There’s usually some specific people in my life that say they are jealous when I mention I’m off to a gig. My brother, my gig buddies or fellow Bastards from this very website, it’s usually the same people. Tonight was different. Tonight I had a flurry of texts from my Dad, who was supremely jealous of me seeing one of his favourite artists, David Gray, live for the first time. Sorry to say Dad, but you missed a brilliant show.
On my way to the venue, Manchester’s O2 Apollo, I was debating whether to get there early for opener Talia Rae. I’m very glad that I did because from the moment she began to sing I was entranced by her voice. Soulful and poignant, but full of fire and energy too. She’s yet to release an album, but the few songs we did hear in her set, namely ‘Not a Heartbreak’ and ‘If I Were Your Mother’ need to be released as soon as possible. Hearing her story about how her collaboration with David Gray came about told in such a relatable and genuinely funny way meant her short set was completely believable and honest. I hate to say a tired phrase, but Talia Rae is most definitely ‘one to watch’.
Onto the main event and bang on 8.20pm David Gray is on stage and getting straight into the music. Tonight’s show, part of the Past & Present tour was all about that, the music and the most striking thing about David Gray’s presence on stage is how much he loses himself in these songs. The opening track of recent album Dear Life, ‘After The Harvest’ opens the show and as someone who has never seen him live before I was immediately blown away by his voice. Cliche as it might be, he sounds better than on the record and on stage his face lights up time after time as each song develops.
And we had plenty of songs to get through, for a show that started before half 8, I wasn’t expecting us to almost hit curfew, but two and a half hours on stage meant I doubt anyone complained of not getting their money’s worth. David Gray has the discography for it though and it felt like every other song would garner a murmur from one part of the crowd or another as he dove deep into his back catalogue. ‘Be Mine’ was the first of many megahits I heard tonight and alongside ‘This Year’s Love’, ‘The One I Love’ and ‘Please Forgive Me’ made for some of the best singalong moments of the night. A particular highlight was A New Day at Midnight track ‘Freedom’ which David claimed to have ‘not performed in years’. When performing with his guitar it’s magic.
There’s an emotional core to David Gray’s music that comes through so clearly on stage, whether he’s playing his guitar solo, or going for it on the keys surrounded by his band, but it’s the musical creativity that I think he’s pretty underrated for. Tonight’s setlist is pretty wide ranging, some of these songs came out in 1998 and sit alongside an album released 2 months ago pretty perfectly. The few times he did chat to the crowd it was to talk about writing said album, written before during and after his Covid delayed White Ladder anniversary tour. You do get a sense of returning to experimentation and freedom on these songs and live tracks like ‘Singing For The Pharaoh’ and ‘Sunlight on Water’ come alive. Talia Rae coming back on stage to perform their collaboration ‘Plus & Minus’ was a big highlight too.
One thing I was not anticipating from tonight was stage spectacle, but I was so impressed with the stage design and specifically the lighting for this tour. Every song felt like a completely different stage, standing lights that turned around to reveal mirrored backs that would reflect even more of the light. The backdrop of 6 massive drapes that would turn around during songs and completely change the atmosphere on stage was so simple at first and yet so dynamic through the show. Even when playing completely solo in the centre of the stage, David would be surrounded by multicoloured lights that created a really intimate feel on the vast Apollo stage. The last thing I was expecting to be mentioning in a review about David Gray was the set and lighting design but I left so impressed by the creativity on show.
Once we reached the climax of the show, a run of hits including ‘Babylon’ and closer ‘Sail Away’ these were the only times the somewhat reserved crowd finally came to their feet. (That’s not to say that the crowd weren’t yelling, talking and at one point almost having a brawl at the back of the venue). A seated show at the Apollo can often feel like this, where it’s hard to feel energy from the crowd. I wonder if a standing crowd would have lifted some of the other highlights from the show just a little more, as there were a number of times it felt like David was struggling to get back the level of abandon and escapism that he was giving to us. These songs are festival classics so perhaps that’s why they don’t feel as at home while sat down in a theatre set up.
But the crowd did love this show and I was definitely one of them who did. David Gray’s voice sounds so good, impressive three decades into his career and he captures a moment so well on so many of these songs. There were times where he felt completely enraptured by the music itself and lost to it, and from the audience it was hard to not feel exactly the same. An absolute joy to see from an artist so in control of their own place as a musician. I promise I’ll take you along next time Dad.
Words by Sam Atkins
Picky Bastards 