No much had really changed when I walked into the Metro on Tuesday night to catch Gavin DeGraw. This was the same venue I’d seen him play 13 years ago. I was with the very same friend. But then so much had changed. I’m married now, and I’m not even sure if I was dating my husband back then. Gavin’s released many more albums; back then he only had Chariot under his belt. I’m also at the point where the prospect of standing crammed up against the stage in the middle of a crowd doesn’t sound appealing. Hell, standing for a couple of hours for a show is no longer my idea of fun. I’m sure many of us there so many years ago agree, so the decision to come back to the Metro was a curious one. Still, there was a certain sense of symmetry about the evening. This time around my friend Jaime and I high-tailed it up the steps. We hoped to find a space in the comfy couches the Metro has up there, but of course when you wander in after a leisurely dinner that’s Mission Impossible. Nevertheless, we found a nice standing spot by the bar with a great view of the stage, so we were as happy as we could be at a standing gig.
Jack R Reilly warmed up the crowds. I wasn’t familiar with his work, but I instantly warmed to his folky guitar tunes. I’m not sure he was the best fit for the show. He’s the kind of performer who writes songs that are really best appreciated when you can mull over every lyric. They’re low key and lovely, but quite different to the accessible piano pop Gavin writes. I enjoyed him, but also found that in such a large venue, so far from the stage, my attention started to wander. I have appreciated getting to know about his music online though.
As someone who lost track of Gavin’s music, I wondered whether I’d get as much as much out of this concert as the last, which was based around his breakthrough album Chariot. He opened with the title track from that release, letting us know that nostalgia would still play a part in tonight’s proceedings. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of songs featured from that first release. While I loved singing along to them, the unfamiliar tracks never dragged for me. In fact, I was reminded what an excellent songwriter and showman he is. Without my own voice singing along, I could focus on how on point Gavin’s vocals are. He spent most of the night at the piano, but got up every now and again to touch the hands of adoring fans near the front and get that much closer to us all. He seemed to really feed off the energy of this Sydney crowd who clearly missed him in his absence.
There were so many highlights of the night. “Something Worth Saving,” a stunning song from the latest album which reminded me that I really need to explore his back catalogue. “Belief,” a fan request that he didn’t play at the Brisbane show the night before, was so emotional. The big hits “Not Over You” and “I Don’t Wanna Be” lifted the crowd’s excitement to another level.
It’s difficult to compare concerts spaced 13 years apart, but as I filed out of the Metro I wondered whether Gavin might have been even better this time around. I only hope it doesn’t take another 13 years to lure him back to Australia. And that next time, he remembers we’re all getting older and chooses a seated venue.
Image source: own photos