Dave Davies at City Winery

Dave Davies was born in North London, England, and grew up playing skiffle, but then bought an electric guitar and started experimenting with rock. Dave and his older brother Ray Davies jammed together in the front room of their house with and their friend, bassist Pete Quaife. Dave founded the Kinks with Quaife in 1963, Ray joined soon after and became the singer and leader of the band, and finally drummer Mick Avory joined and made the group a quintet. The Kinks joined the 1960s British Invasion and hit with "You Really Got Me" and several more singles. The band hit again with "Lola" in 1970 and again with a few more songs in the early 1980s. By 1985, the Kinks' records failed to chart altogether. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, but this did not revive the Kinks' popularity. The Kinks went on hiatus in 1996. Dave Davies released his first solo single in 1967 and his first solo album in 1980. His eighth and most recent solo album, Open Road, was released on March 31, 2017.

Dave Davies suffered a stroke in 2004, and by 2006 was able to resume walking, talking and playing guitar. At City Winery tonight, he seemed back in form. Davies played was the only guitarist on stage and seemed to play leads more prominently than on previous tours. This tour the music was considerably heavier, as Davies led a power trio with bassist David Nolte, formerly of the Last, and drummer Dennis Diken of the Smithereens; "You Really Got Me" sounded more like the Van Halen version than the original Kinks version. Never known to be a good singer, his vocals have improved consistently since his stroke, but still lack the finesse to reach a wider audience. The audience came to enjoy the legacy of the Kinks, however, and Davies' responded by performing only two songs from his new album and all the rest from the Kinks era. Nearly all the songs were more hard rocking than their original versions and the mid-period songs lacked the intricate arrangements of the studio recordings, but perhaps this made the performance interesting rather than paint-by-numbers.

Visit Dave Davies at www.davedavies.com.

Setlist

1. Open Road
2. I Need You (The Kinks song)
3. She's Got Everything (The Kinks song)
4. Creeping Jean (The Kinks song)
5. Tired of Waiting for You (The Kinks song)
6. Susannah's Still Alive
7. Love Me Till the Sun Shines (The Kinks song)
8. See My Friends (The Kinks song)
9. Path Is Long
10. Strangers (The Kinks song)
11. Too Much on My Mind (The Kinks song)
12. Young and Innocent Days (The Kinks song)
13. This Man He Weeps Tonight (The Kinks song)
14. I Am Free (The Kinks song)
15. Death of a Clown
16. Dead End Street (The Kinks song)
17. Living on a Thin Line (The Kinks song)
18. Wicked Annabella (The Kinks song)
19. Where Have All the Good Times Gone (The Kinks song)
20. All Day and All of the Night (The Kinks song)

Encore:

1. I'm Not Like Everybody Else (The Kinks song)
2. You Really Got Me (The Kinks song)