Ray Davies in Concert

“A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity that is generated in the crowd and on stage. It's my favorite part of the business, live concerts.”
Elvis Presley (1935-1977) singer

All the singing you might of heard in mid-Los Angeles came from the Wiltern Theater last night because Ray Davies alternately rocked the crowd as well as turned the 2,000-seat venue into an even more intimate setting similar to a pub sing along.

Here is the set list:
“I’m Not Like Everybody Else”
“Where Have All the Good Times Gone?”
“Till the End of the Day”
“After the Fall”
“Well-Respected Man”
“Apeman”
“Next Door Neighbour”
“Celluloid Heroes”
"The Tourist"
“Working Man’s Café”
“20th Century Man”
intermission
“No One Listen”
“One More Time”
“Vietnam Cowboys”
“The Real World”
"I, The Victim"
“Sunny Afternoon”
“Come Dancing”
“Tired of Waiting”
“Set Me Free”
“You Really Got Me”
encore
“Lola”
“Low Budget”

Our seats were at the back of the floor, but with a straight center of the stage view. All the seats in our area were bar stools right on top of each other. Daughter and I rocked out in our seats playing air guitar and singing. When our section stood then we danced. Yes, I was the old guy in the back who danced like Al Gore on inauguration night in 1992. We all had a great time. Daughter and I were a bit surprised that we weren’t called up on stage to lend additional vocal dimension and depth to the show, maybe next time.

My Favorite Ray Davies & Kinks' Songs

You make me laugh and you make me smile
And after a hard day sorting out the files
You make it all worthwhile.
Ray Davies, singer/song writer, lyrics from the "You Make it All Worth While"

In honor of our going to see Ray Davies here are my favorite songs, which include the Kinks:

1. 20th Century Man – This is my absolute favorite. I recognized the power and meaning of this song in high school

2. “Apeman” – The original is very good, but the version that became a favorite is from the “To The Bone” CD, which is more of a reggae feel to it and it’s a great sing along for kids, including nieces and nephews who you pick up from the airport

3. “Lola” – Simply a fun classic about guys who used to hang around Hollywood Boulevard and other similar places

4. “Celluloid Heroes” – A Kinks classic about strolling down Hollywood Boulevard

5. “Low Budget” – This could have been written today:

Circumstance has forced my hand
To be a cut price person in a low budget land
Times are hard but we'll all survive
I just got to learn to economize
I'm on a low budget
I'm on a low budget
I'm not cheap, you understand

6. “When I Turn Out Living Room Lights” – Many of us had dates when this was probably a good idea

7. “Rush Hour Blues” – Ring any bells:

He gets up early about seven o’clock,
The alarm goes off and then the house starts to rock.
In and out of the bathroom by seven-o-three,
By seven-ten he’s downstairs drinking his tea.
So put a shine on your shoes,
Put on your pin-striped suit.
Can’t lose those early-morning-cant-stop-yawning,
Push and shoving rush hour blues.

8. “Have Another Drink”/“Alcohol” – these are two separate songs but together they are part one and part two

9. “Thanksgiving Day” – This captures the American holiday perfectly

10. “You’re Asking Me” – A song that is my daily refrain

11. “Working Man’s Café” – How the world has changed:

Everything around me seems unreal
Everywhere I go it looks and feels like America
We've really come a long way down this road
Improving our surroundings as we go
Changing our roots and culture
But don't you know
Long ago there was a working man
Don't you know we were all working men
And we'd sit and pass the time of day
At the working man's café

12. "Days" – This is the song that I asked Daughter to play to remember when I am gone:

Days I'll remember all my life,

Days when you can't see wrong from right.
You took my life,
But then I knew that very soon you’d leave me,
But its all right,
Now I'm not frightened of this world, believe me.
Days.
Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I’m thinking of the days,
I won’t forget a single day, believe me.

I don’t want to go through the entire Ray Davies and Kinks' catalog this will have to do, but there are many great ones not included in this short list.

Working Man’s Café

“If you’re asking me don’t take my advice.”
Ray Davies, singer, songwriter

Ray Davies new CD Working Man’s Café is truly wonderful. I am even rather partial to the CD’s title. However, it may not be obvious right away because it takes time for the songs to grow on you. By that I mean the songs require more than just a casual listening. Nothing too complicated, just not pop fluff.

“Vietnam Cowboys” tackles the topic of a global village and all the jobs that have disappeared and how the world has morphed into a U.S. city:

Mass production in Saigon
While auto workers laid off in Cleveland
Hot Jacuzzi in Taiwan
With empty factories in Birmingham

My favorite song on the CD is “You’re Asking Me:”

You’re asking me What’s it leading to
Will we live a long life will it treat us fare
No point asking me because I haven’t got a clue

I like this song because when I am asked a question I give the same advice.

He tackles about a hospital ward in “Morphine Song,” being shot in New Orleans, as Davies was, in “In a Moment.”

Davies will be in Los Angeles March 29 at the Wiltern.