HALFWAY through David Gray’s performance at the Sage, the music suddenly stopped.

He’d forgotten the words.

It could have been an awkward moment, but, having prefaced the introduction to Alibi by saying it didn’t receive too many outings, a little self-effacing humour meant the crowd remained onside.

When you’ve an extensive back catalogue like Gray’s – he’s ten albums in - it’s surprising that more artists don’t find themselves stuck for something to say now and then.

Part of the reason why the words to the Alibi, from the 2005 album Life In Slow Motion, may not have been on the tip of his tongue, was because the setlist was primarily made up of tracks from his latest release, Mutineers.

While well received, it did mean that for a significant proportion of the audience, the new tracks were just that, new. And so, to the casual observer, their reaction may have seemed somewhat reserved.

Don’t get me wrong, rounds of applause punctuated the breaks between the music, but there was little in the way of audience participation.

The album itself is unmistakably David Gray and because, rather than in spite of that, everyone remained happy.

However, it wasn’t until that unscripted moment that things truly came alive.

There were other new songs, but they were interspersed between the likes of My Oh My, Please Forgive Me and the encore quartet of Babylon, This Year’s Love, The Other Side and Sail Away.

By the end, Gray had the crowd on its feet and so in sync that he was able to cut the music at one point and conduct an impromptu singalong.

You felt that was how it could have been all along if only the setlist had been mixed up a little.

It was the right way to end a show that began with the best of intentions, but didn’t catch light until the script was so abruptly rewritten.