Adelaide’s international music calendar is booming. This week alone saw Cliff Richard, Metallica, Diljit Dosanjh and David Gray all play Adelaide, with all four shows selling out or close to. Well done, Adelaide.
This was my first visit to the newly renovated Thebarton Theatre and I must say I was impressed with the upgrades. The new look bars and toilets were first class, yet the main room retains its old-world charm, making it perfect for concerts for the like of David Gray.
Australian singer/songwriter Gordi was the supporting act for David Gray and has a decade of music experience, not only receiving attention in Australia, but also internationally. Her 2015 single, Can We Work It Out featured in the U.S. TV series The Vampire Diaries.
Volcanic started the set with a rush of synth and keyboard sounds and Way I Go followed with just Gordi on guitar. Gordi is not only a great singer/songwriter, Gordi is also a qualified doctor. She was about to go on tour in February 2020, when COVID hit so she went back to her medical profession for a couple of years. The song PVC Divide came out of that era.
“My job is to warm you up” Gordi told us “, But it is hard with such devastating songs”. Heaven, I Know followed, the song that appeared in an episode of the TV series, The Walking Dead and Extra Ordinary Life closed out the short but strong performance.
It has been nineteen years since David Gray last visited Adelaide, something David acknowledged several times, jokingly saying “It’s been nineteen years, I guess we had better make the most of it”. The audience forgave David the moment he stepped on The Thebarton Theatre stage, giving him a loud reception. The Past & Present Tour certainly lived up to its name with songs from his debut album through to his latest.
A quick “Hello” and the band launched into After the Harvest from the latest album, then back to 1998 for a White Ladder powerful double in My Oh My and the title track White Ladder. The devoted audience were hanging on to every word and often singing along with David.
Switching to electric guitar, David commenced a dedication of five songs from the Life in Slow Motion album, starting with Slow Motion. The One I Love had people’s phones out and Hospital Food had people moving in their seats with a few brave souls getting up and dancing.
A highlight of the evening was Gordi, unassumingly walking on stage for a duet with David on the song Plus & Minus, Gordi adding a beautiful depth to the track. Please Forgive Me, announced with a simple, “Track one, album four”, received a loud response from the audience while they again scrambled for their phones.
By this time David had warmed to the crowd and started telling stories of the songs and how they came about. Leave Taking was built around a poem by Louise Bogan and came together during downtime in the COVID years.
David’s talent shone through with his multi-instrumentalist performances, switching from acoustic guitar to electric guitar and to keyboards, and the four-piece band behind him were, as one would expect, first rate musicians. A dive into the Lost Songs 95-98 album saw the wonderful Flame Turns Blue get an airing. David also revisited his first album, 1993’s, A Century Ends with Shine and for the first time played in Australia, the title track, A Century Ends.
In reflection, David told us the album, A New Day at Midnight was a record that has been neglected. It was the time of his father’s death and David gave us a long monologue of that time, of the party held before his death and the party after his death. It was at times moving, at times funny and sad and above all enlightening, with the words his father told David, “He wasn’t afraid of dying, but of the things he would miss out on”. This set the stage for a truly heartfelt homage in Last Boat to America.
As the evening drew to a climax, Singing for the Pharaoh bought the entire crowd to its feet and as it morphed into the Depeche Mode song Just Can’t Get Enough it prompted David to move to centre stage and unleash some delightful uninhibited 80’s dance moves. Babylon bought the show to a close with a roar, although the audience demanded more.
The encore began with the Soft Cell cover Say Hullo, Wave Goodbye, (David did a version on the White Ladder album), a wonderful moving ten-minutes epic. Sail Away from the same album, did this time, bring everything to a close.
There is no doubt about David Gray’s talent and his devotion to his fans. He is a brilliant and engaging performer holding everyone captivated throughout his performance.
Hopefully we do not have to wait until 2044 for his next visit.
Live Review By Geoff Jenke