An Evening with Ray Davies 4/1/06 & 4/2/06 @ Vic Theatre

Kinks-less, Davies and fans celebrate a bond

By Greg Kot
Tribune music critic
Published April 3, 2006

With a growl in his voice and a splayed-leg stance in black jeans, Ray Davies declared, "I'm not like everybody else."

One of the great songwriters of the last 40 years, Davies is now 61 and Kinks-less for the first time in his career. The great British Invasion band he led is no more, and Davies himself has been missing in action for nearly a decade. But he came to the Vic Theatre for two concerts over the weekend in jaunty spirits, and armed with a weighty songbook.

Davies brought a backing quartet whose primary job was to frame the songs and stay out of his way. Guitarist Mark Johns kept his virtuosity relatively under wraps for most of the two-hour show (plus intermission). That was a smart decision, because his fancy fretwork didn't suit the songs nearly as well as the more elemental roar of Ray's brother and longtime Kinks' sparring partner, Dave Davies, who is recovering from a 2004 stroke.

The most touching element of Saturday's performance was the obvious connection that remains between the brothers, despite their much-celebrated feuding. There was a proud defiance in Ray's voice as he recalled how the Kinks' music was initially rejected by countless record labels because the crude guitar playing sounded like "a barking dog." Then he reprised Dave's clarion riff on the Kinks immortal "You Really Got Me," as if to reaffirm who was right all along.

Ray Davies leaped between obvious Kinks touchstones such as "Till the End of the Day" and "All Day and All of the Night" and connoisseur's gems, including acoustic versions of "Picture Book" and "Village Green" from what he called "one of the most unsuccessful albums ever made": "The Village Green Preservation Society." There is no more important work in the Kinks' canon, as it set the template for Davies the social commentator who could both satirize and embrace the flawed characters in his life, not least of all himself.

For all the willfulness to stand apart that fueled the young Davies, there is a wistfulness, a humanity, at the core of his best songs that transcends time and geography. So, "Oklahoma USA" became something more than just a song about how he and his older sister Rosie whiled away Saturday afternoons at the movie theater, but a song of deep longing about how art can help us transcend the mundane and the soul-crushing, if only for a few hours.

Davies' best songs have done exactly that. The tunes from his latest solo album were more hit-and-miss, as they spoke of the singer's personal travails in more literal terms. But this night was as much about the fans as it was the singer. The common bond was the songs, and in a solo "Days," Davies could well have been celebrating the gift of those tunes as much as he was the memory of a long-ago lover:

"Thank you for the days/Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me."

Chicago Tribune Ray Davies Review



Ray Davies in Chicago at the Vic

Ray's show last night at the Vic Theater in Chicago was energetic and superb. He played a mix of crowd-pleasing favorites, semi-obscure Kink fan classics and new material from the solo album. All of it was engaging with Ray showing now signs of being 61 years old. His between-song banter, storytelling and sharp sense of humor were all displayed for the sellout crowd. He played two multi-song encores at the end of the two set show.
The backing band was very good. There's no real substitute for Dave but Ray did dedicate a song to his brother and another one to his sister.
He's on stage at the same venue tonight. Wish I could be there. He's a gem and a must see for all fans of rock music.

Jeff Johnson

Hour.ca Ray Davies Review