She was the top dog on Team Blake, came in second place, captured the hearts of many new fans around the nation and around the world from season one of The Voice. She was also highly praised on the show for her creativity for her song cover choices such as "Heartless" and "Losing Your Religion". If you still don't know who I'm talking about by now, it's Dia Frampton!
After being on the first season of The Voice, she was signed with Universal Republic Records where she released her first solo album called "Red". Her solo album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers and 103rd on the Billboards Top 200 Albums chart. This album release kick started a tour across the nation where she opened for her coach, Blake Shelton, from the tv show and also had her own headlining shows in between with her band Meg & Dia.
Before Dia was on The Voice, she was part of a band that was founded by her and her sister Meg called Meg & Dia. Her band had made a total of four albums and their latest album called "Cocoon" was released last year. Just after Dia's release of her album "Red", her band also released an EP consisting of songs that didn't make it on their "Cocoon" album. I was fortunate enough to attend Dia's headlining show at Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland which was over an hour and a half away from home.
I first heard of Dia when she was on The Voice, unlike some others who have followed Dia and her sister before the show was even aired. I wasn't aware that she was in a band with her sister until later on. Dia has always been my favorite pick on the first season and was hoping she would win it all, but I was still happy that she got as far as she did and won second place in the show. The covers that she performed on the show was just incredible and shows how creative she can be to make someone else's music her own.
When I finally heard she was signed and working on a solo album under Universal Republic, I was extremely excited about the news. I knew that she had so much talent that regardless if she won or not on The Voice, she would still land herself a new label with an album in the works. When the album was ready for pre-order, I was definitely one of the firsts to pre-order it. I didn't expect to be able to see her perform live and meet her at all. I knew that she was going to tour with Blake but was expecting to hear that she was touring headlined shows in between, so I was really happy hear that.
Once the tour dates and venues were released to the general public, I found out that Dia was going to have shows in the DC Metro area at the Patriot Center in George Mason University to open for Blake which is just about twenty minutes away and another show at Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland which was further away. I was pretty excited at this point. What I had to do next was to make a tough decision--either go to watch Dia in Northern Virginia or in Maryland. I was tempted to go to the Northern Virginia show because it was just twenty minutes away from home, but I had to consider all the benefits of going to the Maryland show. If I went to watch at the Recher Theatre, it would be cheaper, I would be watching Dia and her sister headline the show which meant more air time, a better chance to meet the Frampton sisters after the show since it was a much smaller show, and be able to see them perform at a much more intimate show. I just had to sacrifice driving an hour and a half of driving. Therefore after considering all options, I chose to go to the Maryland show. And let me say now that the show at Recher Theatre was worth the long drive!
On the day of the show, my sister and I left the house at about 2:30pm in order to get to Towson about 4pm to have an early dinner. I did some research before heading out and found out there was a pho restaurant right next to the venue. Once we got to Towson, we tried to find street parking which wasn't too bad. We were able to get a spot which didn't require me to feed the meter, and it was only about a block away from the venue. My only concern that day was the snow. I was hoping it didn't stick since the show will end late and won't be home until around 1am, and luckily, it didn't. I wouldn't want to have a slippery slide back home. After I parked, we went to eat at Pho Dat Thanh. The pho wasn't too bad price wise at $5.75 a bowl and tasted pretty authentic. Since doors didn't open until 7pm and lines were surprisingly still non-existent at 6pm, we went to Barnes & Noble and hung out there for about half an hour.
Once we headed back to Recher Theatre, the line has finally started but wasn't too long. My sister and I were probably the 12th person in line which isn't bad since it's a standing show. Doors opened a little after 7pm, and I made our way to the stage to near the front while my sister stays in the middle of the room where she could lean on a table. I setup my camcorder and tripod and tested out the lighting and exposure for my DLSR camera. I wanted to claim my area to get a good view for the show.
The show seemed like it started a bit late and started after 8:15pm. We soon learned before the show that Dia didn't just have one opening act but had two openning acts. The first opening act had to be a last minute change for a local DC band because it wasn't advertised when I bought the ticket. Before Dia took the stage, Andrew Allen from Canada performed a few songs.
Dia didn't take the stage until around 9:30pm which took a lot of people by surprise including myself. Once Dia, Meg, and her band came out, it was just magical, exciting, and exhilarating! Seeing Dia and Meg come out all dressed up was like a dream come true. They were so magnificent and much prettier in person. 
Dia performed a total of fourteen songs and returned for an encore performance. Seeing them sing and dance on stage just shows how much they enjoy touring and enjoy performing for their fans. Dia had such a beautiful voice, and Meg was just so talented. Throughout the show, you would see Meg sing, dance (on high heels), play the guitar, drums, and percussion. It was just a fun show from the beginning to the very end. Majority of the songs she performed were songs off her new solo album "Red". She also performed several covers, and a few songs from Meg & Dia's "Cocoon" album.
To see Dia's set list performance and see her prologues click on the links below. If you want to see their entire performance, I've also embedded a playlist video.
[ Prologue | Performance ] Don't Kick The Chair
[ Prologue | Performance ] Isabella
[ Prologue | Performance ] Trapeze
[ Prologue | Performance ] Good Boy
[ Prologue | Performance ] Bandits
[ Prologue | Performance ] I Will
[ Prologue | Performance ] Billy The Kid
[ Prologue | Performance ] Part-Time Model (cover)
[ Prologue | Performance ] Homeless
[ Prologue | Performance ] Daniel
[ Prologue | Performance ] Bad Moon Rising (cover)
[ Prologue | Performance ] American Girl (cover)
[ Prologue | Performance ] Walk Away
[ Prologue | Performance ] The Broken Ones [Music Video]
[ Prologue | Performance ] Heartless (cover) *Encore*
After Dia and her band finished their encore performance, they left the stage, I waited patiently to asked for their set-list on paper. There were like five set-lists on paper on stage; one for each band member, so I wasn't too worried that I couldn't get one. The set-list paper just made my life easier when it was time for me to edit the videos I captured at the show.
Before the show ended, Dia did mention she and Meg was coming out after the show for a meet and greet. At that point, I know this night couldn't have been any better. Everything happened the way I would have hoped. While I was in line, I decided to also buy their "Cocoon" album so both Frampton sisters can sign it. 
My heart started to beat faster and faster as I get closer and closer. I was like the eighth person in line and it was finally my time. As I stepped up to meet Dia and Meg, I handed her the "Red" album for her to sign, then had both her and Meg sign the "Cocoon" album. After they signed the CDs and covers, I had my picture taken first with just Dia and another with both the lovely and the beautiful Framptons.
