2.11.2010

March 15 Liberty Hall- Ray Davies

If you haven't had a chance to catch Ray Davies, singer/songwriter of The Kinks, on his previous trips into the KC area, you may want to set aside Monday, March 15. He'll be playing once again at Liberty Hall in an acoustic performance with Bill Shanley accompanying. In light of The Who's dinosaur performance in the Super Bowl, you may find Davies quite refreshing (seriously, after watching old concert film of them in the early 70s, it was really depressing).

Although still releasing material associated with The Kinks (he just released the Kinks Koral Collection, a reworking of songs with a full choir that is much better than it sounds), he hasn't stayed stuck in his own past, releasing two quality solo albums in the past few years, as well as working on musicals and other artistic endeavors. His acoustic performances are what directly lead to the set-up for Vh-1's Storytellers- part performance and part monologue, relating his personal experiences with the songs' origins. In some ways it's scripted: if you've seen him before he may read the same passage, tell the same the joke, but in some ways it's like a musical, and the experience is in the performance of the songs, not the spontanity of the dialogue.

The music of The Kinks has enjoyed a quiet revival in the past few years, especially when the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Kaieser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, and The Libertines hit the scene, and as a lifelong fan (they have been my dad's favorite group since I can remember, and we played two of their songs for his retirement party) I have appreciated their placement in music history while not embarassing themselves currently by still trying to be what they can never reclaim. There was talk of a reunion, but due to Dave Davies's health issues following his stroke that seems unlikely, and that may be for the best. This way, their legacy remains untarnished, and that's pretty hard to maintain these days.

Check out Davies' site to find out more.



Ray Davies - The Kinks Choral Collection
by Vivalabeat

-Chris

2 comments:

Matt said...

I'm aware of the influence of The Kinks and the love that many people have for them, but I've never heard anything of theirs but the "hits". Does admitting that get my music snob pass revoked? They're just one band I completely missed.

Poindexter said...

"Does admitting that get my music snob pass revoked?" As a matter of fact it does Matt. Turn in your snob badge immediately. Kidding brother. If you are interested in the Kinks, may I suggest you start with the masterpiece that is 'The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society' & 'Something Else By the Kinks'. I always felt that the Kinks were overlooked by the Beatles & Stones even though their efforts were nothing less than extrordinary during the British Invasion.