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Previous concert (Dave Davies, The Odeon) ... Next concert (Dave Davies, Toad's Place)

... by Joanne Corsano ... joanne@picturelake.com

Band Personnel: Dave Davies, lead vocals, lead guitar - Jim Laspesa, drums and backing vocals - David Jenkins, bass and backing vocals - Kristian Hoffman, keyboards - Andrew Sandoval, second guitar, harmonica

I Need You - Beautiful Delilah - She's Got Everything - Look Through Any Doorway - Susannah's Still Alive - Creeping Jean - Love Me Till The Sun Shines - Tired Of Waiting For You {dedicated to his brother} - Gallon of Gas intro / You're Lookin' Fine - Imaginations Real - Wicked Annabella - pretend to read from Kink gag - Picture Book - Strangers - Love Gets You - Death of A Clown - Too Much On My Mind - Young & Innocent Days - Fortis Green - Living on a Thin Line - All Day & All of The Night ... encore ... Unfinished Business - David Watts - Lincoln County

This koncert review and others from Dave Davies' solo tours starting in 1997 were originally published in the Kinks Preservation Society internet mailing list digest. This digest is archived at Dave Emlen's Unofficial Kinks Web Site, under the link labeled Kinks Fans ... KPS Mailing List. I have made some edits for context.

Off to Providence, RI for my second Dave solo show. When I got into the venue I found that some of the other "Raving Dave Fans" had kindly saved me a standing spot in front of the stage. I shared my spot with Jill Brand and we spent the night surrounded by the three Brady brothers, something we appreciated since it was a pretty rowdy crowd for a Monday night. There were roughly 150 people in attendance. Not sure how many hardcore Dave fans were in the crowd, but my thinking is that even Kinks fans who barely noticed that Ray had a backup singer and a lead guitarist will enjoy the chance to hear some of the real Kinks obscurities Dave has been performing. I'll bet one exposure to Dave live will bring you over to the "Dave side"! The audience in Providence was a lot different from that in Cleveland. The Cleveland fans were enthusiastic, but much better behaved. This show didn't start till 10:15 (as opposed to Cleveland's humane 8:15), so many attendees had a chance to get really pissed before showtime. But it was fun to be in the company of so many enthusiasts who sang along with "Misty Water" on the warmup tape and then with so many of Dave's tunes.

Dave as a vocalist is probably best known as that "other" voice of the Kinks, the one who adds the unique harmonies and backing vocals to so many klassics, from "This Time Tomorrow" to "Days" to "Jukebox Music." But give Dave a chance to step out in front of the microphone and you will hear a master of rock and roll vocals. From his impassioned shouting during "You're Looking Fine" to his sweet and expressive singing during "Young and Innocent Days" to his classic '50s stylings during "Beautiful Delilah" to his mock-scary technique during "Wicked Annabella," Dave shows that he has a range in his singing that I never imagined. The variety in his vocals was delightful. Dave's weakness as a vocalist? He doesn't trust himself to remember lyrics. He glanced occasionally at a music stand with the lyrics to the songs. And during "Fortis Green," when he wasn't relying on the music stand, he had a momentary lapse where he actually forgot where he was in the song -- I almost shouted "Sister's in the doorway" but he recovered in time, so probably nobody (other than me) noticed.

Dave has embellished the "reading from Kink" part to make it a real comedy bit. "This is the part of the show where I read from my book. Enough of this rock and roll nonsense. You look like an intellectual bunch" [we really didn't] "so I think I'll read the whole book. I forgot to bring a copy -- does anybody have a copy of Kink?" Somebody passed it up to him. He took a pair of glasses out of a case on the music stand and said, "When you get to be my age, you start needing glasses." But they seemed to break in his hand and he dropped them; retrieving them from the floor, he said, "so much for that idea, I guess I'll play a song instead." And he started into "Picture Book."

Before the show I had heard that Dave has added "Young and Innocent Days" to his set list, and I wasn't sure I liked the idea of his adding yet another Ray song to the show. Tonight he introduced the song by saying it was a neglected Kinks song from a neglected Kinks album, Arthur. Then he sang the song, with just a little strumming on his guitar and a lovely keyboard accompaniment from Kristian, and I changed my mind in a hurry about whether this was a good song choice. It was beautiful. Dave Davies, when he has the right song to demonstrate this, is a truly great singer, with an expressive voice and command of a melody.

He asked for requests at one point. Somebody yelled "This Man He Weeps Tonight" (which was on the set list taped to the floor) but he responded "never heard of it." After listening to our yelling for a minute he said how about "Imaginations Real"? Good choice, Dave. In introducing "Wicked Annabella," he said he was going to play something scary, and that if it was too scary we could cover our eyes. Through the song he made various silly faces. He crossed his eyes a lot. During "Too Much On My Mind" he pointed at his temple as if to say he's crazy. Probably his funniest gesture was during "David Watts." During the line that was originally "I have never met the queen," where Dave sings instead "I have never been a queen," he lifts his hand, points, and rolls his fingers in a limp-wristed way; it is a gesture patented by his brother and imitated perfectly by Dave. A great surprise for me was the inclusion of "David Watts" as one of a triple encore, sandwiched between the gorgeous new song "Unfinished Business" and his final encore, "Lincoln County." I managed to hand up the traditional "Raving Dave Fan" flowers before "Lincoln County" started, but there was no room on this stage for him to do much dancing -- the stage was about half the size of the one in Cleveland.

After the show about 50 fans waited by the side door for Dave to reappear, which he did in due course and signed some stuff. I was deep in a conversation with Andrew, the rhythm guitarist, while this was going on. Both Andrew and Jim, the drummer, said they love working with Dave, that he is really fun to play with and that they enjoy his spontaneity. All these musicians have other bands in the L.A. area, but they were huge Kinks fans and met Dave at a charity benefit, got to know him, and their friendship evolved into this short tour. Andrew said the future is uncertain; no one, Dave included, knows if they will be touring again. Jim, the drummer, wanted to know how we knew the words to the "new song" ("Fortis Green") -- he must have seen me and Jill singing along! I told him that we Dave fans have mental telepathy; I wasn't going to admit that I have listened to an audience fan recording! I would never admit to anything like that! Jim also liked the KPS (Kinks Preservation Society, internet mailing list) t-shirts and I suggested that we outfit the whole band with them. I was happy to be able to compliment Andrew and Jim on their playing and to hear some of their impressions of touring with Dave.

Next stop New Haven.

God Save The Kink!

Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Dave Davies and other members of The Kinks.