Gavin DeGraw melting faces, Napa Valley style.

First things first, I’ll come clean right off the top: I was laaaaate to the game when it came to Gavin DeGraw. It’s not that he flew under my radar or I didn’t hear much about him; it’s much worse than all that. He was one of those artists who all my friends were obsessed with back when Chariot was released in 2003. I loved “I Don’t Want to Be” from day one, but I never quite came down with the fever along with the rest of the world. Similarly, I never caught the obsession with ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. I do, though, watch at least the first episode of every season to check out the cast decide whether or not I’ll have any interest in any given season. And that, my friends, is how I finally became a bona fide Gavin DeGraw fan in 2012. It was DeGraw’s charming personality that ultimately won me over: I’d always known he had a fantastic voice and was a magnificent lyricsit, so I quickly caught up on the music I’d missed over the years, especially 2011’s brilliant Sweeter.

Since then, I’ve missed a chance or two to see DeGraw live, so when I discovered he was not only playing near me, but in a tiny little venue right here in Napa? You better believe I wasn’t going to miss it! My sister-in-law and her twin are huge Gavin fans, so the three of us eagerly awaited his appearance last weekend at The Uptown. Finally, the day arrived. While I’ll admit I’m often itching to get straight to the headliner, I was willing to give opener Rozzi Crane a listen, in no small part due to the fact that she was the first artist signed to Adam Levine’s 222 Records. More importantly, second opener Parachute are a band I already know and enjoy, so I was actually looking forward to the warm-up acts for a change.

Rozzi Crane: Bay Area native & music scene newcomer.

Ms. Crane took the stage in the dark right at 8pm, singing a little a cappella Whitney Houston before beginning her own “How Do You Know (When You Love Someone)?” After, she explained to the audience that she’s originally from San Francisco, and that it was the “closest to home we’re getting on this tour,” indicating how excited she was to be there. Normally she plays with a full band, she explained, but had opted to go a little more “stripped down” for the tour. As a result, the next song “sounds a little different this way,” she warned those who were familiar with it. The song, “Crazy Ass Bitch,” did sound interesting, and I can only imagine what it would sound like with all its plugged-in bells and whistles. At that point in her set, I noted something I’ve noticed more than once in the past with new artists like Rozzi: she has a phenomenal voice (I couldn’t shake the comparison in my head to Taylor Dayne), but the material doesn’t seem to quite gel with her powerhouse vocals. Don’t get me wrong, I quite liked her. It’s just that I can see how she’s likely to grow into her style over the years, and I look forward to what she could become.

“Thank you! You guys starting to feel good?” Crane asked the crowd. She admitted to having her parents and grandparents in the audience, as well as being distracted, knowing her “dad is gonna be so mad that my hair is in my face!” Her next song, “The Thought of You,” was “about a relationship that came so close to working, but just didn’t… Like so many relationships!” When she’d finished it, Crane thanked the crowd for coming out early to see her, promised that Parachute would be out shortly, and urged the audience to come visit her at the merch booth after her set. Crane then asked for the house lights so she could “tweet a picture of you guys, if that’s cool?” She took a panoramic photo with her phone, giving a shoutout to those who stood up in it, saying, “I love that! That’s commitment! That’s the Bay Area for you.” Polling the crowd for suggestions as to which Emojis she should use in her tweet, Crane eventually settled on a smiley face, a heart, a thumbs up, and a lightning bolt, because she couldn’t find the suggested fireworks Emoji. “Is that cool?” Describing her joy over being signed to Levine’s record label, Crane told the audience that he’d sung a duet with her for her as-yet-unreleased album, which would be her last song of the evening. During the song, “Painkiller,” Crane sang along with Levine’s pre-recorded vocals. While I (like most in attendance, I’d venture to say) would have preferred Mr. Levine to be there singing with her in person, this method worked in a pinch. “Thank you guys so much, my name is Rozzi Crane. Come say hi!”

Parachute is a band worth falling for.

Before long, the members of Parachute had taken the stage, beginning with their most recent hit, the uber-catchy “Can’t Help.” After quickly admitting that they’d “been all over” and had decided that this area is definitely the “prettiest part of the country,” lead singer Will Anderson said, “my job is to get you warmed up for Gavin DeGraw! You’re sitting down… You gotta at least sing!” The next song was “Meant to Be” from their most recent album, Overnight, which prompted me to add such a fun band to my notes. “Thank you!” Anderson shouted, moving to the piano, where he stayed for the next song, big hit “Kiss Me Slowly,” after which came “She is Love.”

The next part of Parachute’s set was one of the highlights, even though I’ve seen it before; this doesn’t get old! A killer cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” including a break where Anderson asked the audience to continue dancing to the band while he ran down into the crowd to personally select two young ladies to dance on stage with him. “Stay on your feet!” He persuaded, adding, “we only have one more song!” The song was “Didn’t See It Coming,” during which Anderson taught the crowd a part to sing along. When he took his jacket off, plenty of girls in the crowd screamed. Teasingly, he pretended to prepare to throw it out to a fan, but ultimately opted to hang on to it, making his way back to the piano to wrap up the song and the set. “Thank you Napa! We love you! We’ll see you in the summer!”

Parachute’s Will Anderson and Kit French rock out.

After another intermission, it was finally time to witness Gavin DeGraw live for the first time. At this point, I have to admit that because seeing live music is what I do, I rarely get truly excited. You never know if someone will blow you away or bore you, no matter how much you think you’ll love them, so I’ve learned over the years to keep my expectations low. Having said that, I didn’t succeed at staying cool for Gavin: I was quite sure he’d blow me away, and I was ready for it. When the lights went down, I discovered that the auditorium was full of women who, for one reason or another, felt the same: the room erupted in screaming. (That’s where I draw the line – I haven’t been one to scream since the first time I saw the New Kids on the Block in 1991.) He began with the title track from his newest album, Make a Move, followed by “Heartbreak” and then “Chariot” before pausing to address the crowd. “Hello, I’m Gavin DeGraw. You guys ready to sweat? We’re gonna play for you all night long!”

“Run Every Time” came next, and is one I was hoping to hear. It may not be something just anyone can relate to, but it’s about getting involved when you’re not really ready to be, and establishing a pattern of doing that with relationships in general, and I’ve been there in my own past. I think it takes courage to write a song like that, let alone release it and then put it out there for people, live on a stage where everyone can see and hear right into your soul. I was impressed, and all the while I was watching DeGraw as he flirted with women near the front of the stage. He’s very charming, and adorable to watch as he interacts with those that admire him. During the next song, “Who’s Gonna Save Us,” I noticed that DeGraw isn’t just a hit with the ladies: there were more than a few gentlemen in attendance, but not necessarily just those who’d showed up to make their girlfriends or wives happy. Among those standing in the crowd, I noted a decent percentage of guys on their feet, clapping and even singing along. Gavin’s got the goods, I noted. “Are you nervous?” He asked a woman he’d knelt down to sing to. She nodded in response, so he held her hand. “What’s your name, dear? Y’all give it up for Heather!”

Mr. DeGraw was worth the wait.

Another personal favorite, “Follow Through,” was next, featuring the crowd singing along on the choruses, which is always one of my favorite parts of any concert if I know the words. (Not so much because I enjoy singing, but because I always get a little vicarious thrill for the artist when the whole room joins in on the singing of a particularly well-written lyric.) At the end of the song, DeGraw declared the crowd’s choruses “beautiful,” thanking them once more. “Please give it up for Rozzi Crane and Parachute, they’re so great.” He gushed that they were “wonderful performers,” explaining that they’d been “out on the road for a couple weeks now” and that they were all “crushing it every night.” After going on to introduce the members of his touring band, DeGraw announced that the next song “is a love song. Is anyone out with a loved one tonight? A friend, a family member?” He also said something about “if you’re not sure you’re with the right one, you’re probably with the wrong one… that’s just the way it works.” The song, “We Belong Together,” had a random little dance break that was frankly pretty awesome, and led perfectly into recent hit “Best I Ever Had.”

“One more time for my band, y’all! Thanks so much. Are we having fun? That’s what we’re here for! If somebody’s not having fun, I’m not doing my job right,” DeGraw insisted. I’m only one person, but I concluded that he was doing a great job of keeping everyone thoroughly entertained and happy. “Hope everybody’s getting hammered on wine,” he went on, adding a word of warning about “stained teeth… ‘no, officer, I wasn’t drinking!’ ‘Really, why do you look like a vampire?'” DeGraw then took a moment to tell the audience a little about himself, admitting “some of you know nothing about me, and some of you know too much. First of all, thanks to those who’ve come out to see us before, and thanks to those who’re giving us a try for the first time.” He told a story of the time he’d gotten Billy Joel tickets for Christmas, when he was fifteen, which he said was “so incredible.” (I knew I liked him!) After the show, he’d declared to his parents, “I think I know what I wanna do now! I think I wanna play music just like that guy just now.” To his surprise, his father responded, “then that’s what you’ll do.” DeGraw admitted he’d expected a little “weird father-son argument,” but that because his dad was a prison guard, he just said “don’t do what I do for a fuckin’ living, just do anything else!” Better still, Papa DeGraw added, “Gavin, there’s nothing you could do that would surprise your mother and I – we went to Woodstock together!” Naturally, Gavin’s response to that was, “you don’t want to start thinking about your parents there… gross!”

I don’t wanna be anything other than what I’ve been tryin’ to be lately either, Gavin.

Happily, DeGraw’s success has come full circle enough that he announced he’d been invited to open for Billy Joel himself at some upcoming shows, including the legendary Hollywood Bowl. When the crowd cheered at the news, DeGraw nodded, “that’s the reaction I had on the phone!” Kudos to him on his perfectly timed humor. “If any of you wanna go to those shows, let us know. You can hop on a tour bus… there are two or three bunks left! Now I’m gonna shut up and sing for you.” Not only did he, but he stole both the show and my heart for the evening with a phenomenal cover of Joel’s “She’s Always a Woman,” into which he blended one of my favorite of his songs, “Where You Are.” I literally typed “mind. blown.” into my notes because it nearly brought me to tears: Billy Joel is one of my favorite artists of all time, and it was such a beautiful, perfect homage, I had nothing else I could say about it. If I thought I was a Gavin DeGraw fan before, I really am now, and it’s in no small part due to that amazing moment.

The lights on DeGraw’s piano lit up red, white, and blue like an American flag for his next song, “Soldier,” after which the crowd got into clapping along with his cover of Adele’s “Rumor Has It” into “Every Little Bit,” which brought DeGraw down off the stage, dancing with fans in the front row, into the aisles, and eventually walking across the Uptown seats until he was positioned in the middle of the orchestra, facing most of the crowd. With a quick pause to give his guitar player a shoutout, DeGraw returned to the stage, saying, “I don’t know who I danced with exactly, but thank you! That was awesome!” Next was “More Than Anyone,” with DeGraw stopping short to let the crowd sing a lovely a cappella chorus before finishing it with them. During “Finest Hour,” I made a note of how well DeGraw mixes his older tunes with those from his newest record. Many artists will tour in support of a new release and load the setlist with most of that album, playing only their biggest hits from previous records. Gavin DeGraw, on the other hand, really gives you the best from all of his discography, which is such a nice treat for those who aren’t just getting into his music (and those that are get exposure to his older work, too). His next song was a perfect illustration of this point: megahit “I Don’t Want to Be,” which was simply stellar live, truly rockin’ the house. Why did I wait a decade to see him? I typed into my notes. I can only concede that I wouldn’t have loved Gavin DeGraw or his music like I do if I’d have gone sooner – timing is everything, right? “Thank you!” DeGraw shouted to the audience before he walked off into the darkness, the crowd riotous with applause.

Before long, bright blue lights exploded onstage, quickly quieting the crowd. The band took their places on the stage as DeGraw took off his jacket before returning for “Leading Man.” “Napa! You guys have been such a great audience,” he gushed, before again asking for applause for openers Rozzi Crane and Parachute. “Thank you for showing up for us. This is our last hurrah, so if you know the words… Feel free to sing along. I’ll be seeing you this summer.” His last song was recent hit “Not Over You,” and I quickly noticed how easily the song transitions from an honest, vulnerable ballad to its more rocked-out, electrified live version. I wondered if I’d have preferred an emotional rendition from the piano, but the thought was fleeting: the version I got instead was excellent, so it ultimately didn’t matter. “Thank you guys so much! I’m Gavin DeGraw, I hope to see you again this summer. Thank you, have a great night!”

I don’t know what to say at the end of all that, except that I now own all of DeGraw’s discography and have cemented my status as a huge fan. I also know better than to miss any more of his tours; a rookie mistake I’m through with making. Really, there’s only one thing left to say, and while I mean it from the bottom of my heart, I don’t mean it as a girl with a crush on a pop star, but in the same way I’d mean it when saying it to my beloved Billy Joel. Gavin: I think I love you. See you soon!

(This review originally published by Spinning Platters – thanks for sharing!)