There are some musicians you see because you like their current songs, some because you like their previous recordings and some you watch because they are true legends. Two days after returning from Madrid I attended his concert at St Davids Hall due to the latter and ended up raving about both his earlier and new material.
The tone of the evening was set by the impressive support act, Samuel Brookes. His guitar based songs with catchy tunes and interesting lyrics were the perfect appetiser for the man who virtually invented the style ovr forty-five years ago.
Soon the great man appeared with one lone guitarist for a gentle low-key acoustic style opening. Like the whole show this was a mixture of newer songs from " Working Man's Cafe" through to more familiar classics eg " Sunny Afternoon", " Waterloo Sunset" etc.
I had grown up thinking he was a mainly grouchy individual but from the moment he came on stage he was relaxed, funny and very chatty. Even though he started off saying he would fine himself 10 pounds everything he mentioned "The Kinks" by the end he was openly acknowledging their inportance in his life and even requesting a round of applause for his brother Dave.
The second part of the set consisted of him singing songs from TV and film eg "The Sopranos" . Then the gig shifted another level when he was joined by the rest of the band including an Australian drummer who naturally took a lot of stick as they hda just lost to England in the 20/20 World Cup final. Suddenly this excellent concert turned into a full blown rock affair allowing him to concentrate upon his more uptempo early Kinks numbers " All of the Day & All of The Night" , " Tired of waiting for you", "Autumn Almanac" etc.
The crowd were up and dancing, Ray Davies was doing scissor kicks and for those old enough to remember were back watching " Ready, Steady, Go". All too soon though we were into encore time and after a rousing version of " Lola" and a standing ovation saw the great man leave the stage.
This was a concert I had been eagerly anticipating as there are not many musicians around with such an impressive back catalogue. Despite high expectations he still amazed us with his relaxed demeanour, surprisingly powerful singing voice and impressive guitar playing. (When we later discovered he was 65 we had to add astonising energy levels to that list).
I cannot remember having sung so much at a concert as we were all actively encouraged to join in with such classics as " Dedicated Follower of Fashion" and a strangely emotional version of " Days". A truly perfect way yo end a great holiday.
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