And Now For Someone Completely Different
or what?!? It's someone other than Francis or Rhett?!?I know, right? And no, I'm not feverish either.
Okay, so turns out we actually do go to see different people occasionally. This past Tuesday night we hopped in Sabina--our car, not some fetching Czech gal-- and high-tailed it to town to watch England's David Gray rock our socks off!
Geo and I favor the intimacy of little clubs where performers scale down their shows to a one or two-person acoustic set. We love the interaction and connection with the audience that happens in these settings. It has been a looooong time since we attended a full-on, high powered, this-goes-up-to-eleven theatrical production complete with a lighting extravaganza.
The concert started with the band playing in silhouette behind a beautiful, billowy floor-to-ceiling white curtain. It was a bit like crazy, rock shadow puppet theater. Then at the critical moment the curtain was released and gracefully drifted down revealing the band playing in full tilt mode, crushing the chorus of their latest hit, "Fugitive".
Seeminly heeding the advice of How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson, David and company were "suited up" much like English bands of the 80s. Luckily for all of us, the semi-formal wear did nothing to prevent them all from cranking it through hit after hit after hit. I had forgotten how many of his songs I love.
The theater was packed with willing disciples cheering after every song, movement or utterance. It was kinda ridiculous. Even Mr. Gray himself seemed a little surprised by the level of adoration bestowed upon him. There was one girl in particular in front who kept standing and dancing alone. She was totally digging him. I say good for her! Shake it, Sista like you don't need the money. You can see her silhouette in this photo.
The energy level was huge. He could not stop moving his legs or head. He shook his head to and fro so hard I kept expecting to see it fly off his neck! They stuffed the two hours with all their hits and then some, giving their all. Seriously, how could you not have fun watching someone who clearly enjoys his work. Sadly there was absolutely no play with the audience, but then again that's not what this evening was about.
The encore was pretty much him alone with his gee-tar. He has such a strong, clear voice though even those quieter songs were commanding. The finale was a classic hullabaloo of power pop. It was a great night. Different for us, but well worth the sleep deprivation and copious coffee consumption to survive a 3am wake up the next morning. Oy!
Oh well. As our friend Doug always says, "you can sleep when you're dead". Although I'm certain he totally stole that from some movie.
So there you have it. Actual proof that we patronize artists other than our Free Masons buddy, Francis and my fantasy hubby, Rhett. So suck it.
I leave you with a video of "Stella (the artist)" from his last album:
