Concert Review: Ray Davies at Liberty Hall
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Last Night's Show
Even the Kinks fans in the room may have forgotten some aspects of Ray Davies' life, such as the fact he was shot in the leg while living in New Orleans in 2004. But there he was to remind everyone, first from the seat of a wooden stool and, by night's end, in front of a five-piece band, beer bottle in hand.
Davies is a natural storyteller -- he basically invented the VH1 show of the same name. Performing alongside a guitarist, Bill Shanley, Davies told a crisp, twinkle-eyed tale before or after most of the songs in the career-spanning set list. "Tourists" allowed Davies to describe his experience in New Orleans, where he was known to suspicious neighbors as "the guy who wrote that faggot song 'Lola.'"
The format illustrated Davies' usually delightful eccentricities. Before "20th Century Man," he read a brief passage from X-Ray, a book he decided to write as an "unauthorized autobiography." Only Ray Davies would craft a song about the relationship with his brother and bandmate, Dave, and title it "Two Sisters."
"I'm Not Like Everybody Else," which played during the end credits of an episode of The Sopranos, opened a segment of the show that Davies called "Ray's songs used in films." Davies seemed to want to make a case that auteurs such as Wes Anderson understand the Kinks better than the recording industry ever has.
Davies' songwriting excellence outdistanced his ability to lead a band. After "Hard Way," a song from Schoolboys in Disgrace, Davies acknowledged a fan who said he had seen the Kinks on that tour. "Remember the wicked head master mask?" Davies asked, sounding a tad embarrassed by the production values he thought keen at
the time. Schoolboys marked the end of the band's regret-filled theatrical period.
After "All Day and All of the Night," the roadies took away the stools, and Davies and Shanley were joined by the 88, the night's opening act, for a four-song celebration of power chords. At age 65, Davies looked much like the spry figure who guided the Kinks through their resurgence in late '70s and early '80s. His forehead's a little bigger, but "You Really Got Me" still crushes.
Based in Los Angeles, the 88 played a rousing, 10-song set that brought to mind Wilco before Jeff Tweedy started putting his migraine headaches to music.
Ray Davies' set list:
This Is Where I Belong
I Need You
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
In a Moment
Victoria
20th Century Man
Tourists
Apeman
Two Sisters
Hard Way
Harry Rag
See My Friends
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl
Too Much on My Mind
Well-Respected Man
Sunny Afternoon
Postcards From London
Tired of Waiting
All Day and All of the Night
---
You Really Got Me
David Watts
Low Budget
Lola
 |
| Scott Spychalski |
Davies is a natural storyteller -- he basically invented the VH1 show of the same name. Performing alongside a guitarist, Bill Shanley, Davies told a crisp, twinkle-eyed tale before or after most of the songs in the career-spanning set list. "Tourists" allowed Davies to describe his experience in New Orleans, where he was known to suspicious neighbors as "the guy who wrote that faggot song 'Lola.'"
The format illustrated Davies' usually delightful eccentricities. Before "20th Century Man," he read a brief passage from X-Ray, a book he decided to write as an "unauthorized autobiography." Only Ray Davies would craft a song about the relationship with his brother and bandmate, Dave, and title it "Two Sisters."
"I'm Not Like Everybody Else," which played during the end credits of an episode of The Sopranos, opened a segment of the show that Davies called "Ray's songs used in films." Davies seemed to want to make a case that auteurs such as Wes Anderson understand the Kinks better than the recording industry ever has.
 |
| Scott Spychalski |
After "All Day and All of the Night," the roadies took away the stools, and Davies and Shanley were joined by the 88, the night's opening act, for a four-song celebration of power chords. At age 65, Davies looked much like the spry figure who guided the Kinks through their resurgence in late '70s and early '80s. His forehead's a little bigger, but "You Really Got Me" still crushes.
 |
| Scott Spychalski |
Ray Davies' set list:
This Is Where I Belong
I Need You
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
In a Moment
Victoria
20th Century Man
Tourists
Apeman
Two Sisters
Hard Way
Harry Rag
See My Friends
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl
Too Much on My Mind
Well-Respected Man
Sunny Afternoon
Postcards From London
Tired of Waiting
All Day and All of the Night
---
You Really Got Me
David Watts
Low Budget
Lola
 |
| Scott Spychalski |
| Ray Davies' kicks. |
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