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Ray Davies ~ 2009 November 17 ~ Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA

... by Joanne Corsano

Setlist

I Need You - I'm Not Like Everybody Else - Apeman - In a Moment - Hymn For a New Age - Waterloo Sunset - Dedicated Follower of Fashion - Morphine Song - Sunny Afternoon - Celluloid Heroes - Till the End of the Day - Where Have All the Good Times Gone - After the Fall - One More Time - The Tourist - Victoria - Come Dancing - Moments {rarely performed song from the album Percy} - Twentieth Century Man ... encore ... Long Way From Home - The Getaway - All Day and All of the Night - Low Budget ... second encore ... Starstruck {very short snippet} - Lola

Review

I've seen Ray Davies of the Kinks solo about ten times over the years, in a variety of venues. The Berklee Performance Center is one of the better ones. I was up in the balcony so I didn't get any pictures. Ray was accompanied by various combinations of musicians. For some songs it was just him with his guitarist. Other songs featured the full band, sometimes with an additional female singer. To his credit, he played a good long show with a nice mix of klassic Kinks with new material from his recent solo albums. I do feel that the Dave Davies Band used to do a better job with a lot of the songs than Ray does, but each brother has an equal right to the Kinks material, and I suppose many patrons would object if they omitted songs like "You Really Got Me."

Ray's current band is better than the one he had assembled when he was first doing a rock show as a solo act. For one thing, Ian Gibbons, who played keyboards in the Kinks during their later years, is in the band. He got a very enthusiastic reception from the crowd. There are a lot of fans out there who still wish the Kinks would get back together, despite indications it will never happen. Of course, any guitarist who plays in a band with Ray Davies will suffer from comparison with Dave Davies.

One aspect of this show that put a damper on my enthusiasm was the fact that Ray is still trying to get cheap laughs at his younger brother's expense. When introducing Ian Gibbons, he said "here is someone who suffered for many years at the hands of my brother Dave." The crowd groaned and hissed. They really didn't like this puerile attempt at humor. Ray realized this and quickly tried to cover his tracks, saying: "I meant he suffered for many years at the hands of Mick Avory." Too late, Ray, the damage is done. For one thing, I don't think there was ever any animosity between Ian Gibbons and any other member of the Kinks; he seems like an affable guy who probably had the sense to stay out of any squabbles between the Davies brothers. For a long time now Ray Davies has been trying to convince the public that he is just one brother short of a Kinks reunion, and that it is Dave who is holding up a potential reunion. But I ask you, why does Ray Davies think that insulting and belittling Dave will motivate him to want to work with Ray again?

The show was opened by Dennis Brennan, a singer/songwriter who played a lefty guitar. He looked a lot like Bob Dylan, but sang much better.

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