Set Lists

The Kinks
Tuesday, 10th December, 1974
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California

Contributed by: Mark

Of all the times I have seen the boys, this night has to be right up there at the top
of the list of faves. It was the Preservation tour and on this particular night there
was an early and a late show. I managed to attend both and they were equally
entertaining (though certain ingested chemicals were kicking into high gear for the
late show!!!). The shows opened with "Here Comes Yet Another Day" and the first
part consisted of various hits with of course Ray hamming it up for "Lola" and
"Alcohol." "Celluloid Heroes" was still being done in its slow version in those days
and featured three female back-up vocalists (if my memory is to be trusted). The
band was just coming out of their drunken vaudeville days and into the more
structured concept album era, so they were both loose and funny as well as tight
when they needed to be when doing renditions of their classics. After the hits
portion of the show, it was time for the stage show of Preservation. Starting out
with "Morning Song" and "Daylight" from Act I, the band was joined onstage by
many cast members (now I found out what all those people on the Act I album
cover were for) as it were. At first it seemed like some rudimentary show put on by
your local PTA, but things got moving with the introduction of videos being played
on a screen behind the stage. At various times they were just a backdrop, or they
helped move the plotline along, and at one hilarious moment Ray onstage
interacted with himself on the screen during the "Flash's Dream" sequence. The
band also dressed up in their various characters as depicted on the Act II album
cover, with Ray providing enthusiastic introductions, such as presenting John
Gosling as "....that perverted alcoholic, the Vicar!!!" Musically the show utilized the
best of the songs from the two albums, with a highlight being the inclusion of
"Slum Kids." At the conclusion of "Salvation Road" there was a sustained standing
ovation but I cannot recall if there was an encore or not. In any case it was an
outstanding evening of entertainment and a highly successful presentation of the
Preservation show. It certainly worked much better in person than it does on
record, owing to the streamlining of songs, use of multimedia and a strong
injection of humor into the proceedings.



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