David Gray’s first Australian show of the 2025 tour, at Perth’s Riverside Theatre, felt like a homecoming and a new chapter rolled into one, when local star Gordi, Ella More, joined him on stage for a stirring performance of Plus & Minus. The collaboration, taken from Gray’s most recent record, Dear Life, crystallised a theme that ran through the night, emotional truth, the power of company, and the way a song can change when another voice walks into it.
Gray, who has been touring Australia since the early 2000s, is no stranger to packed theatres and emotional audiences. He rose to global prominence with White Ladder in 1998, the album that gave the world Babylon, Please Forgive Me, and This Year’s Love. That record transformed him from an English singer-songwriter into an international live phenomenon. Gordi, an Australian singer-songwriter and producer who has quietly built a reputation for intimate, artful pop, has been on a steady rise in recent years, her voice lauded for its clarity and tenderness.
When David Gray spoke to Noise11 he explained why Plus & Minus sits comfortably in the set, “When you’ve got songs with momentum like Plus & Minus, or Leave Taking, or After The Harvest, it’s much easier to accommodate them in the set because you can kind of keep the rhythm of moving forward.” The Perth show proved his point, the duet slot arriving at a moment when the audience, already primed by a string of propulsive numbers, leaned in to hear something quieter, but no less potent.
Gordi’s contribution was simple, and devastating. Her harmonies threaded with Gray’s, turning the song into a conversation, a counterpoint, rather than just a decorative flourish. For a crowd that knows Gray’s back catalogue intimately, it was the thrill of novelty and recognition in the same breath. The moment also reinforced a wider trend, that artists with shared taste and mutual respect can transform a familiar song without flattening its heart.
The Riverside Theatre itself, a modern venue with excellent sightlines, framed the show beautifully. Gray acknowledged the history inherent in touring, telling Cashmere that there’s “music in the walls” of older theatres, but Perth’s night felt like proof that contemporary rooms carry their own kind of magic, when the set and the audience meet properly.
Across the evening Gray mixed big, career-defining songs with deep cuts and the newer material from Dear Life. He moved seamlessly from reflective piano numbers to the propulsive, almost hymnal moments that define his live shows. And when Gordi left the stage, the momentum picked up again, the audience buoyed and ready for the final stretches of a set that balanced recollection with surprise.
This Perth stop, the first of the Australian run, set the tone for a tour that will visit classic theatres across the country. Gordi’s guest turn on Plus & Minus was more than a cameo, it was a reminder that collaborations can be the hinge on which a concert night turns, and that revisiting songs with fresh voices often reveals more of what the songs were always trying to say.
Full Setlist
After The Harvest (Dear Life, 2025)
My Oh My (White Ladder, 1999)
Slow Motion (Life In Slow Motion, 2005)
The One I Love (Life In Slow Motion, 2005)
Hospital Food (Life In Slow Motion, 2005)
Lately (Life In Slow Motion, 2005)
From Here You Can Almost See The Sea (Life In Slow Motion, 2005)
Leave Taking (Dear Life, 2025)
Plus & Minus (with Gordi) (Dear Life, 2025)
White Ladder (White Ladder, 1999)
Please Forgive Me (White Ladder, 1999)
Silver Lining (White Ladder, 1999)
That Day Must Surely Come (Dear Life, 2025)
Shine (A Century Ends, 1993)
You’re The World To Me (Greatest Hits, 2007)
Be Mine (A New Day At Midnight, 2002)
Kangaroo (A New Day At Midnight, 2002)
Last Boat To America (A New Day At Midnight, 2002)
This Year’s Love (White Ladder, 1998)
Singing For The Pharaoh (Dear Life, 2025)
Just Can’t Get Enough (Depeche Mode cover)
Babylon (White Ladder, 1999)
Encore
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Soft Cell cover)
Sail Away (White Ladder, 1999)
David Gray 2025 Tour Dates
Tue 4 Nov, Riverside Theatre, Perth
Wed 5 Nov, Riverside Theatre, Perth
Fri 7 Nov, Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Sun 9 Nov, Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Mon 10 Nov, Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Wed 12 Nov, State Theatre, Sydney
Thu 13 Nov, State Theatre, Sydney
Sat 15 Nov, QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
Sun 16 Nov, QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane, matinee
Sun 16 Nov, QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
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