The evening opened with the Irish Folk Singer Lisa O'Neil, who was a little lost in this vast concert hall, where I've spent many an hour listening to large orchestras and choirs performing large scale classical works. In a more intimate acoustic, I'm sure she would have been charming, and her voice had a distinctive colour (David Gray fans queued up to buy her CD in the interval).
I've come to learn that the audience and venue are the two most significant elements after the music which can have such an impact on my reaction to a show. The Railroad Revival Tour in San Pedro CA in April featured two of my favourite groups (Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros and Mumford & Sons), and yet the atmosphere was ruined by people talking throughout. Here, the audience was impeccably quiet, and the venue a multi million pound state of the art hall. I was seated in a prime position, right in the centre of the stalls, and before the concert I'd enjoyed an agreeable meal outside in uncharacteristically brilliant sunshine. I was in the best possible frame of mind to enjoy some live music.
So, what went wrong? Engagement is often difficult to achieve in a large venue, and here the audience was simply too polite. I've experienced more rapturous applause at classical concerts, and nobody stood up, danced, or showed any kind of emotion: we could have been at a corporate conference. Gray was backed by an acoustic band including cello, double bass, harmonium and piano, but his songs hardly traversed a wide range of feelings. It was all terribly polite: Gray nodded his head incessantly, some of the band moved their bodies a little, but it seemed so comfortable and eager not to offend. The vintage lamp stands on stage only added to this aura of respectability, and it was not too surprising when he introduced a song by talking about the décor of a house he used to own.
He started with Foundling, a song from his recent eponymous album, but this was predominantly a journey through his back catalogue, as requested by fans. The night ended with his hit Sail Away, the full set list being as follows:
Foundling - Only The Wine - The One I Love - Flame Turns Blue - Ain't no Love - Kathleen - Fugitive - Nemesis - Forgetting - World to me - Coming Down - In the Morning - My oh My - Whiteladder - Alibi - Lately - Babylon - This Year's Love - Fixative - Sail Away
Classical Music snobs joke that Vivaldi wrote the same concerto hundreds of times over, and whilst it would be unfair to level the same charge against David Gray's songs, I did find a lack of variety at this concert, and a certain all-pervading sentimentality and lack of grit.
At this stage, I should note that this tour has received at least one enthusiastic review in a UK national newspaper, and that Gray's performance was professional, his experience showing in his stage presence throughout the close to two hour set. There were subtle changes of instrumentation (including guitars) throughout, and Gray performed some a selection of songs solo. One rare moment of spontaneity was when an audience member shouted out 'Coming Down' and Gray duly played this unscheduled number.
I overhead a fan who'd obviously attended several David Gray performances telling his friend afterwards that he was enjoyable when he had 'more of a band behind him'. I wondered if a non-acoustic concert would have provided a counterpoint to the mood of his vocals and some of the bass which I craved so badly (I believe music should be felt, as well as heard). There's no doubt Gray is an accomplished performer, and I'm sure many at the Bridgewater Hall were touched by the end of the evening. I doubt anyone was shaken though, or ended up re-evaluating the priorities in their life. It just didn't engage me because the music wasn't to my taste, which just goes to confirm how personal and mysterious force music is. I suspect thought that you will know already if David Gray is up your street, and whether you will be one of the many who derive more satisfaction from his music than I do.
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5/10
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