As the lights went down in Verzion Wireless Amphitheater, the crowd cheered knowing that it was only minutes before David Gray took the stage. Six figures emerged from the shadows to take their positions on stage. Five of the six people including Gray were dressed in semi formal attire and the sixth, which was the drummer, came out wearing Khaki pants and a bright red Hawaiian shirt! As the show began it was obvious that the drummer’s clothing was a direct reflection on how he liked to perform. He was extremely animated in every sense of the word as he played throughout the set. It was definitely entertaining watching him!

Gray seated at his upright piano started the night off with the song entitled  “Alibi” then lead into “Sail Away” which was from the ever-popular “White Ladder” release from 1998. “White Ladder” has become the one album that many fans have clung to very dearly over the years and for good reason. “My Oh My” started out nice and slow with Gray on the piano but quickly turned into a jam band session with Gray up front and center of the stage with his acoustic guitar. The crowd went crazy when Gray dropped in “This is not my beautiful wife!” lyric, which is from a Talking Heads’ song. It was definitely a treat to see Gray change it up a bit and give us something we were not expecting.

“Please Forgive Me” which has a very up tempo drum line in and the entire song I was watching the Hawaiian shirt wearing drummer as he kept time with ease. The drummer, whose name I do not know nor could I find online, was fun to watch since he was a man of many facial expressions and he was the one guy on stage you just knew was having a good time. I often found myself watching the drummer since he was positioned right near the front of the stage and not hidden in the very back like you typically see at a concert. He was definitely a character!

Gray jumped back and forth between tracks from the current “Life In Slow Motion” album and the “White Ladder” album of old. Many of the fans in Verizon seemed much more energetic with the earlier songs from “White Ladder” since that was the album that really put Gray on the map.

After the 14 song set, Gray came out on stage by himself and started his encore with the song “Shine”. Once Gray completed his solo performance, the rest of the band took their positions on stage and began to play “This Year’s Love”. This is probably the second most popular song in Gray’s repertoire having been featured on many movie soundtracks both here in the states and abroad. The crowd really got into this one and it seemed everyone in the venue knew every line!

Having just played his second most popular song, it was only fitting for Gray to finish the evening with the one song everyone came here to hear.
“Babylon” which was a major hit single off of the “White Ladder” release got the entire crowd out of their seats which didn’t happen very often togniht. All of the people in attendance mainly stayed seated during Gray’s performance but when they played the first few chords of “Babylon” everyone got on their feet and proceeded to cheer.

It was obvious that this song truly brought the crowd to life and what better way to end the night than to send them out on the highest of highs! People were dancing in the isles and singing aloud with Gray as if they were up on stage as well. This was truly the best way to end a great performance.

I have followed David Gray’s music from time to time over the years and have not once gotten the chance to see him live. This being my first opportunity, I must say that his live performance is better (in my mind) than the studio recordings available. He was completely in the mood and obviously had the mindset to put on a great show for the capacity crowd and he left Houston doing just that! Like any great performer, David Gray didn’t cut any corners whatsoever and he gave every person in attendance their money’s worth and then some!
Setlist:
Alibi
Sail Away
Hospital Food
My Oh My
Lately
Slow Motion
Please Forgive Me
Silver Lining
Ain’t No Love
T.O.I.L.
Nos Da
Now and Always
Long Distance
Freedom
—Encore—
Shine
This Year’s Love
Babylon