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Where do I start with David Gray?  Well the biggest thing to overcome was the worry that his gentle acoustic style of music wouldn't work well live, that it would be a lot of standing around and clapping.  My goodness, was I wrong or was I wrong?  He was so full of energy and was so fun, bouncy and smiley!

The show started with the stage surrounded by a large red curtain. David came out from behind it, sat down at a piano, and started gently playing his new single The Other Side, which starts off quiet and gradually builds up.  Half way through the song, drums kicked in, up went the curtain and on came a breathtaking lighting display, and the mood changed completely.

From then on, David proceeded to run about the stage, playing on different pianos, different guitars, and frequently changing the tempo and mood of the arena from mellow and romantic, to a blazing inferno of screens, lively music, lights and the most powerful voice I've heard since Stereophonics played unplugged on Cable TV!  (Would love to hear Kelly and David sing together, believe me it would sound incredible!!!)

The show was weighted heavily towards the material on the new album A New Day At Midnight, and it sounded so much bigger and more dynamic live than on disc, as often happens.  But there were all the old favourites in there too - I befriended a very drunk Welshman who took it upon himself to shout "sing Sail Away" after every song - very Stereodonic-esque a la Bristol Academy (you know who you are!!), so when he finally got to that song, he just looked out at us, and said "you ready then?" - there was an uproar!  The whole arena joined in!

Songs from the new album that I think were huge live will definitely include the first single The Other Side, but also Dead In The Water, Be Mine (particular favourite of mine) and, from David's vocal abilities alone, Freedom, which is a tribute to his late departed father Peter.

A big highlight was Please Forgive Me, for a pure good old fashioned dance opportunity - the strobe lighting and video effects for this song were blinding.  David impressed me with his energy and his sense of humour.  There were probably about 3 or 4 songs that I didn't know (I have four of his albums, and there's definitely still more to learn about this man - I love it!)  One of the songs I didn't know got started, but he messed it up.  He slapped his knees, said "Ohhh bollocks", laughed his head off, and stopped completely.  He then said "I was thinking about my dry cleaning ... it's a hard life being a rock star!" and got back into it.  It was so endearing to see someone so relaxed and at home on stage.  I'm used to Phonics having a particular style on stage, where they're all about business, where they're sticking to set bits of information to tell the crowd between songs.  I can't think of a better word, but it seemed like David was just 'pottering about' onstage, doing his thing.  Oh and he has a whole full blown dance to go with that bobbing head thing he does!  It's ace!

I was one of the few numbers in the crowd to know the new songs, as the album hadn't been out long, but the crowd still loved every minute of it, and told him so.  White Ladder is a classic must-have for most people now, and the songs from it are anthems for established fans.  I'm hoping that other people are thinking the same about the new album, as am I.

Click here for the official David Gray web site.