Thursday, October 12, 2000

Riding into town on the surprising but much-deserved commercial success of White Ladder, his independently released fourth album, Gray took unmistakable delight in absorbing the thunderous applause from the nearly sold-out crowd. He returned the favor by launching into an unrelenting set that combined all of the songs from White Ladder with a generous helping of choice cuts culled from his previous records.

It took very little effort for Gray to captivate the audience. From the first chords of "Sail Away" on through two heartily received encores (the second of which included an unlikely paean to Led Zeppelin), he held the crowd in his sway with an intensity that never diminished. He and his band, driven by the irrepressibly rhythmic Clune on drums, fought through Roseland's hallmark awful acoustics and the miasma left over from opening act Five For Fighting's hideously mawkish impression of a mid-'90s Elton John concert, and it's to their credit that they succeeded.

With screams rising each time his head bobbed from side to side, Gray sang in a husky burr that soared and reverberated in the rafters, leading the unified voice of the crowd through songs like "This Year's Love," "My Oh My," "Late Night Radio," and "Wisdom." While the frontman was strong throughout, the band seemed slightly confused at times, particularly whenever prerecorded drum loops were superimposed over Clune's live drumming. But even a few subtle burps couldn't undermine the overall performance. It was, as Gray noted toward the end of the show, a far cry from the industry showcases held downtown at the Mercury Lounge back when he was being criminally mishandled.

The irony is that Gray really hasn't gotten much better than he was earlier in his career--he remains a fantastic performer who's completely consumed by his own music, and it shows. The difference is that people are finally paying attention.

A larger audience is exactly what Gray has merited all these years; as much as it pains me to say it, his music should be heard by the masses and not just those who up until now have greedily keep it a secret. Gray's power to captivate comes from incisive verses tied to eminently singable choruses, precise but sparse acoustic guitar arrangements, and an entrancing, melodic voice that makes him the closest thing this generation will ever have to a youthful Bob Dylan. While he has yet to consistently reach the poetic heights of Dylan's best work, he's getting closer with each outing, and with his voice, insight, and commitment, Gray is already a performer who shouldn't be missed in any town, in any venue.

Launch

[taken from Warner Music Australia]