Gavin DeGraw in Central Park (A SummerFun Chapter)

At first I was impatient.  When the dates were announced for the summer tour--#SummerTour14--I didn't think I'd last until August, when my local shows were scheduled.  But as it turns out, the anticipation has been half the fun.  Reading posts, checking out pictures, watching videos from friends who have been attending concerts all summer long has been almost nightly fun.  I think I've known a couple of people at least at every show.  I'll be seeing Gavin along with Matt Nathanson, who is co-headlining this tour, and Andrew McMahon, who opens for them, a few times over the next two and a half weeks.  I can't wait for the adventures to begin but I dread the moment the last song is sung.

photo credit @jbjlover86

The SummerStage in Central Park is the first concert on my schedule.  I'm meeting friends from as far away as California, Pittsburgh and Buffalo along with those of us in the greater New York/New Jersey area.  The NJ contingent met at the Port Authority having arrived by car, bus and train. The SummerStage was an easy cab ride away and it was just after noon when we arrived at the gate to the venue.  Five hours to go until the gates would open.  Six hours until showtime.  There were 11 people ahead of us.  Mission accomplished.  Front row secured.  

We passed the time talking with each other and the people around us, watching the pedal taxis and hansom cabs toting the tourists around and walking back and forth to the hot dog vendor on the street for water and ice cream (it was a hot and humid day).  The rain that had been predicted cleared out early and the sky was a brilliant blue that emphasized the green of the rolling lawns and trees and the white of the puffy bits of cloud.  The ubiquitous bag check took place as we waited and the number and type of security personnel increased with each passing hour.  Blue shirts, brown shirts, yellow shirts.  Friendly folks who each performed his or her assigned task in a pleasant and welcoming manner.  Soon enough with the yellow shirts admonishing us not to run (no worries on my part--the fans in my demographic aren't runners), we found ourselves spread out along the front row.  Buffalo and California were in the middle.  Jersey girls, New York and Pittsburgh were on the "James side."  See, there's the center where Gavin sings, the "Billy side" (left) and the "James side" (right).  It's just easier to define it that way.

An hour to go.  But again, the time passed quickly and without much of an introduction (but a long commercial for the Park's programs and sponsors), Andrew McMahon and his band (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness) gathered on the stage for an energetic set of piano driven songs that surprised me in such a good way.  I'd read he was formerly a member of the bands Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate.  From the various articles I'd read, I wasn't prepared to like him but oh, how wrong I was.  So add another singer/songwriter/piano guy to my lengthening list of musicians who fit that description.  He sang a set that wasn't long enough, of songs from both his former bands and his upcoming album due out in October.  I loved Dark Blue and Bruised (Jack's Mannequin) and I Woke Up in a Car (Something Corporate).    Cecilia and the Satellite, the recently released single from the new record (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness) is beautiful.  It's a tribute, or promise, to his baby girl, born about four months ago.  I could have listened to more from Andrew.  If you don't know him, you need to give him a try.  

This is a co-headlining tour meaning that Gavin and Matt take turns closing the show.  In Central Park, it's obvious that New Yorker Gavin will be the closer (Matt is from San Fransisco).  It doesn't take a lot of time to roll Matt's set into place and re-tune the instruments.  Matt Nathanson bounds out onto the stage with his bandmates and launched right into Kill the Lights from The Last of the Great Pretenders.  It was quickly followed by Annie's Always Waiting.  Matt's sense of humor and timing as an entertainer were beautifully displayed in the banter he exhibited between songs.  From exhorting people in the crowd to dance more, sing along and clap to giving us his theory that each of us has an inner "tiny Whitney Houston" just waiting to be unleashed, it was impossible not to smile while Matt's happy energy spread through the crowd.  I'd only done a little "homework" before this show but was happy to hear a few songs I'd informed myself with like my favorites, Mission Bells and Kinks Shirt.  

Matt had a surprise for us.  He wrote the song, Run, with Sugarland (yes, the country band).  It's meant to be a duet, although he's been singing it solo on this tour.  Well, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles must have been in New York this week.  The country fan in me was super excited when she came out on stage to sing this song with him.

Of course, this being the second half of the tour, I'd already been familiar with the probable set list and much of the banter from the videos and observations of those who've already been to shows.  But even though you know what's likely coming (like the fact that when he introduces the drummer, Chris, he's apparently from whatever locale they're appearing in that night--in this instance Chris hailed from Long Island), it doesn't diminish the joy and infusion of energy that comes from participating in the experience of live music. He, of course, ended with his hit, Come On Get Higher.  His smile was infectious, his moves were adorable and the way he worked the audience was purely engaging.  I looked forward to my next encounter (which would be soon enough).

It took a little longer to pack up Matt's set and roll Gavin's forward but I watch in anticipation as the piano was placed, the drums rolled forward, the Leading Man's stairs were pushed in place.  The light show was tested and instruments were tuned.  Billy's guitar's were lined up in a tent on the left and James's shiny red bass waited for him on the right, directly in front of us.  Cue the fog machines and the chords of the opening music.  As the fog cleared, Gavin's band appeared:  Travis McNabb on drums, David Maemone on the keyboards, James Cruz on bass and Billy Norris on guitar.  This moment of anticipation is exquisite ... the pulse of the music increases until the first chords of Leading Man are struck and Gavin is spotlighted at the top of the stairs--our Leading Man.

Without pausing, they moved right into Chariot and then Sweeter.  I'll always love Sweeter ... "I just want to take someone else's holiday ..." I often feel that way but during concert season, I realize I am taking someone else's holiday--this is not my real life--it's my fantasy life.  But I really get to live it.  But I really get to live it--finally, living my life.

We finally get a little Gavin-speak after Sweeter.  Welcome to the show, thanks to Andrew McMahon for opening.  Who's been here before?  Who's here for the first time ... it's my 21st time.  The twenty-first opportunity to recharge my battery and inject the hope and deep-down happiness that only began to bubble to the surface when this music came into my life.

Songs followed one after the other (Heartbreak, Follow Through, We Belong Together, The Best I Ever Had) until Gavin paused to talk to the crowd again.   "Do we have any dreamers here?  I'm a dreamer...  I'm a dreamer."  He testifies to the power of following your dreams, of doing what you're meant to do, of being who you're meant to be.  And then his brilliant, gut-wrenching rendition of Where the Streets Have No Name (U2) that not only reveals his heart laid out for everyone but also his technical prowess with a voice that literally doesn't quit.  Streets is paired with an obvious choice, Everything Will Change, a song that causes many to find themselves with tears silently streaming as each identifies with the truth of hard choices, facing obstacles and embracing those changes that ultimately propel us forward.

The sets for this tour are big and bold and brilliant.  Lights and color and texture, video.  It's a package.  This production is never more evident than during Soldier which makes gorgeous use of both the video that was created for this song and a stars and stripes motif that backs up Gavin's dedication of the song to those in the military.  He loves this song.  We love this song.  Everyone can be someone's soldier.  Who is it that you will protect beyond all else?

Phyllis and I exchange a look during the opening line of Finest Hour.  We'd used lyric quotes to describe our spontaneous adventure last Thursday when we'd stayed out too late in the Village to hear Gavin's brother Joey.  Well ... it was crazy and amazing ... these aren't decisions we're prone to ... or are we?

The encore this time is Make A Move and, of course, Not Over You.  The band takes a curtain call, a new development that gives a much needed opportunity for us to express our appreciation to the handful of musicians who fill the stage with so much energy that it's hard to believe they will do it again night after night.  Nothing is left behind. And there's a little thank you speech from Gavin too.  He's always so appreciative towards his fans.  We love him right back.

We turn to share good byes with friends and pick our way through the debris on the field (this was a pretty trash-y crowd apparently).  And that's when we decide ... we're going to ride down to the Village because Joey DeGraw is playing again at The Bitter End.  Spontaneity appears to be the flavor of my life this month ... stay tuned.  This is just the beginning...

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Andrew McMahon, High Dive (new)

Matt Nathanson and Jennifer Nettles, Run

Matt Nathanson, Come On, Get Higher

Gavin DeGraw, Chariot

Gavin DeGraw, In Love With A Girl

Gavin DeGraw, Rich Girl (Hall and Oates cover)