Ray Davies, everyman

If you fit into one of these groups, or did at one time, you probably consider Ray Davies (pronounced dave – iz) a champion for your cause.

Forty-seven years after The Kinks first hit the USA Top 10 with “You Really Got Me”, chief songwriter, lead singer and rhythm guitarist Raymond Douglas Davies is still on the circuit and delighting audiences across America. I caught his show on November 11, 2011 at the Chicago Theatre.

Ray is currently on tour, backed up by an indie quartet from California called The 88. They had a great, raucous energy that fit well with the up-tempo songs. The excellent Irish guitarist Bill Shanley (I thought Ray called him Bill Shatner) rounded out the six piece band.

The show opened with just himself and Shanley on acoustic guitars – taking old favorites like “Waterloo Sunset” and “Sunny Afternoon” to new places. Shanley echoed the melody with nice runs and fills as Davies strummed chords. The overall effect was very pleasant. See the very bottom of this post for a treat.

After 38 minutes of beautiful acoustic music, Ray read a bit from his autobiography, X-Ray about the moment he realized that in the future he wouldn’t have to follow expectations – that he would one day become an individual. With that the full band joined him onstage and they appropriately launched into “20th Century Man”. The contrast in sounds was powerful and although the acoustic music was really good, I was glad to finally hear the full power of a good rock band! Click here for the clip from this very concert.

Undoubtedly, Ray wrote some great 60’s anthems that are still on heavy rotation on the oldies channels. But his real genius – what has kept him in such high esteem over all these years – is that his best songs are sentimental odes to non-conformity and to better days ahead. They not only serve to empathize with your situation, but often to help you feel you’re not alone in this world.

The Kinks in '67: Ray Davies, Mick Avory, Dave Davies, Pete Quaife

The proud, defiant “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” not only empathizes with you, it emboldens you. You are no cookie-cutter. You are different… and you are all the better for it! Although I did wonder if Ray caught the irony in his prodding the crowd to sing along to the chorus of this song, but I digress.

The big surprise to me was the reception to “Misfits” from the 1977 album Sleepwalker. This was somewhat of a comeback album for the Kinks, whom hadn’t had a hit in America since “Lola” in 1970. It’s a song Ray very rarely plays live, yet it really resonated with this crowd. Several people were singing along to this ballad, proudly emphasizing the final line:

You’re a misfit, afraid of yourself so you run away and hide
You’ve been a misfit all your life
Why don’t you join the crowd
And come inside
You wander round this town like you’ve lost your way
You had your chance in your day
Yet you threw it all away
But you know what they say
Every dog has his day

With the current dire economic situation around the world, Ray has decided to bust out the rowdy “Low Budget” on this tour. In fact, it was the final song on this night. He wrote this tune in the late 1970’s when things were similarly bleak. “Don’t think I’m cheap if I don’t buy a round!”

Ray was in fine spirits throughout, bantering a bit with the crowd, high fiving the lucky first-rowers and inserting some funny bits into the songs. When someone asked, “How’s Dave” – a question about his brother who had a stroke in 2004 – Ray replied, “sleeping, I hope. Otherwise, it’s a scary situation” Since Dave Davies is in England, it was around 1:30 am GMT when Ray answered that question.

Chicago Theatre marquis

The crowd gave as good as it got. When Davies introduced “Nothing In The World Can Stop Me Worrying About That Girl” – a song about the first time he fell in love, was dumped and became heartbroken – a guy from the audience yelled out ‘F’ her! The whole theater laughed!

At 67 years of age, Davies is still in great shape physically. He had plenty of energy throughout the night. His voice, while never the rival of say, Paul McCartney, was nevertheless in good form. He missed a note or two, but he was in strong voice. A good time was had by all.

Go see Ray Davies if you can. He is truly a living music legend!

Setlist:

1. I Need You
2. I’m Not Like Everybody Else
3. Sunny Afternoon
4. Waterloo Sunset
5. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
6. See My Friends
7. Apeman
8. Victoria (snippet)
9. 20th Century Man
10. This Is Where I Belong
11. David Watts (shared vocal with Keith Slettedahl)
12. Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
13. Till The End Of The Day
14. Muswell Hillbillies
15. Nothing In The World Can Stop Me Worrying About That Girl
16. Too Much On My Mind
17. All Day And All Of The Night
18. Full Moon
19. Misfits
20. Imaginary Man
21. Celluloid Heroes
22. You Really Got Me
23. Lola
24. Low Budget

Here is “Waterloo Sunset” live from 11/15 in Silver Spring, MD. Tasty licks, witty banter and crowd noise included, free of charge…