The Dave Davies Band ~ 1999 July 3 ~ Mr. B's Irish Exchange ~ Canton, OH
Band Personnel: Dave Davies, lead vocals, lead guitar; Jim Laspesa, drums and backing vocals; David Jenkins, bass and backing vocals; Nate Segal, guitar, keyboards
Set List
Till the End of The Day - I Need You - Suzannah's Still Alive - Creepin' Jean - Gallon of Gas intro/You're Lookin' Fine - Tired of Waiting for You - Set Me Free - See My Friends - Unfinished Business - Picture Book - Strangers - This Man He Weeps Tonight - Death of a Clown - Fortis Green - All Day and All of the Night - Money (That's What I Want) - David Watts - You Really Got Me
Concert Review
Driving to Canton, Ohio was a long way from Cape Cod, even for a devoted Raving Dave Fan. It wouldn't have happened if it had not been for a change in band personnel that I just had to see. The outgoing and personable Nate Segal had been the guitar tech on tours earlier this year, and of course he's a musician in his own right. Dave Nolte has played second guitar, keyboards, and occasional harmonica in recent shows, but Dave's band The Wondermints were hired to open for Brian Wilson while touring in Japan, and that was a chance no one would pass up, so Dave Nolte had to leave the Ravens for the last few shows of this tour. That's where Nate came in; when asked if he could fill in on guitars and keyboards, of course he said yes.
Nate told me that maybe he exaggerated to Dave when asked if he could play the keyboards. He rented a keyboard from a music store and spent the day practicing in his motel room. He sounded just fine on the pretty easy intro to "Death of a Clown" and a couple of other spots where he was asked to tinkle the ivories (well, so to speak). In any case, Dave kindly chose to omit a couple of the songs where the keyboards are important and more complex. In any case, the band sounded just fine with this unique lineup of Jim Laspesa, Dave Jenkins (bass), and that new guy on keyboards.
The opening band were called Blue Tantrum, a five piece with a female vocalist who had a very good voice and a Janis Joplin style. Their song selection was uninspired ("Mustang Sally"), but I guess cover bands are forced to play what the audience likes to hear.
The venue was a restaurant in a strip mall. The sound system wasn't exactly the best. At one point in the show there were technical difficulties with the sound, and while the club employee was trying to fix it, Dave told the audience to "talk amongst yourselves." Dave did switch guitars for one song while the sound guy was fussing with equipment. The venue also had tiny speakers. Most audiophiles have better speakers in their living rooms. I could tell Dave wasn't too happy with the sound system, but to tell the truth, I had a touch of a head cold and it was a relief, to me personally, that the music wasn't too loud. As can be seen by the big grins in a couple of the pictures, Dave quickly got over his dissatisfaction with the club and had the usual roaring good time.
It was nice to spend time with the Michigan contingent of the Raving Dave Fans, my friends Leslie and Fritz, and the always faithful Frank Reda and Rafaela had also made the trip from their base in New York City. It was a long way to drive to see a relatively short koncert in an undistinguished venue, but I'm happy to be able to say I saw this very rare version of the Ravens with Nate Segal up on stage.
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