The Dave Davies Band ~ 2000 August 7 (Monday) ~ Mohegan Sun Casino ~ Uncasville, CT
Band Personnel: Dave Davies, lead vocals, lead guitar; Jim Laspesa, drums and backing vocals; David Jenkins, bass and backing vocals; Kristian Hoffman, keyboards; Jonathan Lea, guitar
Set List
Charity - Till the End of the Day - I Need You - Creeping Jean - Gallon of Gas intro / You're Looking Fine - Tired of Waiting - Mindless Child of Motherhood - Unfinished Business - True Phenomenon - Falling in Love with You {Patsy Cline} - Picture Book - This Man He Weeps Tonight - Death of a Clown - Young & Innocent Days - Fortis Green - Living on a Thin Line - All Day & All of the The Night - Funny Face - I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Concert Review
Mohegan Sun is a casino that is run by the Mohegan tribe of Native Americans. It has decor throughout that is reminiscent of Native American themes. Wigwams, petroglyphs, Indian paintings. I wasn't sure how authentic any of this was, but far be it from me to critique a tribe's representation of their own culture. The casino itself emits a weird sound -- no, it's not just the constant clinking of the slot machines -- it's an annoying hum that emits ethereally from the space one currently occupies. It probably is loaded with subliminal messages: "spend, spend, more, more, win, win (ha ha ha)."
The Wolf Den, the name of the venue itself, is really nice. I have mixed feelings about the animatronic wolves that are on top of two pillars outside the venue (Rafaela said that not only did they wag their tails and wiggle their ears but they howled from time to time), but the tape loop of wolves in the wild that was shown on the jumbotron before the show was so good that you'd think you were watching the Discovery Channel.
The "doors" opened right on schedule for this free show, at 5:30, and we were shown to seats -- no "tipping" was required here to get a good seat based on one's spot in line. I say "doors" with quotes because the Wolf Den is right out in the open; there are no walls separating it from the casino. As a result, the subliminal whine from the casino was sometimes audible between songs during Dave's set, but other than that the sound was very good.
The stage was big, something I'm sure Dave appreciated after the cramped quarters he'd had in the nightclubs he'd played the previous two nights. The stage is shaped as a semicircle and is about 4 feet off the ground. No bad seats in the venue. This was the only time on the tour I was actually cold -- they had the a.c. blasting -- but by the time the Traveling RDFs (now including Leslie and Fritz, who joined us the day before after flying into Laguardia Sunday morning) stormed the stage late in the show, the music had warmed me up nicely. The really great feature of this venue is the jumbotron. Several cameras, with fade-outs and professionally done editing, showed the show on the big screen above Dave's head, and it was really fun to watch two of him at the same time. Although I would have liked a few more close-ups of members of the band. Aw gee, I wonder if they keep copies of those videos? (Just the thought makes my salivatory glands go into action, even if there's no chance anyone from the venue would ever b**tl*g, cough, cough, that video.)
Dave played a set similar to the previous few nights, starting with the great "Charity" and highlighted, for me, by a song I absolutely love, "Creepin' Jean." (If I ever start a band I'm calling it Creeping Jean.) Dave loves this song too, judging from the fact that he's played it at virtually every show. He's gotten very theatrical with this song. He gestures toward The Ravens on the line "these creepy friends"; on the line "your dirty friends and underwear," he makes a gesture like holding out a dirty undergarment at arm's length and adds an expressive "blech!" to the line.
Another song that's gotten very theatrical is "You're Looking Fine." Tonight's nuance was on the line "first time I saw her, she looked all right." Dave sang the word in such a way as to express mediocrity, as in "she looked ONLY all right." Is this guy enjoying himself on this tour? Umm, yeah.
The surprise song of the night was a very short country song, "Can't Help Falling in Love With You." I'd never heard it before but members of the Traveling RDFs identified it as either a Patsy Cline song later covered by Elvis Presley, or a Hank Williams song.
All in all, it was one of the best shows of the tour, and a surprisingly good venue. The fact that the show started promptly at 7:00 and was over by 8:45, allowing for the TRDFs to catch up on the sleep we'd been deprived of the last few nights, contributes to the positive feelings I have about it.
God Save The Ravens.
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