David Gray - "Tell Me Something (Hospital Food)"

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

mms://66.186.0.101/allaccess/davitell.wma

This is the follow-up to his #1 AAA hit "The One I Love." It's not doing as well as that song, but it should be. It's a nice folk-pop mid-tempo with a catchy hook, good vocals and some great drumwork.

[RedDragon]

Yeah I like this. But it's just OK.

[Robert J]

Based on the title alone, I have to wonder if this is meant to spoof The Fray's new song.

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

robertj said:

Based on the title alone, I have to wonder if this is meant to spoof The Fray's new song.

Its real title is "Hospital Food" but they changed it to something more conventional for US radio.

[NORTHCOAST]

I really like it! But the name is really stupid. It should be "Tell me something" or something like that. I just couldn't get past the Bruce Springsteen comparison to his first single. Like the song but it still kind of bugs me that it seems kind of copped from Bruce.

I'm going to see David this Friday in Cleveland!! Yay! The only thing I'm ticked about is that Anna Nalick is playing here the same night and I REALLY want to see her in a small venue. But had already committed to David's show with some friends. Damn! And Anna's show is only $15!!! Hope she comes back around this summer!

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

That's great that you're going to his concert. I saw him live at Radio City back in 2001 and he really puts on a good show. It was a very simple show (no special effects or anything like that) but he puts a lot into delivery. Have a good time and let us know how it is.

[NORTHCOAST]

jerseyboy said:

That's great that you're going to his concert. I saw him live at Radio City back in 2001 and he really puts on a good show. It was a very simple show (no special effects or anything like that) but he puts a lot into delivery. Have a good time and let us know how it is.

I've got really good seats too. It's going to be a concert unlike any I've been to recently I imagine. Can't imagine a lot of standing up and singing along like most concerts I've been to recently. But he seems like a great guy and love his voice. I'll let you know how it goes.

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

northcoast said:

jerseyboy said:

That's great that you're going to his concert. I saw him live at Radio City back in 2001 and he really puts on a good show. It was a very simple show (no special effects or anything like that) but he puts a lot into delivery. Have a good time and let us know how it is.

I've got really good seats too. It's going to be a concert unlike any I've been to recently I imagine. Can't imagine a lot of standing up and singing along like most concerts I've been to recently. But he seems like a great guy and love his voice. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yeah, I didn't know most of the songs when I went to his concert but I liked some of them enough to seek them out after the show. My favorite song by him is possibly "Late Night Radio," which was from before he became famous. His other two highlights for me include "Sail Away" and "Last Boat To America."

[NORTHCOAST]

Here's my review of the concert last night. I posted this on the DG website, so I'll just copy and paste it here:

I really enjoyed the show too. My first DG concert. We were on the far left in the fourth row. It was so cool to be soooooo close to be able to see hand gestures and facial expressions and the little smiles back and forth between David and his band members. I was really surprised at David's movements on stage. Almost a drunken abandon as staggered around as he played his guitar. And with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. He looked like a little punch-drunk toddler at times. It was quite unusual but very cute. I was happy that I knew almost every song. Didn't know Shine and two others. My favorite moment was Hospital Food. The crowd was really into it and singing along. In fact, I noticed a lot of singing along throughout the show. I loved the cover of The Cure. Does he do covers alot? Any others? I love to hear what songs bands cover. I also thought it was cool that the drum kit was set up right up front on the stage. The drummer was really fun to watch. He had his floral shirt wide open with his chest exposed. It was neat to see the other male band members all in suits.
This being my first DG show, I noticed a few things that took me by surprise. I actually was surprised at how many people stood throughout the show. I didn't expect that. And I was surprised at how little he conversed with the crowed. I'm used to some artists that do a lot of playful banter about things in between songs. I wish we could have heard some more from him. A couple of times he flicked his arm at the crowd as he sat at the piano like he was encouraging more crowd participation. He even got up at one point and seemed very animated and gestured to the crowd and it looked like he said something like "get on your f**king feet" . Did anyone else notice this?? I asked my friend about it and she said that most of the balcony wasn't standing at all. I don't have any experience with David's personality so some of these moments were interesting to me. In fact, I thought to myself that I could see him being kind of pissy at times. Is that an accurate assessment??

And who would have thought a David Gray concert would bring out the rowdies! But two girls in the row behind us were talking throughout. A woman in front of them shushed them and said that they were ruining the concert for them. But of course they just kept on gabbing drunkenly and now were being b*tchy to the couple. Then all of a sudden the woman looks down and sees that her fur jacket is gone, along with the two drunk girls who had left about 3/4 of the way through the concert (right after the one drunk girl had said "this was soooooo worth it!" ). The woman cried out that "those b*tches stole my coat!!" and her husband ran up the aisle to get security. Then the woman repeated that line to all of us around her about five times. Then the woman finally left (thank God! All the drama ruined several songs for us) and returned with security to briefly question some of the people around her....right in the middle of the show! It certainly put a damper on the rest of the show. She and her husband came back with the mink jacket right in the middle of Babylon and proceeded to discuss the situation loudly. Right in the middle of my favorite song!! The drunk girls must have stashed the coat somewhere and the lady showed me where they had poured wine on it. Then on the way out we overheard a couple talking to security and complaining that some drunk guy had punched the woman in the face after she complained of his loudness during the show. OMG, all this at a David Gray concert!

All in all, it was a really enjoyable show. I will definitely see him again. But agree that it is probably best to know his music in order to be thoroughly satisfied.

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

Thanks for the review. It sounds like a really fun night. All the drama is hilarious, although I doubt I'd think that if it interrupted my concert. It's kind of ironic that the couple complained about the drunk girls being loud during the performance, and ultimately ended up doing the same thing in the end. lol

What song by The Cure did he cover?

[NORTHCOAST]

They did "Friday I'm in Love". Cuz, it was Friday. It was neat to hear a cover from him. And I had just gotten The Cure's greatest hits from the library so I was happy with the song choice.

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

northcoast said:

They did "Friday I'm in Love". Cuz, it was Friday. It was neat to hear a cover from him. And I had just gotten The Cure's greatest hits from the library so I was happy with the song choice.

Excellent, that's my favorite Cure song. ;D