, which was exclusively for press. Daði even brought Montaigne back out to perform their duet, ‘make me feel so…’

The show was fun from start to finish. There were some songs I did not know but Daði’s music is so funky and infectious that you cannot help but move and groove along to it. His deadpan humour slickly broke up the songs, some of which sound a little samey. The set was basic but well-used, and the videos transported us to Daði’s crazy cartoon world. But Daði does not need a spectacle; he completely dominates the stage (and not just because he is 6’10”).

Photo: Jay Darcy @ JaDar