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

This band consists of former Kinks members Mick Avory (drums, vocals); John Dalton (bass, vocals); and Mark Haley (keyboards, vocals); along with Dave Clarke (lead guitar, vocals); several female backing vocalists, two of whom, Shirley Roden and Debi Doss, have performed live with The Kinks; a horn section; and a number of musicians who sat in for a song or two, including Ray Davies.

Autumn Almanac

This Time Tomorrow

In my review of yesterday's show by The Kinksfan Kollektiv I described the history of The Kast Off Kinks. Since this band was the "main event" of the Kinks Fan Club Convention, they played in a real venue, with lights, a sound system, and actual security who even searched bags on the way in.

The band were excellent. I had never heard Dave Clarke perform before and I was very impressed with him. He is the musician who has provided lead guitar and some lead vocals for this band since they got their start some twenty years ago. He imitates neither the guitar style of Dave Davies nor the vocal phrasing of Ray Davies, making the songs his own. Mark Haley, who played with the later day Kinks touring band, was excellent on lead vocals on a number of songs. John "Nobby" Dalton on bass and vocals had a lively and fun stage presence. It was a thrill to watch the Kinks' original drummer, Mick Avory, perform; he even took a lead vocal on "Dedicated Follower of Fashion." The backing vocalists and horns rounded out the sound. One member of the Kinksfan Kollektiv, pianist Geoff Lewis, played keys on a couple of songs. And then there was Ray Davies' appearance. This is Ray's way of saying he approves of the Kast Offs' ongoing efforts to bring the Kinks songs to a live audience.

The queue was forming to get into the venue when we arrived about an hour before doors were to open. The venue had a roomy dance floor in front of the stage and about a half dozen rows of seats behind. I split my time between a seat toward the back and some time spent in front of the stage. There was a full bar but no food for sale. There were a few tables of vendors selling Kinks related merchandise. I went home to the U.S.A. with two CDs recorded by the Kast Off Kinks. This is the Kinks Fan Club Convention, and the theme for this year's celebration was the 50th anniversary of the release of The Kinks' Arthur album. Local singer/musician Pete Watkins filled in some of the time when the band were taking a break with acoustic versions of songs from Arthur. I thought acoustic treatments of the songs sounded a bit thin, when taking over from a full band.

The sold out crowd were very enthusiastic, and for me it was a really happy thing to cross paths with some of the fans I spent a lot of time with during the Dave Davies touring years. Any Kinks related event is, of course, an exercise in joyful nostalgia. It has been over twenty years since the Kinks recorded or performed together, and I for one am content with the great music (and the great memories) they left us. Although rumours persist that Ray and Dave Davies will be working together again on a musical project, I am not anxious to see this happen, and honestly I don't think it will. Both Ray and Dave have expanded their legacies as solo performers since the end of the band, and that is enough to satisfy the dedicated fans.

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