It's April! Part I ~ Gavin DeGraw in Sayreville

It's finally April and Gavin DeGraw has made his way to the East Coast after playing elsewhere in the U.S. and all over Europe since February.  I can feel my nerves tingling and my heart beating faster as I make the short drive down to the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville in Central New Jersey.  I've taken a half day off from work in order to get in the line for this general admission show early. Early today means 3 PM for an 8 PM show.  That's what we do...

As always I've met some fun people--all younger than I--in line.  Most are seeing him for the first time tonight.  We compared thoughts and "favorites" for a while--there were only about 6 or so of us there for quite a while.  My concert buddy, Courtney, arrived and joined me on line. Suddenly Gavin was spotted near the buses.  My new young friends dashed around the corner of the venue while I held their places in line.  They'd never met him and I have a few times.  They returned, all smiles, thrilled with the new pictures on their phones.  Courtney and I started around the corner but he was on his way back to the bus while explaining that there was an interview waiting (you can read it here).

So we settled into the line and the wait.  Three hours to go before the doors would open. Kelly was dropped off and then Phyllis arrived, more fan friends. As usual, I marvel to myself that I've connected with so many wonderful people through this man's music.  It's a richness that I appreciate as much as any other aspect of this new concert-going addiction I have.  Amazingly, this time before a show always seems to pass by quickly--at least it does for me.  Shortly before 7 venue personnel came out to wristband us and check ID's. There was another line of folks on the opposite side of the entrance who'd paid a premium price for parking in advance.  They were the first to enter the venue.  So, despite having waited 4 hours in the April chill and being the 3rd, 4th and 5th people in line, we were not in the coveted front row.  Not only that, the room had a lot of young people who were very pushy (shades of the Paramount, back in December).  It was uncomfortable.

Another hour went by and finally the opening act appeared on the darkened stage.  Her powerful voice cut through the darkness; the lights sparked on and a young lady with a bit of a band stood singing on the stage.  Rozzie Crane is the first singer signed to Adam Levine's new record label.  She sang well but she reminded me of someone else ... I've yet to figure out who that is.  I can't say that I'm sure she's the next best thing despite having Adam Levine behind her.  I find it really hard to judge singers who are just starting out unless they are very unique and special.  Rozzie sang 5 songs to warm up the room.

The second opening act, Parachute, had a lot of fans in the crowd.  They have two or three albums and EPs out so they've had some exposure.  I'd downloaded their latest album, Overnight, and listened a handful of times.  It's a good record.  One member of the band plays saxophone and I always love when the instrumentation includes more than the basic four.  They were high energy and included a cover of Bruce's Dancing in the Dark which is always a dependable way to impress a New Jersey audience. There were 7 songs on their set list.

An odd thing about this tour is that if you are a holder of VIP tickets to meet Gavin, you miss the Parachute set (or most of it) while waiting to chat with Gavin.  You also lose whatever space you had claimed in the crowd because the moment you leave your spot, people fill in from behind.  It seems rather unfair that the people who've paid nearly triple the price of the general admission ticket miss hearing one of the bands and are relegated to the back of the room once they've met Gavin.  When you're paying that much, you should be allowed to be close to the stage.  Phyllis had a meet and greet ticket so we did not see her again until after the show.  I was worried about this arrangement as I had VIP tickets for two more shows on this tour.

No time to stress though--all right that's not quite true.  I was slightly stressed over all the talking, loud singing and pushing that was happening all around me.  But all anxiety vanishes when first his band and then Gavin take the stage.  He's as generous a performer as ever--giving everything he has and leaving nothing behind.

David & Billy backing up Gavin.

Talking about Billy Joel

I love the set list for this show. From the opening title track of the current album, Make a Move through the older hits and other songs from this record, I'm spellbound, hearing them live.  Every song he's singing this time out, I count as a favorite (except for Rumor Has It by Adele, that is; I don't care for that song very much.  He does, however, sing it incredibly well.)  There are some very special moments like his bringing back some older songs (We Belong Together and More Than Anyone) and his talking about his childhood idol, Billy Joel, and then singing Always A Woman.  Rumor Has It is paired with his new song Every Little Bit which has a similar driving beat and sexy vibe.  Always A Woman is paired with the gorgeous and equally sentimental I Want to Be Where You Are.  Both are perfect pairings like a fine wine with the perfect entree.  It occurs to me as I write this that this is an apt comparison given that Billy Norris, Gavin's musical director, is a wine aficionado as well as a stellar musician.

The audience was singing along to everything.  I was surprised that the youngest ones in the room knew songs from the first album.  They were probably only 5 years old when it came out.  Their chanting and pushing continued all night and I wondered what the point of security was if not to curtail this rudeness.  But mostly my mind never strayed from the stage.  Gavin seems to enjoy it (I imagine all songwriters do) when the audience sings to him.  It must be amazingly gratifying to hear your artistic endeavors being given back to you by a thousand people.  He's always so appreciative of this.

James Cruz on bass.

The night passes by far too quickly. I'm excited to hear Finest Hour live for the first time.  Since I'm on the older end of his demographic, I have lots of "finest hours" committed in memories.  I don't know what others are thinking when they hear it, but I see a lot of my youth flashing before my eyes and I feel pretty nostalgic for spontaneous adventures which rarely happen these days.   He closes with his huge hit I Don't Want to Be.

Ian O'Neill

The first encore was Leading Man.  I would love to sit down for five minutes with him and ask him the true meaning behind a few of these lyrics and where they came from.  Or perhaps, it's more fun to weave my own interpretation through his words.  Either way it's an outrageously good song and his performance is spectacular.  He closes, as always, with Not Over You.  I'm always slightly sad when I hear the beginning chords of NOY.  It means this bliss I've been experiencing is coming to a close.

But I'm lucky.  There are two more shows within a 5-day period for me.  So as sad as I am for this evening to end, I'm already looking forward to Friday and Monday.  Courtney and Phyllis and I will meet again in Atlantic City.  Kelly and I have a show together later on in May.  I drop Kelly at her place and head north for home.  The concert high keeps me awake past 3 and I arrive at work the next day having had about 2 hours' sleep.  But the energy I absorb at a Gavin DeGraw concert always fuels me for days. 

Who needs sleep?

~~~~~

Experience Leading Man the way I did.  This is where I was also standing.  Thanks for sharing this video MedicoMG!