Luckily, I had some nice seats. And, getting to hear the old, old songs and the new stuff played together in surround sound was better than lazing on a sunny afternoon. (Ya, know it's kinda hard to put a best of Ray Davies collection together... because the sound quality and recording techniques varied so drastically over the years.)
Another surprise was the energy and enthusiasm of both the band and the crowd. I was expecting a more reserved atmosphere. But, everyone was rockin’. And, there were quite a few songs that had that "kick-in" effect where it starts off kinda quiet... then, BAM! It’d blow me off my feet each time.
The unplugged Village Green Preservation Society segment was like getting 2 shows for the price of one. The accordion reminded me of the days when The Kinks would have a tuba player or use other "wacky" instruments for a rock band.
Prior to the show, I didn’t know how much new material I wanted to hear. But, now I know -- as much as possible. The new songs were every bit as good as the old ones. Sometimes you don’t realize or appreciate getting to see the latest material until years later... when you missed the tour for your favorite album, and now they have more tunes to choose from. So, you never get to hear those songs played live. The Tourist sticks out as one of these gems. (He mentioned New Orleans and the irony of it all.)
Catch it while you can!
Here are the songs they played:
1. I'm Not Like Everybody Else 2. Where Have All The Good Times Gone 3. Till The End Of The Day 4. 20th Century Man 5. Oklahoma USA 6. Village Green 7. Picture Book 8. Animal Farm 9. Johnny Thunder 10.Sunny Afternoon 11. Dead End Street 12. After The Fall 13. Next Door Neighbour 14. Creatures Of Little Faith OPL 15. Over My Head 16. The Tourist 17. Low Budget intermission 18. London Song 19. Stand Up Comic 20. Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After) 21. Long Way From Home 22. The Getaway (Lonesome Train) 23. Tired Of Waiting 24. Set Me Free 25. All Day And All Of The Night encores 26.You Really Got Me 27. Lola