May 4th, 2009

A (Fan) Tale of Two Cities

Part I - Edinburgh

edinburgh1The Edinburgh Corn Exchange was rustic and agricultural. It was originally a building where farmers and merchants traded cereal grains. Such trade was common in towns and cities of Great Britain until the late 19th century.  As  trade became centralized in the 20th century many such buildings began to be used for other purposes such as meetings, banquets, and concerts.

We arrived by train at the Slateford stop on the Scots Rail line between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverly stations. It was a two-minute walk to the venue and people were streaming in by foot from five different directions.

In line waiting to pick up our tickets, we talked to people around us. Most didn’t know who David was. One girl said she learned a little about David, that he was on AI, after she found out he was opening for McFly. Some concert goers had been waiting in line at the venue since 7:00 a.m. that day. The venue was standing-room only. We were moshed with mostly 15-20-year-old women, a sprinkling of males (probably 1:10 ratio male to female) and a few concert goers over 30.

Next to me were three girls (15-20 age range) who came together, who cheered at every song, who jumped enthusiastically to Zero Gravity and who sang Crush. During My Hands, the audience was clapping overhead and cheering unreservedly at David’s a cappella vocals. Some of his best a cappella work.

After the show, I asked the girls next to me how they knew Crush. They said from YouTube surfing and they loved his Crush video. I asked them if they had seen the ALTNOY video and they said yes, it was “brilliant.”

Also, I saw McFly fans that were, obviously, waiting through David’s set for McFly. Several groups of girls near us who came together, at first were talking a little to each other but eventually became engaged in listening and watching David through Touch My Hand. By My Hands, they were clapping overhead and cheering. Zero Gravity had them jumping up and down and cheering even louder.

Of interest, next to us was a couple in their late 20s. The guy was behind the girl with his arms around her waist and his head above her head and he occasionally rested his cheek against her temple. They were obviously “in love” and their affection was quite lovely. I glanced occasionally at them. During Touch My Hand, they seemed more engrossed with each other. As David’s songs progressed, their eyes were on the stage and they swayed with his arms around her in rhythm to the music. By Zero Gravity, they were bopping up and down with the laddie’s hands on the lassie’s waist. At the end, they had separated and were applauding.

David’s reception at Edinburgh exceeded our wildest wishes. As always, it is difficult to visualize David’s final show in the U.K. He builds energy and ups his performance at every venue. And, the best is yet to come.

The Edinburgh Audience:

09 UK Tour . Reviews . kizzi