A Gray night that had some very dark moments

It has taken the best part of the week for me to calm down sufficiently to chronicle it here.

At the height of my frustration and angst, my reluctance to raise my rear end up off the comfy couch ruled out a yin yoga session as an option to restore equilibrium but, just to show how desperate I had become, I even contemplated talking to Joe.

Seeing red: David Gray on stage at the 3Arena last Saturday night

I kid you not. I realised soon enough, however, that the likely negativity, the heavy sighs and the frequent tut-tuts that the Liveline experience would involve might have driven me over the edge altogether.

Instead I penned an email to Ray D’Arcy, secure in the knowledge that he would, at least, be very familiar with the subject matter. Which he was. And he gave it a decent airing.

Given that the wonderful balladeer David Gray has been a regular guest on his afternoon show on RTÉ Radio One, Mr D’Arcy knew where I was coming from.

David Gray told the crowd: “This is the biggest classroom I’ve ever had to teach”

There was, I suggested in my rather lengthy Monday morning email rant, cause to reflect on some of the negatives from the sellout, all-seated Gray concert at the 3Arena the previous Saturday night.

The artist, who gifted the wonderful White Ladder album to the world, was brilliant, as always, and endeavoured to deliver a top class performance that lasted over two hours, without a break.

But, as the night progressed, it soon became obvious that he was becoming increasingly frustrated with a sizeable unruly element in the audience who had a path worn to the bar which necessitated people having to stand and sit and stand and sit again to allow them to pass.

At one stage he was sharing a somewhat poignant story about a song he penned in memory of his late father but the racket was such he wearily remarked: “I want to tell a story but I don’t know if you can focus”.

To a juvenile shout of ‘just get on with it and up the flats’ from the crowd, he wearily replied: “This is the biggest classroom I’ve ever had to teach”.

Gray added: “Please listen to this one and don’t just piss off to the bar again”.

And therein lies the problem. The traffic to and from the sprawling foyer bar all night was absolutely relentless, to such an extent that it completely disrupted the show.

David Gray: “It was so rowdy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the audience as rowdy as that – a bit out of control in a way”

In our row we had to stand up at least 20 times – and that’s a conservative estimate – to allow people to pass and again when they returned laden down with drink, much of which ended up on our shoes or clothes or created a sticky carpet beneath our feet when their plastic glasses proved too slippery to handle.

And as the night wore on, the more boisterous it became.

A side issue that might give an indication into the type of nonsense that went on: A small group of women, perhaps in their early 20s, arrived 10 or 15 minutes into the show and sat close to the stage. It was quite obvious that they had consumed something stronger than a packet of wine gums, as they are fully entitled to do, of course.

But they caused absolute consternation, standing in the seated area, blocking people’s views, the lights of their phones shining into people’s eyes while they recorded, shouting out the wrong lyrics and heading in and out to the bar as if there was a drought forecast.

One soon fell asleep and another spilt a near full glass of cider on the head of a woman sitting in front of her and shrugged off the poor woman’s annoyance.

One of the group kept tossing back her hair as if she was on a retainer for L’Oreal but, trust me, she wasn’t worth it – on this occasion at least ­– particularly as her flowing locks kept landing into the drink of the man sitting directly behind her.

The artist remarked: “We just had to keep our heads down and power through”

To say the verbal volley and physical threats he was subjected to when he complained caused some discomfort for all within earshot is quite the understatement.

The funniest exchanges on the night was when one of the women repeatedly thrust her arms in the air and shouted: “I love you Jimmy”… at David Gray.

Yet not once, at any stage, did any of the vast security personnel on duty at the entrances show a face.

With ticket prices, hotel, food and travel costs from Killarney, there wasn’t much change – none at all, in fact – from €1,000 and, for that, one expects better standards.

It almost goes without saying that everyone is entitled to enjoy themselves at any concert but surely not at the expense of others.

David Gray – who deserves more respect –  eventually acknowledged that he was dealing with what he termed “a Saturday night crowd” and just gone on with it.

On a short video he posted on X the following day, he described the previous night’s gig as “absolutely mental”.

The constant racket is not fair on the performer or those who pay significant sums of money to hear and see them

He added: “People were just hammered, basically. It was so rowdy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the audience as rowdy as that – a bit out of control in a way”.

Gray added that it was very hard to weave subtleties, the emotional context and the storytelling into the show.

“We just had to keep our heads down and power through,” he remarked.

One frustrated fan Tweeted: “Saw the immeasurably talented David Gray last night – 10/10 performance as usual. Easily the most embarrassing crowd I’ve ever witnessed – loud, drunk, unruly, disruptive – thousands of people leaving for the bar every five minutes. Do better for artists. Shameful stuff”.

Surely there is an argument to be made for closing the bar while the artist is performing – as happens at Christy Moore concerts and others – particularly at all seated concerts.

The constant racket is not fair on the performer or those who pay significant sums of money to hear and see them.

Maybe it’s time for management at the venue to review their bar arrangements or, at least, hire security staff capable of being or trained to be more alert to flashpoints when and if they arise.

David Gray is coming to the Gleneagle INEC, Arena in Killarney

It’s perfectly understandable that the takings at the bar are a key factor but would it not be possible to arrange a 15-minute intermission half way through the show to allow thirsty concert goers to stock up?

Or, perhaps, if they leave the main concert arena during the course of the show, they could wait until a designated break to be allowed to return to their seats, thereby limiting the disruption caused to other members of the public.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend dozens of concerts at 3Arena and, to be fair and honest, this was the first time I’ve ever witnessed anything quite as irritating or as grating as this.

David Gray gifted the White Ladder album to the world

It was unfair on the artist, it was unfair on his band and it was unfair on the fans who splashed the hard-earned cash to see the maestro strutting his stuff.

Surely there was an onus on management at the 3Arena to ensure that the Saturday night security measures were up to the standard one would expect.

The entire experience would certainly make me think twice about returning to that particular venue unless I’m struck by lightning and develop a passion for watching raucous wrestling or, God help us, mixed martial arts.

The good news is that David Gray will be taking to the stage at the Gleneagle/INEC in Killarney in August and then, at least, he can expect a more cultured and civilised crowd that will say hello, wave goodbye and enjoy the music in between.

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