RAY DAVIES | LIVE REVIEW
Market Hall, Brecon Jazz Festival, Fri 7 Aug
With over 50 acts playing across an action-packed weekend, the Brecon Jazz Festival mixes the iconic with the obscure. Emerging talent gets the chance to strut their stuff, but since its inaugural event in 1984 the organisers have always secured iconic acts like Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Burt Bacharach as headliners.
This year proved no different with former frontman of The Kinks, Ray Davies, reeling off the hits from his astonishing 50-year career. A four-piece backing band emerge first and greet Davies onstage with a rocking instrumental version of You Really Got Me, which immediately sets the tone. There’s a few croaks to iron out of his voice early on and although well-received, starting with a B-side I Need You is somewhat of a curveball. Davies, though, quickly hits his stride with Kinks classics Where Have All The Good Times Gone and UK No.1 single Tired Of Waiting For You.
Frequent musical interludes are spliced into the set to allow the 71-year-old Davies a breather. However, in spite of his advancing years he continues to be a consummate showman – regaling the audience with anecdotes (sometimes halfway through songs), and even having a stab at some tongue-in cheek jazz scatting. He delights in toying with his crowd’s emotions too: often playing the opening bars of a classic, but segueing into another song as soon as people jump to their feet. There are also false endings aplenty, Davies playing understated versions of songs before going full throttle after soaking up the initial applause. Annoyingly, Victoria is only given an opening verse and chorus before being entirely forgotten about.
Still, with as many classics as Davies has at his disposal, it’s perhaps necessary to truncate songs to fit everything into two hours. Nobody is complaining though when he plays the quartet of Sunny Afternoon, Dead End Street, Till The End Of The Day and Come Dancing in quick succession mid-set. For a man who has toured the world for the last five decades, performing The Kinks’ biggest hits should by now have grown utterly tiresome. Yet Davies pulls them off with incredible energy and his new interpretations of the classics has kept them as fresh as the day they were released. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion gets an Irish makeover whilst another section is sang in the vein of Johnny Cash.
There’s a sprinkling of lesser-known acoustic tracks too in Misfits, A Long Way Home and Oklahoma USA – touchingly dedicated to his late sister. Plus, he also gives a taster of a proposed new Americana album with new songs Heard That Beat Before and Rock’n’Roll Cowboys.
Brecon’s Market Hall is a great setting for a nostalgic vibe, and both performers and audience feel immediately relaxed. The rustic feel of the place, with old brickwork, steel pillars and hastily assembled seating, harks back to Davies’ early days singing in town halls. He once again mentions his hero Johnny Cash by joking that it feels like he’s performing in Folsom Prison – and further endears himself to the Welsh crowd by declaring his love for his surroundings and commenting how The Kinks were banned not only from America, but also Neath.
Davies remains entirely modest after all these years as he continually thanks his backing band and crew, whilst emphasising the importance of never forgetting your roots. He remarks how his early musical education was learning You Are My Sunshine on the piano, and then gives a fascinating insight into how chart-topping single You Really Got Me gestated. After a quick costume change into a pristine, gleaming white shirt and cravat, he delivers All Day And All Of The Night, Days and Lola with trademark style.
After milking two encores, it looks like arguably the finest song he’s ever written would be omitted. However, not one to disappoint his faithful, the gig ends to the strummed chords and inescapably catchy choruses of Waterloo Sunset.
words NEIL COLLINS photos BOB MEYRICK