Set Lists
Ray Davies and Band
Tuesday, 8th May, 2007
Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, UK
Contributed by: SeanieSET LIST:
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
After the Fall
Next-Door Neighbour
A Well Respected Man
Autumn Almanac
The Tourist
Celluloid Heroes
20th Century Man
INTERMISSION
=====================================
No One Listened
Come Dancing
Village Green
Long Way From Home
Sunny Afternoon
Dead End Street
Tired of Waiting for You
All Day and All of the Night
Imaginary Man
The Getaway (Lonesome Train)
Lola
Days
You Really Got Me
Waterloo Sunset
To summarise the concert with words is something that is unachievable. You would only ever know the feeling if you'd been to one of his concerts. The energy was mind-blowing; I was ecstatic all the way through and I'm sure I've never felt so much adrenalin. I should note here that Milton McDonald was instantly noticeable on his electric guitar, which he played marvellously, no matter how much I would have loved to see Dave up there.
The concert began with a pleasant and gentle support act, of whom I could not remember the name. Although I enjoyed his subtle voice and skilful playing of the acoustic guitar, I did not think I could contain myself any longer. Finally, he finished his last song and the lights came back on. Before Ray began, there was an exhilarating little harmonica tune that, in my opinion, greatly contributed to the build-up.
Suddenly, Ray started to roar the familiar lines of I'm Not Like Everybody Else. Having overcome the brief moment of, 'Wow, this is really Ray live!' I satisfied my urge to sing along. The first line with which I joined in was, 'When I get started, I go to town!' Since that line, I did not stop singing throughout the entire concert.
A few other people sang at times to well-known Kinks songs, but no one in my area of the concert hall seemed as enthusiastic as I was. I seemed to be the only one participating in Ray's renditions from 'Other People's Lives'; perhaps I should try to get a seat at the front with the serious fans next time?
Nevertheless, the Kinks singalongs were fun and, from listening to live recordings of The Kinks, the band played the old repertoire authentically. I hate to say this, but that concert may have been the closest thing I'll ever see to a Kinks concert.
Moving on, I think 'The Tourist' was well suited to be played live, as it really aided the atmosphere. At the line, 'Money, money!' the band went wild; overall, the song came through better than it did on the studio album. It was then delightful to hear Ray playing the beautiful 'Celluloid Heroes', as he sang it like he meant the words. The intermission certainly came round fast, but we were treated to '20th Century Man' (prior to Ray leaving the stage for almost half an hour!) '20th Century Man' was a excellent choice of song for ending the first session; I now realise how much energy the studio version from 'Muswell Hillbillies' lacks, but performed live, that rage and power burned through Ray, resulting in an astounding sound. Although my parents had never heard the song before, they were blown away.
I was excited about the second session, as I was very eager to hear his new song, 'No One Listened' about his bad experiences in New Orleans during his gun-wound recovery. It certainly impressed; this song, combined with the amazing 'world premiere' 'Imaginary Man' affirmed my belief that 'Songs From the Big Weird' will be just as good, if not better, than 'Other People's Lives'.
The second session was filled with more fun Kinks singalongs and Ray seemed satisfied with the crowd response, but was shouting for more as ever. During 'All Day and All of the Night' especially, we were given the 'WAY-O!' treatment. I loved this; I felt as though I had been transported back in time to a Kinks concerts. His performances of ‘Village Green’, ‘Long Way From Home’ (dedicated to Dave ‘Death of a Clown’ Davies), ‘Days’ (dedicated to Ray’s late friend) and ‘Waterloo Sunset’ were calm in comparison with the rest of the concert, but phenomenal; I could sense a genuine emotional buzz among the fans. ‘All Day and All of the Night’ rocked the concert hall down: it was loud from the very beginning, but for this song, the volume blasted well past 11! ‘You Really Got Me’ started with a ‘Gallon-of-Gas-style’ blues riff and told the story of how the song came into existence. Ray made frequent references to The Kinks and his ‘ratbag but lovable’ brother Dave (using the established £20 fine joke). It’s clear he wants to reunite with The Kinks.
However, I have now learned to respect Ray as a solo artist. When I met Ray at the stage door after the show (I had to wait a fair while as he cleaned himself, but not all night), I told him I enjoyed the show and wished him good luck with the new album. He signed my concert ticket and gladly stood with me so that a photo could be taken. He’s smiling in the picture because I told him I spend all of my pocket money buying his albums and that I had bought over twenty Kinks albums. ‘Twenty?!’ he replied, surprised. What a lovely ending for a magnificent concert! Then, I was taken by surprise when I was recognised by a fellow forum member, Jane (what is her screen name?); I did not expect any of my lot to be at the Nottingham concert. Unfortunately, I did not have time to chat. I must go to the next Kinks convention.
Nottingham was my first Ray Davies concert and it hopefully won’t be my last. When does he start selling tickets for his ‘Big Weird’ tour?
Contributed by: Jayne
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
Till The End of the Day
After The Fall
A Well Respected Man
Autumn Almanac
Next Door Neighbour
The Tourist
Celluloid Heroes
20th Century Man
_____________________________
They Ain't Gonna Listen To Me
Come Dancing
Village Green
Sunny Afternoon
Dead End Street
Tired of Waiting
Set Me Free
All Day and All of The Night
A Long Way From Home
The Getaway (Lonesome Train)
Lola
Days
Imaginary Man
You Really Got Me
Waterloo Sunset
KindaKinks.net
E-mail Dave Emlen
