22 September 2014 (gig)
25 September 2014
Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall is situated right next to the imposing and impressive structure of Ajax football club's home stadium - which makes it look like a giant alien ship has landed on the outskirts of the Dutch capital. While there is something other worldly about the Ajax ArenA - the Music Hall is as simple as it comes. A small aircraft hangar style building - with a row of seats situated at the back of the large floor space for tonight's show.
Perhaps it is this slightly cold setting that means there is a muted reception for Gavin DeGraw as he arrives on stage to the strains of Leading Man from 2013's Make A Move. Or maybe the crowd is a little too sober - as there seems to be an unnecessarily complicated token system for buying drinks! In fact, support act Joey DeGraw (Gavin's older brother) points out that there seems very little alcohol being consumed - a worrying suggestion given the venue's sponsor.
48 hours earlier - there is nothing muted about Gavin DeGraw's London show. This is his biggest gig in the capital so far - up sizing from Shepherds Bush. The crowd is packed in - with a deafening welcome for the now Nashville-based singer. So loud in fact that you could easily have thought this was a stadium show by the likes of Coldplay. The crowd love him; adore him. Repaying that love and adoration, DeGraw romps through all his hits from the past 10 years in 90 minutes, showcasing both his songwriting ability and his tremendous voice, even better live than on his albums.
Back in Amsterdam the crowd slowly wake up - giving the likes of Sweeter and The Best I Ever Had a warm welcome. There is a wonderful use of U2's Where The Streets Have No Name and a great cover of Hall & Oates' Rich Girl. New song Fire also sounds superb, as DeGraw wastes no time with the encore routine. He wraps up the show with a heartfelt thank you to fans in the Netherlands that he says have been with him right from the start. Before that there is a random apology about using a throat spray - assuring fans it's not a drug. Surely if there is one place in Europe you don't have to worry about that kind of image - it's Amsterdam!
The Amsterdam show is almost the last date on the singer's European tour - which has been a family affair, with his parents watching the brothers across the Continent. The dates come ahead of a Best Of released in October. Watch out for a review of that on Music-News very soon.
