Sunday July 15th, 2012 was a day I looked so forward to and now it’s gone. I wish it could have lasted forever. July 15th in Portland, OR was Ray Davies Day. The entire city, by decree of the mayor, designated this worthy affair to be so.
The first event was at Portland’s historical Hollywood Theater where some old Kinks videos were shown, followed by an appearance of the esteemed man himself, Ray Davies, where he was honored and presented with a certificate. He made a short and humorous speech (see my article on Portland declaring Ray Davies Day), and was gone as quickly as he came. The thrill of seeing the man I have idolized for over thirty years was exhilarating.
After the ceremony, the movie Return To Waterloo was shown (see my review in an earlier article). Then at eight o’clock that evening at The Aladdin Theater, was the event everyone looked forward to — a Ray Davies concert. After sitting through a mediocre opening act, and waiting interminably for the legendary Ray Davies to appear, appear he did, as charming as ever. He immediately got everyone clapping before he even started a song, but jumped right in, opening with “I Need You,” followed by “This Is Where I Belong. The show began with just Ray on acoustic guitar and an accompanying guitarist (Bill Shanly).
Davies not only retained his ever-present charm, he still proved the uncanny ability to inspire audience participation. During “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” he stopped and yelled to the crowd, “What is he?” Everyone sang out, “He’s a dedicated follower of fashion.” He then joked that the line was Dedicated, not medicated, and added that we shouldn’t support the pharmaceutical industry.
Davies sang a few songs from his recent solo records including a song from Working Man’s Cafe called “Next Door Neighbor,” proving that he still has the ability to write poignant songs with social commentary and even added a joke about his next door neighbor running off with the Portland grunge, bringing laughs from his adoring audience (hint, Ray, grunge was Seattle, not Portland). Other songs of note were “Apeman,” in which he screamed the line, the air pollution is fucking up my eyes (he tricked the BBC into thinking he was singing fogging up my eyes to avoid the song being banned from the airwaves). Then came the song he introduced as his most popular song everywhere in the world except the USA, that being “Waterloo Sunset.” Everyone sang along word for word.
Davies continued to joke with his audience throughout, asking a couple times whether his shirt matched his jacket.
About a third of the way into the set, openers The 88s came out as the Ray Davies band. It wasn’t the Kinks, but they did an admirable job. I tried pretending Dave was up there on guitar and Mick on drums, but it was of no use. This wasn’t The Kinks. My mind quickly dismissed the nostalgic reminiscing when the band tore into the notes of “Victoria,” in which everyone once again sang along and also thrust V signs into the air. Another highlight of the show was their performance of “Celluloid Heroes,” which is probably my most favorite Kinks’ song. Other songs of note were “I’m Not Like Everybody Else,” “Dead End Street,” “Misfits” and “Full Moon” (in which Davies proves he can still hit the high notes), “Low Budget,” and “Come Dancing.”
Often Davies would tell short stories about the inspirations of his songs. One such story was his revealing how he snuck into his brother’s comic book collection to read about super heroes, but instead discovered his brother had hidden pictures of naked women inside them. This experience was what inspired “You Really Got Me.” This is when the show really got energized. Not only did the sixty-eight-year-old Raymond Douglas Davies get everyone on their feet, he jumped about as if he were still twenty-five. “All Day and All of the Night” followed shortly thereafter and I actually got slammed into by an errant dancer.
Not only can Davies leap about the stage as well as any younger performer, and still hit the high notes (something many of his contemporaries can no longer do), he can still belt out the songs as well as he ever did, complete with his signature Day Ohs and whay Ohs.
I have seen countless bands over the course of the last forty years, and still go to concerts on an almost weekly basis, but no one comes close to the showmanship that is Ray Davies. Ray is what legends are made of. He is one worthy of the status of legend. After his hour and a half show, at least half of the sold-out crowd lingered about, still basking in the glow of the wonders of the evening. I’ve only seen this once before when I saw his brother Dave do a solo show in Seattle years ago. This made me realize that the bands I usually see have not made legendary status yet and most never will. I don’t think Ray Davies is capable of putting on a poor performance. He may be looking a bit older, his hair may be a little thinner, but this was not some aged rocker going through the motions. Davies enjoyed playing in front of this crowd as much as they enjoyed watching him. I can’t help wondering if kids today will ever have someone from their generation capable of reaching such a level of reverence. I am still basking in the glow. Even though he didn’t play “Lola” (I think this was a first), he put on a fabulous concert.
After we were forced to leave the theater, I felt vindicated in my belief and affirmation that Ray Davies is still GOD!
All photos property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved.
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