Review - The Kinks, Nov. 2, 1979, Munich, Germany



Date: Mar. 16 1999 9:31 AM
From: Thomas Huber


Setlist Munich,Germany, November 2, 1979

Sleepwalker
Life on the road
Where have all the good times gone
Lola
Misfits
Low Budget
Superman
Catch me now I`m falling
You really got me
A gallon of gas
Celluloid heroes
All day & all of the night

Encore 1:

A well respected man/Death of a clown
Attitude

Encore 2:

Pressure
Twist & shout



In May 1977 (sleepwalker tour) and October 1978 (misfits tour) I saw the first two Kinks shows. Both shows were brilliant and full of "Welcome to Daviesland" athmosphere. Accompanied by two horn players and two female background singers/actors the shows fitted perfectly in the Circus Krone, a building inspired by a circus tent (the Circus Krone stays there in the winter months, when they are not on the road).

The 1979 show turned out to be completely different. They had dropped the horns and singers as well as most of the sixties oldies and early/mid seventies songs. Ray and Dave even got a new stage dressing and haircut (much shorter hair than the years before). But most of all, they had a competely new band sound. Rougher, louder and more powerful,especially Dave playing more aggressive and enthusiastic.

The first three songs were almost like "let's take the stage by storm and don`t take no prisoners". Even "Lola" was much more to the point than before, the most powerful version I had heard so far. During "Misfits" they gave the audience time to relax and take a breath, before they stormtrooped again with songs from "Low Budget", every song at least six minutes long and with lots of improvisations and solos. During "Catch me now.." Nick Newall had two short spots with his saxophone. He later did some great solos during "A gallon of gas". The rest of the show he stayed in the background, playing congas or keyboards.

When Dave played his unacompannied intro to "You really got me", it seemed to me that the Van Halen cover version inspired them to refresh their own song with much more power and enthusiasm than in the previous years. In fact, since 1979 they sounded more than early Van Halen (heavy guitar riffs with melodic lead vocals and characteristic backing vocals) than the Kinks in 1977/78. After 75 minutes there was only one negative aspect: it was much too short, but nevertheless one of the most impressive concerts I ever had the pleasure to be part of. And I've seen acts like the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart & the Faces and others before.