DAVID GRAY

Wednesday evening was quite memorable.  I caught the BX to Denver and got to the 16th Street Mall at about 5:30.  Nick and I met up there and went to the new Tap House Grill on the Mall for dinner and of course a couple of brewski's [Wyncoop's pale ale].  But the real reason for our meeting up was to go to a David Gray concert at the Ellie Caulkin's Opera House. We noted that the crowd appeared to be a mixture of young hipsters, urban sophisticates, and old foggies like me.  There was a dearth of tatted up and pierced folks.

The concert was scheduled for 7:30, but as per usual, there was an opening artist Lisa O'Neill who played for about 20 minutes, followed by another 20 minutes to prepare for the main event. David and his band started playing shortly before 8:30. And they played straight through with minimal chit-chat until about 10:30.  David did not introduce the band members until the end in a quick nearly inaudible fashion, but this is the probable lineup:

Rob Malone - Bass guitar, double bass and other strings and vocals
Neill MacColl - Guitar, mouth organ, mandolin and vocals
Keith Pryor - Drums and other percussion and vocals
James Hallaway - Keyboards and vocals
Unknown Female - Cello, viola, percussion and vocals

While all of these folks are highly talented musicians, clearly David Gray is the well-deserved focus of the group.  His musical skills on keyboard and guitar, song-writing abilities and truly amazing vocals make him most worthy of being a star.  I am not sure how he sustains such a high-energy performance for two hours without a break and only a swig or two of water.  He is a unique talent.  I could not find a playlist for his Denver concert, but here is what Nick remembers:  

Alibi, Babylon, Davey Jones' Locker, Flame Turns Blue,
Forgetting, Foundling, From Here You Can Almost See the Sea, Fugitive,
Holding On, Kathleen, Lately, My Oh My, Nemesis, Only the Wine, Sail
Away, Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Shine, The One I Love, and This Year'sLove.  

Some of my most favorite tunes were from his White Ladder album, which is near the top of the list of my all-time favorite albums, including My Oh My,  This Year's Love, Sail Away, Say Hello Wave Goodbye [in the encore] and Babylon, a song that goes back to his roots.

Friday night I'm going nowhere
All the lights are changing green to red
Turning over TV stations
Situations running through my head
Looking back through time
You know it's clear that I've been blind
I've been a fool
To open up my heart
To all that jealousy, that bitterness, that ridicule

Saturday I'm running wild
And all the lights are changing red to green
Moving through the crowd I'm pushing
Chemicals all rushing through my bloodstream
Only wish that you were here
You know I'm seeing it so clear
I've been afraid
To show you how I really feel
Admit to some of those bad mistakes I've made

If you want it
Come and get it
Crying out loud
The love that I was
Giving you was
Never in doubt
Let go your heart
Let go your head
And feel it now
Let go of your heart
Let go of your head
And feel it now
Babylon, Babylon, Babylon

Sunday all the lights of London
Shining , Sky is fading red to blue
Kicking through the Autumn leaves
And wondering where it is you might be going to
Turning back for home
You know I'm feeling so alone
I can't believe
Climbing on the stair
I turn around to see you smiling there
In front of me

And if you want it
Come and get it
Crying out loud
The love that I was
Giving you was
Never in doubt
Let go of your heart
Let go of your head
And feel it now
Let go of your heart
Let go of your head
And feel it now
Let go of your heart
Let go of your head
And feel it now
Let go of your heart
Let go of your head
And feel it now

Babylon, Babylon, Babylon

And Rachel, David did sing your favorite - The One I Love



Gonna close my eyes
Gonna watch you go.
Running through this life, darling
Like a field of snow.
As the tracer glides in its graceful arc,
Send a little prayer up to you
cross the falling dark.

Tell the repo man, and the stars above.
That you're the one I love. Yeah.

Perfect summer's night
not a windy breeze.
Just the bullets whispering gentle
amongst the new green leaves.
These things I might have said
only wish I could
Now I'm leaking life faster
than I'm leaking blood.

Tell the repo man, and the stars above.
That you're the one I love, you're the one I love, the one I love.

Don't see elysium
Don't see no fiery hell.
Just the lights all bright baby in the big hotel.
Next wave coming in, like an ocean rock.
Won't you take my hand darling
on that old dance floor?

We can twist and shout,
do the turtle dove,
and the you're the one I love. You're the one I love, the one I love.

And Nick's favorite - From Here You Can Almost See The Sea 

Come the weekend
And well long gone baby
Just like the old days
Lettin' the world flow through me
 
Just a parasite in the line
I'm smokin' killin' the time
How longs a piece of a twine?
What use is sympathy?
 
From here you can almost see the sea
 
If you would hold still
Could make a clean incision
We could sit back
And watch the demolition
 
Little puppy dog in a box
Somebodys pickin' the locks
Must want the darn from the socks
Here comes the cavalry
 
From here you can almost see the sea
Just another fool in a line
 
I dream of high clouds
Flushed with the light of daybreak
I'm gonna dive in to a water so cold
It makes your bones ache
 
Fingers knees and knuckles scraped
All of the rubbish heaped
A piece of cardboard taped
Up where the bedroom window pane used to be
 
From here you can almost
From here you can almost see the sea
Just another fool in a line
Just another fool in a line
 
I saw a film once
Where all the air holes froze up
A killer whale swam
Under the blue ice 'til her heart stopped

Thanks Nick for thinking of me when you spotted that David Gray was coming to Denver - special.