Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8/10
Touring with his new album Mutineers, this was David Gray’s first performance at the recently refurbished Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and his second overall since becoming one of the most sought after British artists of the last two decades. As soon as David walked on stage the crowd were on his side. Rightly so too, as David Gray’s career has been a long lasting one, with 11 studios albums under his belt; he has been performing live now for over 20 years.
The latest album has received great reviews and saw him work with producer Andy Barlow with a goal to reinvent himself sonically as well as musically.
The first 40 minutes of the show was dedicated to this new material, which was met with cheers as if they were old classics. For people who hadn’t heard the new album before the gig they might have found the first part a bit hard to swallow, but after the new songs got their rightful airing, those patiently waiting to hear a song they knew were rewarded with White Ladder and the classic My Oh My.
David’s band is a tour de force and the vocal harmonies sounded incredible. It was also clear to hear that David is at a point in his career now where he wants to change and not repeat himself, playing old songs with new twists, for many in the audience these were the highlights of the show, hearing extended outros featuring stunning synchronization and percussive beats, it was those moments that had the crowd eating out of his hand.
As well as showing off his band, David treated the Philharmonic to a solo acoustic section featuring his cover of Soft Cell’s Say Hello, Wave Goodbye and his Life In Slow Motion era song Hospital Food.
It was during his classic song This Year’s Love though which showed just how much the Liverpool crowd love the very popular musician. On three separate occasions during the performance of this track, Dave forgot the words. The crowd laughed and cheered him on, which just underlined the adoration that was coming off the audience towards him.
Other timeless tracks thrown into the set were Please Forgive Me, The One I Love, Alibi, Silver Lining to name but a few, but the night wouldn’t have been complete without the fan favourite Babylon. Opting to play it solo acoustic, this song no longer belongs to David Gray, it belongs to every audience he performs it to who sing at the top of their lungs. Finishing the night with Nemesis from his Draw the Line album, he sent the audience away feeling uplifted and entertained by a master of his craft who can still deliver with such an incredible disarming style.
Barry Briercliffe