When you say the name David Gray most people’s thoughts naturally gravitate to his barn burning 2000 album ‘White Ladder’ that produced a treasure trove of hit singles including ‘This Year’s Love,’ ‘Please Forgive Me’ and what has become his signature tune ‘Babylon.’ What people may not realize is that in the eleven years since ‘White Ladder’s’ release, Gray has produced four solid albums that may not feature the same heavy helping of radio candy, but have firmly established him as one of the premiere singer/songwriters of our generation. This was never truer than at his concert in Atlanta Tuesday night. The sold out crowd at the Fox Theatre showed his popularity hasn’t faded away as the paint has chipped off of ‘White Ladder,’ but rather its been smoldering, getting quietly stoked with each new album release.

The evening was started by quirky Dubliner Lisa O’Neill. This virtual unknown seems to have secured the slot on David Gray’s tour when a local DJ sent her disc to Gray. After seeing her on YouTube and meeting with her, Gray asked her to come aboard as opening support and backing vocalist. A big break for her to say the least. O’Neill seemed to have a bundle of fun songs about spiking obnoxious customer’s coffee with whole milk and the like. While they were lyrically clever and she clearly possesses talent, she never really connected with me. Her frequent asides between songs were rather funny so if the music thing doesn’t work out she should explore stand-up comedy as a firm fallback option.

After a brief stage shuffling, David Gray came out as dapper as ever in his charcoal suit. He was ready to launch the show in earnest, but unfortunately his guitar wouldn’t cooperate. It took about a minute to get the guitar properly talking to the amps which is a fairly common occurrence during a concert, but unfortunately that isn’t where the technical glitches stopped. Gray got a massive dose of feedback mid way into the encore that physically shook him up then seemed to slowly morph into a skin-boiling look. Whether the blame was pinned to a roadie or the sound tech, I would not want to be them after Gray chews them a new one during the post-concert row.

Thankfully, a few isolated technical hiccups seemed to be the low points of the evening. The set list seemed to survey his post-‘Flesh’ career, sampling equitably from the five albums. There was a very intimate feel to the set on the whole. It is said that Gray mic’d the acoustic instruments for real sound rather than the traditional pick-up sound which should pull down the volume levels. It definitely afforded a very listening room type atmosphere that you’d see on an Austin City Limits taping (the TV show, not the festival). Some of the older tracks were reported to have been reimagined to fit this more stripped down approach he was aiming for. ‘Lately’ and ‘The One I Love’ were two songs that really benefited from this fresh take.

Gray’s voice was flawless as usual and instilled goose bumps in me when he dove into the depths of ‘This Year’s Love.’ It was perhaps best showcased when the other five musicians temporarily left the stage so Gray could punctuate ‘Hold On’ solo. It was a beautiful rendition that makes me wish he’d sent the crew on a water break on a few more songs during the set. Granted, the performance wasn’t all sugar and spice. ‘Forgetting’ felt like a dead spot within the set, but it may have been more of a lyrical issue more so than a performance defect. It’s not something I noticed when previewing the album, but was a rough one to swallow when I heard it performed live.

This was my third time seeing David Gray since he first hit my radar on the ‘White Ladder’ tour, and he has kept evolving into the stellar live artist he is today. The emotion flows effortlessly out of his voice, and he meticulously fleshes out each song on stage in a way that no recording could ever do justice. The 2-hour set was filled with panoramic snapshots of his time as a recording musician from ‘Kathleen’ and ‘Alibi’ to ‘Fugitive’ and ‘Sail Away.’ It formed a rich portrait of an artist hitting the maturity of his career, brimming with a satisfaction and charisma. It signals David Gray is going to be a fixture on the music scene for decades to come.

David Gray, the British singer-songwriter, is taking his unique acoustic music back to the road starting in late June.

Gray’s upcoming dates will be featuring songs from “Foundling,” his ninth album, in addition to reinterpretations of his older material.

The tour will kick off on June 26 with an appearance by Gray at the Dave Matthew Band festival “Caravan” at Bader Field in Atlantic City. Gray will headline two nights later at Fox Theatre in Atlanta on June 28 and then on June 30 he will be performing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Other stops on the tour include July 1 at the Performing Arts Center in Charleston, S.C., July 2 at Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, N.C.; July 6 at Mural Theatre in Indianapolis; July 13 at Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, NE and July 14 at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City.

Gray will also be making an appearance at the recently announced Chicago stop for “Caravan” during the July 8-10 run of the festival. Additional information regarding the upcoming tour by Gray can be found on his official website.

In February, David Gray is launching an acoustic tour that will feature the songwriter/singer along with his band. They will visit 12 cities and play in intimate venues.

Gray will focus on “Foundling,” his 2010 release, along with reinterpretations of songs out of his musical catalog. The first date for Gray’s “Lost and Found Tour” will be on February 21 at Wang Theatre in Boston. Other stops will include Strathmore’s Music Center in North Bethesda, MD on February 22; Beacon Theatre in New York City on February 23; Massey Hall in Toronto on February 25; Detroit’s Opera House on February 25; and on February 27 at Chicago Theatre.

Gray & Company will also be performing in Minneapolis on February 28, in Seattle on March 3, in Vancouver on March 4, in Spokane on March 5, in San Francisco on March 7, in Los Angeles on March 8 and in San Diego on March 9.

Gray, while announcing his “Lost And Found Tour” said the outing would provide him with the opportunity for playing some of his more intimate, quieter songs.

Gray said, in terms of how the music’s sound is presented and captured, it will be like a recording session in many ways more than a gig .

The acoustic instruments are going to mic’d for real sound, instead of pick-up sound, which is the usual. This will result in volume levels that are much lower for both the audience and band than for the average rock show. The sonic results hopefully will be worth sacrificing a couple decibels. The “Lost And Found” shows essentially be be performed as a listening experience.

David Gray is busy readying his eighth studio album ‘Draw the Line’ for release on September 22. It will mark his first set of original material since 2005′s ‘Life in Slow Motion’. In 2007, Gray released a compilation of cover tunes recorded live labeled ‘A Thousand Miles Behind’. It included many artists who have proved influential to David’s musical career including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Gray is preparing a world tour to support the new recording. The US leg begins in ernest on October 23 in Boston and carries him through 11 cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles (David Gray tour schedule listed below).

‘Draw the Line’ will feature vocals by Annie Lennox and Jolie Holland. Gray spent the first half of 09 chronicling the recording process in a set of videos he has posted to YouTube.

David Gray 2009 Tour Dates
July
17 – Tetbury, Gloucestershire, UK @ Westonbirt Arboretum
19 – Lucerne, Switzerland @ Lucerne Concert Hall
21 – Galway, Ireland @ Galway Music Festival

August
7 – Boulder, Colo. @ Boulder Theater
15 – Redmond, Wash. @ Mountain Music Festival

September
14 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse
15 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Ritz
16 – Glasgow, UK @ Glasgow ABC

October 2009
23 – Boston, MA – Wang Theatre
24 – New York, NY – WAMU Theater
26 – Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
27 – Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
29 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Auditorium Theatre
30 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre

November 2009
1 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
2 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kingsbury Hall
4 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnizer Concert Hall
7 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
9 – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre