I don’t think I’d ever visited Margate before, but from what I’d heard it’s on the up and coming, with hipsters moving in and coffee shops appearing, and they’re not wrong. Some people see this kind of thing as a negative, but honestly with the state of some seaside towns, I say bring it on.

Even after a few minutes after arriving, it was clear the locals here were not the kind of riff-raff you’d find in somewhere like Clifton-on sea or Skegness.

We also walked past a small group in mid-conversation who said “wouldn’t you rather be a grower than a shower?” The people here are clearly free-spirited.

We got to the music venue, and the security here was even more strict than an airport. Even my wallet got searched. I mean this is only a David Gray concert, what sort of crowd are they expecting? Does David have a loyal following of criminal gangs?

It reminded me of one time in at airport security in India; I was being padded down by some miserable guy in an army uniform. He then proceeded to open my wallet and slowly go through my notes one by one. I could only stand there and watch, but thankfully he didn’t take anything.

After leaving security we followed a long path towards the main stage, which happened to be the funfair area. We were surrounded by wavy roller coaster tracks, a ferris wheel and colourful bunting hanging above us. It was just generally colourful good vibes and kind of out of this world, like if Tim Burton created a movie set but in a non-gothic way.

We grabbed some food and sat down on the astro turf opposite the stage.

At the very back of the venue was the VIP section, which was just really just a massive balcony. I don’t mean to sound like a snob, but why would you upgrade to the VIP package at a David Gray concert in Margate?

Anyway, the food we had was delicious. There was a Bao bun stall. Bao buns kind of weird me out as they are so pale, like a nerdy gamer who hasn’t seen sunlight in weeks.  They just look raw and inedible (as do the buns) but thankfully the stall also served tofu rice bowls and katsu with chips. We also had pizza and chips from another stall. And a beer at another. Suffice to say we were well fed.

The warmup act was The Divine Comedy. Their music never really interested me, but they sound so much better live than on the recording. They started off strongly with fast tempo songs, but after a while loads of slow melancholy songs crept in, which didn’t suit the sunny drunk vibe of the crowd.

In fact quite a few people in the crowd didn’t seem to care for the music at all, they were just here to chat loudly over a few beers and a burger. I wondered whether or not they should have just stayed at home and had a BBQ. 

I remember at one moment someone lit a joint and the whole area stank of weed, the airport style security clearly needs to work a bit harder next time.

I couldn’t help but notice the amount of scary seagulls who were circling us, keeping eyes on everyone’s food. They seemed to be communicating with each other, like secret service agents. Suffice to say, I held my food as securely as I would a phone in London.

David Gray finally came on stage and sang hit after hit. There was a guy in front of us who knew every single song, and was doing his best to embarrass his daughter.

There was also someone in front of them that also knew the words, but he must have only been a teenager. I had no idea teenagers were listening to David Gray.

One of David Gray’s trademarks has always been his wobbly head. Whenever he plays piano his head would wobble away. Now he has evolved this into a full body wobbly dance, like one of those inflatable tube men you see at car dealerships.

Anyway it was a great evening. Cheers David.