I couldn’t help myself; I had to buy tickets to see David Gray at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall…eight hours before the show. I was trying to be practical and save the cash for our move this month, but an awesome deal presented itself and I couldn’t say no. I knew Jesse would be psyched and it turned out to be a really fantastic show.
The gorgeous venue was constructed in 1927 and still retains opulent glamour from that era. We arrived shortly after 8:00pm (after a brief trip to the eclectic Virginia Café, where we discussed what we’re going to do with our lives). We were ushered into the dark auditorium and shown our seats, which despite being many rows from the stage were just perfect. It’s the kind of place where just about every seat is a good seat.
As soon as we were seated, my attention snapped to the stage where Lisa Hannigan, the opening act, was singing. We were familiar with the vocalist due to her prior working relationship with singer Damien Rice (whose “Delicate” was our instrumental processional song). I felt fairly ambivalent upon learning that she’d be opening for David Gray, but my sentiment quickly turned to sheer captivation as we listened.
That lady can sing. Not only does she have a powerful, soaring, goose bump-producing voice, but she’s lovely and vaguely awkward and charming and funny. I can’t wait to get a hold of her CD, learn the lyrics and pretend I’m her while singing my lungs out in my living room (when Jesse’s at work or otherwise indisposed).
Early on in the show, Jesse commented on how excited he felt at that very moment, and I couldn’t agree more. He said he’s normally excited in anticipation of catching a concert, but this exhilaration was bleeding into the performance itself. I was so pleased that I made the impulsive, fun decision to get those tickets!
After intermission, David Gray took the stage with his band. All of them were dressed in nearly identical light brown suits, looking like dapper musicians from the 50’s. They looked to be having a good time, goofing around and taking in the enormous crowd. Gray began to sing and from then on I couldn’t really stop smiling. His voice too was notably marvelous – meeting all of the expectations we had after listening to the melodically luxurious album “Life in Slow Motion.” That title track was played, along with just one more from that disc. We heard his popular older songs “Babylon” and “Sail Away With Me” and many from the most recent CD.
The gorgeous venue was constructed in 1927 and still retains opulent glamour from that era. We arrived shortly after 8:00pm (after a brief trip to the eclectic Virginia Café, where we discussed what we’re going to do with our lives). We were ushered into the dark auditorium and shown our seats, which despite being many rows from the stage were just perfect. It’s the kind of place where just about every seat is a good seat.
As soon as we were seated, my attention snapped to the stage where Lisa Hannigan, the opening act, was singing. We were familiar with the vocalist due to her prior working relationship with singer Damien Rice (whose “Delicate” was our instrumental processional song). I felt fairly ambivalent upon learning that she’d be opening for David Gray, but my sentiment quickly turned to sheer captivation as we listened.
That lady can sing. Not only does she have a powerful, soaring, goose bump-producing voice, but she’s lovely and vaguely awkward and charming and funny. I can’t wait to get a hold of her CD, learn the lyrics and pretend I’m her while singing my lungs out in my living room (when Jesse’s at work or otherwise indisposed).
Early on in the show, Jesse commented on how excited he felt at that very moment, and I couldn’t agree more. He said he’s normally excited in anticipation of catching a concert, but this exhilaration was bleeding into the performance itself. I was so pleased that I made the impulsive, fun decision to get those tickets!
After intermission, David Gray took the stage with his band. All of them were dressed in nearly identical light brown suits, looking like dapper musicians from the 50’s. They looked to be having a good time, goofing around and taking in the enormous crowd. Gray began to sing and from then on I couldn’t really stop smiling. His voice too was notably marvelous – meeting all of the expectations we had after listening to the melodically luxurious album “Life in Slow Motion.” That title track was played, along with just one more from that disc. We heard his popular older songs “Babylon” and “Sail Away With Me” and many from the most recent CD.
The Schnitzer venue allows for impressive light displays on stage, which I managed to get a couple fuzzy pictures of. All in all, it was such a fabulous concert. The venue was very well-suited for these two artists and both of them exceeded what we’d hoped for in terms of their performances. I’m considering making David Gray a generous monetary offer to come sing us lullabies about 3 nights a week.
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