"Welcome to the unconventional convention centre" David Gray cheekily smiled on the small stage that marked the first intimate gig to take place in the modern venue that recently held a monumental event for the Queen.
David's opening line would set the tone for the night, starting the show with a string of classic hits from his much earlier albums, it's clear that his 'Lost and Found' tour is all about reminding his hard core fans what he's really all about.
I was extremely lucky to be invited along to see David up close and personal in Dublin last night. As a long time fan, I was slightly starstruck when I saw a dashing looking fellow standing right in front of me, head to toe in a specially cut suit with a sleek waist coat to top it all off... introducing David Gray ladies and gentlemen...
Before meeting the singer I was told that he is "notoriously quiet" and more than likely I wouldn't get that much out of him. But I realized that wasn't true once my "10 minutes" with the star turned into 20 minutes of getting to know the man behind the music.
The first question I have to ask is how he feels about Ireland. The singer has come here a couple of dozen times throughout his long-lasting career and I wanted to know what draws him back every time. "I love Ireland" the slightly held-back singer told me:
"Next time I'm here I want to go and travel around, and not be doing a gig, I would like to go up to Donegal. Years ago we drove from Derry to Galway and I really wanted to just get out of the car."
Soon I see the passion that burns inside the songwriter, even talking about the Irish scenery David gets so immersed in his thoughts, through his eyes I can see Galway bay, the Cliffs of Moher and the long country roads he took during his last few visits here.
He admits that his relationship with Ireland has been a strange one though, after launching into an unfounded fame with his smash hit album 'White Ladder' everything changed for the singer. He credits Ireland with the success believe it or not:
"Something beyond everyone's wildest imaginings happened here, particularly my own, with White Ladder, Ireland took it to an utterly ubiquitous state. Everyone still talks about it saying 'Christ that was your biggest record in history'."
But he added that with every high, he knew a low would be coming soon:
"The last few times I've been here everyone has been so affectionate, that had faded away the last few years. I don't know if Ireland changed or I had. After such a high there is definitely a cooling off period."I have to say that the set up of this gig was my ultimate dream if I could get on the stage again. Instead of a spotlight on David with the band in the background, the stage layout mimicked a living room. With three antique lamps surrounding the musicians David was immersed within his band, switching from a baby grand piano to a stool with his guitar whenever he felt a change of mood.
Each melody was represented by the background, with soft reds, ocean blues and orange yellows, every song was hypnotic, I know I wasn't the only one who got lost in his music last night. He told me before walking on stage that he wanted to bring back some of his older songs, to "remind people". The second he started playing his older track 'Forgetting'...I felt goosebumps.
It's no secret that David prefers these intimate venues to outdoor festivals. In other venues the pressure is on to play the popular tracks such as 'Babylon' to get the crowd going, but here, it was like watching the singer playing songs in his living room, the whole concert was extremely personal. Three tracks in, you couldn't even hear a pin drop in the Convention Centre.
At times the fans did turn roudy though, shouting out suggestions for songs, at one point someone's phone started ringing (the usual nokia embarrassing tone) and David let an angry sigh into the mic.But David didn't give in to the demands in the intimate venue, when a male audience member shouted out "Play Sail Away With Me David" the singer sarcastically retorted "Later Darling".
So back to the interview, once the 5 minute mark passed David was really opening up to me, becoming much more energetic and smiling excitedly about the gig. But I have to say he sacrifices a lot to share his intimate lyrics with the world. He tells me that he's already done 50 gigs so far this year! I asked him, where does the inspiration come from:
"Well I'm a bit mad amn't I? But I'm addicted to it... I'm addicted to doing the music, I'm like a preacher; taking the music out to the people and telling them what I have to say. I'm addicted to this whole process."
"I love the sense of connection and validation that it gives me to see the music getting through to people and to feel the warmth and applause of the audience coming back; it's central to my life and I can't do without it."
"I'm part road now" he added. And I can certainly believe that. Let's not forget David is also a father and a husband. His creativity is, like he said, central to his life, and unfortunately that means his family have to take the back seat some times. I asked him if it was hard to leave them behind, especially with two daughters ages 6 and 9:
"It puts a strain on my personal life. The people I've left behind are waiting for me all the time. I need to grab a few of the golden years with my children before they turn into teenagers and hate me."
But it's not all doom and gloom in his private life. David tells me that he has started bringing his daughters out on tour, they have actually seen most of America at this stage, a place the singer sees as a second home at this point.
He heads to the US again at the end of the month to do a couple of more dates stateside, he admits that singers have to work hard in the states to earn the top records, but with his love of the craft, there will be no problem there.
Despite putting pressure on his private life, it's clear that David belongs on the stage. Re-iterating that music is his "addiction" before walking on stage, it's clear that the singer is completely immersed in his own music making.
And don't worry David is going back into the studio as soon as he wraps up this tour, with a smile on his face he says: "I've been writing stuff already, I can't stop. Come the Autumn I will be starting back in the studio again."
Our interview is coming to an end and I'm so engaged with our conversation I completely ignore his manager when she comes in the room to tell me the time is up. Like with his music, I'm totally entranced with what he has to say. As a singer songwriter myself I feel the ache he has in his heart when he watches someone else on stage, and wants to be up there himself. That's why I know he will be singing and creating music until the day he dies.
Despite filling his gig with slow, sensual, dark songs, David got the crowd standing and clapping when he blared out his top three hits 'Babylon', 'Sail Away With Me' and my personal favourite: 'The One I Love.'
Overall the gig and meeting David was spellbinding. People may say he doesn't talk much but that's because his mind is going a million miles an hour thinking about more important, beautiful things than you and I.
Just as we finish up David admits that this whole tour was just an experiment, to see if bringing back his old hits would stabilize his connection with his hard core fans, some who slipped away once he became a big time artist, but he admitted he's so happy with the result:
"This 'Lost an Found' tour was just an experiment really. But It couldn't have been better, it's gone better than I had hoped."
With a hand shake and a "hope you enjoy the show" from Mr Gray our interview is over and I head to the gig. Walking to my car at the end of the night I only have one sad thought... why didn't I get into a picture with him, because at the end of the day I have always been a huge fan and I can assure you now I will never stop listening to his tracks after meeting the man behind the music.
PS!!
If you missed the concert... fear not!! David live-streamed the whole show right around the world. Thanks to O2 you can watch it now! Just log on to O2Blueroom.ie or David's website Davidgray.com to watch the show in full, from start to finish.
You know you want to...
