Ray Davies at the Webster Theater- 3/6/10

Ray Davies took the stage shortly after 9:00 at Hartford’s Webster Theater. Paired up with Bill Shanley on acoustic guitars , the duo tore through the evening’s set with workman-like precision.


The Webster itself can only be described as a pit. An absolutely unfortunate venue in which to see this or any other act. What was once a movie theater had it’s seats ripped out, folding chairs and a bar put in, and not much else.


The inadequate public address system made it almost impossible to hear Davies’s between song banter. Even worse, the quieter moments like during “Two Sisters” were partially inaudible because it was competing with the sound of people milling about.


Even with all those negatives, a living legend took the stage there last night, and there were moments where the fact the we were seeing him in a glorified gin mill actually made it more special.


Davies opened the show with “This Is Where I Belong”. To kick things off in such an offbeat fashion boded well for the song selections for the rest of the evening. Amongst the obvious crowd pleasers, we were treated to several chestnuts such as “Autumn Almanac”, “Set Me Free”, “Too Much On My Mind” , and the aforementioned “Two Sisters” which was the big surprise of the set.


“20th Century Man” got a bit of a facelift as the bridge was tacked onto the beginning, and the two guitar approach worked especially well here as you could close your eyes and imagine you were jumping a freight train. It certainly smelled that way, but again that was more because of the venue.


“Misfits” also struck me as a bit of a surprise choice and was presented beautifully in a slightly augmented version. Again I hate to dwell on this, but many of the shows highlights were tainted by the poor audio and a crowd that I can only describe as a strange cross section of the populous. Sure , they knew all the obvious stuff and sang along when Ray prompted them to, but it seemed that they were oblivious to those moments when they were getting the really good stuff.


Opening act “The 88” came back to close the set with a blistering four song electric eruption. Davies was in fine voice the whole night growling and playing to the crowd in that big booming stadium voice of his. So when the acoustic guitars were put down in favor of the full electric band, it immediately went from quaint and restrained to loud and exhilarating.


“All Day And All Of The Night” set the tone for the electrified closer, followed by “Lola”, a tremendous note perfect version of “David Watts” which Ray introduced as a song written about a man who was in love with his brother, and “Low Budget” as the shows closer. By this time Ray was bouncing about the entire stage, and pointing his microphone out to the audience when he wanted them to sing. This is where we finally got the infamous gap-toothed grin from the man which served as proof positive that we were in fact in the presence of bonafide rock and roll royalty. Somehow amongst all the filth and squalor of the Webster Theater, it actually made it all the more satisfying.


The set list for the show included:


This Is Where I Belong


You Really Got Me


I Need You


Where Have All The Good Times Gone?


Till The End Of The Day


The Tourist


Victoria


20th Century Man


Autumn Almanac


Misfits


Tourists


Apeman


Two Sisters


The Hard Way


See My Friends


I’m Not Like Everybody Else


Nothing Can Stop Me Worrying bout my Baby


Too Much On My Mind


Well Respected Man


Sunny Afternoon


Postcard From London


Tired Of Waiting


Set Me Free


***With The 88’s***


All Day And All Of The Night


Lola


David Watts


Low Budget