Come Dancing -- a preview

Boy do I need a break from politics and the financial collapse of life as we know it. How about you? Here's a clip from Ray Davies' video blog about his new musical, Come Dancing, which is in previews now and press night fast approaching on Sept 24th. I have been studiously avoiding reading fan reviews and comments on the show in previews because I want to view it with uninfluenced eyes, and as Ray notes -- they are at the point of testing it out and changing and refining the production, so what is up now may not be what I'm seeing on October 18th.

Ray Davies to star in his own musical!

Wow! Breaking news here from Jolly Old England - Ray Davies will star in his own musical, Come Dancing! He will play the role of Terry, the musical's narrator. Hmmm, wondering how many solo numbers he wrote for himself? Will he dance as he narrates? I'm remembering that charming little soft shoe number he did in Absolute Beginners.

The musical is based upon the era of big band music, right before rock and roll. Davies used to watch his older sisters get ready to go out to the Ilford Palais, a storied dance hall long since torn down and paved over, according to the Kinks song "Come Dancing" that has turned into the title of this musical.

I had no idea that Ray would be in this production when I ordered my front row ticket earlier this week! Only 40 pds, which seems not so expensive these days, but I was reminded that the Stratford East is not West End, more like off-B'way here in NYC. Anyway, to say that I am thrilled beyond all imagining that I am actually going to be in the audience for this production is not an exaggeration! Will try to blog about it from the UK if at all possible. I've got until mid October to figure it all out!

Read the full story here. Book tickets here.

Ray Davies new musical to open in London

I've been waiting years for this! We've heard hints and promises about this musical over the past ten years. Finally, it reaches the stage this fall. I am madly going over my finances and calendar to make sure I can get there for a weekend.

Latest News: Kinks-y musical at Stratford East
First published: 16 Jul 2008

Ray Davies, former front-man of sixties band The Kinks, has turned his tuneful hand to theatre, creating new musical Come Dancing, which will premiere at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this autumn.

Inspired by the famous Kinks song of the same name, Come Dancing, which runs from 13 September to 25 October (press night 24 September), is set in the 1950s around the Ilford Palais ballroom. Conjuring the innocent, care-free days of youth, it tells a tale of love triumphing over adversity.

Davies, whose hits with The Kinks include Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me, All Day And All Of The Night and Lola, has written a host of new songs for Come Dancing, in addition to working with writers Paul Sirett and Terry Johnson to create the book for this new production.

Sirett's work has previously been seen at Stratford East, where his Ska musical The Big Life was a huge hit, prompting a transfer to the West End. Playwright and director Johnson is also no stranger to London's Theatreland, where his previous productions include Dead Funny, Cleo Camping Emmanuelle And Dick and Hitchcock Blonde.

The production is directed by Theatre Royal Stratford East's Artistic Director Kerry Michael, who directed Stratford East's most recent West End transfer, The Harder They Come, which is currently entertaining audiences at the Playhouse.

Come Dancing's creative team also includes designers Harriet Barsby and Jenny Tiramani, musical director Robert Hyman, choreographer Omar Okai and lighting designer Jo Joelson. Casting is yet to be announced.

Show Details: Come Dancing
showing at: Theatre Royal Stratford

previews from: 13.09.2008
opening night: 24.09.2008

Cast and Crew
director: Kerry Michael
producer: Theatre Royal Stratford East

Here's the Kinks video that accompanied Come Dancing back in the 80s:

Toddstock part 2

I forgot that I had attempted to take some pictures at the Todd Rundgren concert a couple of weeks back. Not very successful, mainly due to the thick crush of the crowd. I had no desire to push my way up front. When I got to the House of Blues and discovered how uncomfortable the standing situation was going to be, I found a spot next to a rail upon which I could lean and didn't want to give that spot up. Unfortunately, the tallest men in the club decided to plant themselves in front of me throughout the evening. Arggh!

Anyway, this dim shot gives you Todd and Rachel at either end with somebody's head in between. I remembered I'd taken this photo upon hearing from a Cleveland music blogger who attended the show but didn't get any pictures. He says he didn't get a photo pass. I'm assuming that's like a press pass that would give him special access for photographic purposes.

His name is Kevin Conley and he's got a lot of great shots of both local and international musicians performing at various NE Ohio venues on his blog, The Music View. Check them out and see how many of the shows you attended. Kinks fans should note there is a very fine shot of Ray Davies doing one of his solo shows at the Odeon.

We've just got to learn to economize

We are spending nothing this 4th of July holiday, instead staying home to keep an eye on neighbors with illegal fireworks. The garden hose is out and ready for any fires.

In celebration of the cheap life, let's take a look and listen to the Kinks in glorious form from 1979 in Providence RI. This has outstanding videography, including some quality time focused on Dave the Rave's virtuoso guitar playing.

Ray's on tour this summer, visiting points in Canada and certain NW states of America. Details here. I will not be burning up extra carbon to attend. The show this spring at the Beacon is still reverberating round my brain! But if you live close to a venue, snap up a ticket for a really great show.

Cheap is small
And not to steep
But best of all
Cheap is cheap

Friday Night Kick Back: London Song

A lovely collage of sights and scenes of Kinkdom in "London Song," an affectionate haunting view of the "dark passages and alleyways of London" by Ray Davies, first recorded on The Storyteller album.

This fan-created video nicely illustrates the places and characters that populate the song, including William Blake, Max Wall and the Kray Twins (very dangerous people, the Kray Twins!) With some views of the Clissold Arms too! Enjoy...

One More Time with Ray Davies (at the Beacon Theatre in NYC)

On the way to the concert this evening, I took along the latest New Yorker to read on the train from NJ. One man's reflection on mortality and end of life issues put me in a very gloomy frame of mind. The writer, Michael Kinsley, is my age. He writes of baby boomers facing the final elbow, and how no matter how much we work to extend our little lives, the odds are relentless. If you want to check it out, the article is online here.

The marquee at the Beacon Theatre announced: Ray Davies -- Sold Out! Underneath, a large crowd of mostly boomer-types mingled and buzzed. Still under the influence of Kinsley's meditation and the over-powering production of Macbeth I saw this past weekend, I entered the theatre acutely aware of the receding hairlines, the crinkles and crevices of age, and the stiffening spines of my fellow boomers.

Good heavens! How old is Ray now and how many years have we all been showing up for his shows? And can we really continue to believe that "you and me last forever -- all day and all of the night!"

Inside finally, and I feel comforted by a glorious old theatre with a carved and gilt covered early 20th century proscenium carefully preserved and now framing speakers, mic stands and guitars all ready for the show. A sudden darkening of the lights and suddenly, there he is, like so many times before. Front and center, music about to begin. My heart goes thump along with the opening chords -- it is one of my favorite anthems -- I'm Not Like Everybody Else. The audience goes wild, the aging boomers are young once again. We shriek and bob and sing along.

The show was more than I every could expect. Ray fed off the audience's energy and vice versa. We all sang every song, even the new ones. This was a dedicated audience. The set list is as follows (as best as I could scribble it down in the dark):

I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
Well Respected Man
Til the End of the Day
After the Fall
Dead End Street
The Tourist
20th Century Man (dedicated to his dad, "a socialist far left of Lenin")
Working Man's Cafe

Intermission. Kinky story: the restrooms were down stairs below orchestra level. For the first time in my life, the men's line was ten times longer than the women's! All the women were laughing about it, as we zipped round the long line of men. One said, well there never were very many women at Kinks concerts. Another said, too many older guys drinking too much beer!.

After the interval, Ray started solo with some songs from the new album:

In a Moment
One More Time
Vietnam Cowboys
The Real World (which is about a young woman Harvard grad who found herself tending bar in New Orleans)
Real World
No One Listens

Then he tossed in the rarely performed Fancy, followed by
Sunny Afternoon
Come Dancing
So Tired
Set Me Free
All Day and All of the Night

And then all these as encores:

Low Budget (This made me extraordinarily happy!)
Waterloo Sunset
Lola
Days
Imaginary Man
Victoria

Forgive me if I left anything out. I expect a complete set list will be posted at the Unofficial Kinks Web Site.

I took some pictures and will try to get some up once I'm home from vacation along with more thoughts and reflections.

Needless to say, I left the theatre in a far better mood than the one I had entering it. Ray had the answer for all the reflections upon mortality I had been drawn into. He said, "As long as I'm alive, I'll be writing songs."

As long as I'm alive, I'll be listening. Thanks Ray!

The Long Distance Piano Player

Here's something just posted to YouTube -- a segment of a play televised live in England in 1 starring a young and handsome Ray Davies as a marathon piano player. (Full credits here.) The play is about a young fellow trying to make something out of an event in which he commits to playing non-stop for 4 days. There's a sleazy manager and a wife with some issues.

I saw a video of the black and white broadcast at a Kinks Fan Club meeting in the UK in the mid 90s and was quite taken by Davies' performance. The stage missed out on a major talent when he chose to stick to rock and roll as his major art form.

For a recent CNN interview with Ray, go here. In this one, he reveals that the shooting incident that left him recovering at Charity Ward Hospital in New Orleans made him think about ending his performing career. Thank dog he didn't and I get to see him next week at the Beacon in New York.

Everybody's a Star -- the real story

We get so many visits to the Village Green from folks looking for more information about the Kinks song Everybody's a Star, I thought it would be helpful to post the actual track from Soap Opera for our Saturday night rock out.

This song was NOT created to sell a certain brand of sneakers. Everybody's a Star is the opening number in a witty and timeless piece of rock and roll theatre. The plot concerns a pretentious rock star who decides to trade places with a perfectly ordinary man, in order to get material for a new song. The rock star approaches "Norman" with the promise that he can make anybody into a star. The song cleverly makes reference to Shakepeare's "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players."

We all read lines and we all act a part
We all need a script and an audience to play to
No matter what you do or who you are --
Everybody's a star!

So our rock star trades places with Norman, living the ordinary life with an ordinary wife (Ordinary People) and a boring job in the city. He gets up in the morning to face the awful commute by train (Rush Hour Blues), puts in his hours at his dull job (Nine to Five), takes the same train home every night (When Work Is Over), and stops at the pub for endless drinks (Have Another Drink). He wanders home in the wee hours (Underneath the Neon Sign), his life a pitiful and drab repetition day after day. He day dreams of a romantic adventure (Holiday Romance) but even his fantasies end in failure and rejection.

At home, he sings a wry duet with his wife about how happy they make each other, but the reality is -- he cannot stand her cooking (You Make It All Worthwhile). A final flare up ensues:

After dinner Norman becomes depressed.

STAR:
Norman's office got on my nerves to-day.

WIFE:
What do you mean? You are Norman!

STAR:
(Shouts) I am a star!

WIFE:
You're not a star Norman. You're
just a plain ordinary little bloke and
even if you walked down the street in
a silver suit people still wouldn't
recognise you. You're dull, ordinary
and uninteresting! You're a drag!

Star rises from his chair and smashes
the dinner plates to the floor.

STAR:
I hate this house and I hate you, but
more than anything else I hate those
ducks!

WIFE:
Don't you touch those ducks Norman!
They were a present from my mother.
Look, Norman, I've had enough of you
and your ridiculous fantasies. First of
all you wanted to be a painter, then
you wanted to be an astronaut, then
a footballer and now you're playing at
being a rock singer. If you touch those
ducks I'm leaving! (Ducks On The Wall)

At this point in the show, we realize that there are several layers of fantasy going on here. The so-called rock star may have been ordinary Norman all along. Perhaps all the songs we'd been hearing were merely Norman's fantasies created to cope with his miserable life.

When I saw this show performed by the Kinks way back in 1975 at the Akron Civic Theatre, the audience became very distraught during the following song (A Face in the Crowd):

Our Star doesn't know who he is any
more. Is he the starmaker, the image
maker, looking for material or is he
just plain boring little Norman after
all? Perhaps he should accept that he
is a plain ordinary bloke and not try to
be something he is not.

(A) Face In The Crowd

I've got to stop faking it,
I've got to start facing it,
I'm going to take my final bow
Then I'm going to take my place in the crowd.
I know I'll get used to it,
I've got to stop acting like a clown.

I've gotta start facing up to what I really am.
I've got to realise l'm just an ordinary man.
I think that I'll just settle down
And take my place in the crowd.
I don't want to lie to myself any more.

It felt like Ray Davies who was playing the part of "The Star" was telling us that he didn't want to continue to be our star. That he wanted to live the ordinary life. The emotions were palpable -- I remember quite clearly standing up and shouting "Don't stop Ray!" along with all the other fans there.

But then came the final number (You Can't Stop the Music) with it's ironic reassurance that :

Singers come and go,
And stars fade away.
They vanish in the haze
And they're never seen again,
But the music just keeps playing on.

Themes developed in this musical have been continued throughout Ray Davies' writing career. In fact, in his latest CD -- Working Man's Cafe -- the song In A Moment takes me straight back to Underneath the Neon Lights. The metaphor of wakefulness in the odd hours underneath artificial lights is a recurring theme in Davies' lyrics. (See too: Artificial Light).

So think of Norman the next time you see that shoe commercial. If you really think that putting on a certain brand of sneakers is going to make you a star -- well, maybe in the sense that:

No matter what your occupation is
Everybody's in showbiz.

But in a moment hope will find the way

As expected, Ray's appearance on Letterman is available via Youtube. Paul Shaffer runs on with a microphone and is obviously having a blast joining in the chorus of "In a Moment," a song with wonderful lyrics.

Off line

Had a great post planned for this evening, centered around Ray Davies appearance on Letterman tonight. Tune in now, kids -- he'll be on at the end of the program.

However, when I turned on my 'puter, the big No Connection message came up, taking me back to those dial-up days long ago, when one would try and try to stay on AOL without getting booted off every ten minutes. I don't know what was up with Earthlink tonight, but I wasn't getting on for almost four hours.

Wow, what do you do for four hours in the evening when your computer won't connect? Watch American Idol, of course, while talking to friends on the phone and trying to get student progress reports finished.

No time to go to the Google Reader and check out all my favorite blogs tonight. Will try to play catch-up tomorrow. Time for Ray!!! If you are reading this after Letterman, don't worry -- his appearance is sure to appear on YouTube before you know it.

PS: Working Man's Cafe was released today in the US, so don't forget to buy it.

To the Bone

A belated post for Valentine's Day. They do always take the best bits of furniture along with the records you will miss the most:

Everybody's a Star

Tackling piles Things To Do tonight, while the TV provides background noise. Suddenly, the sound of one very great rock guitarist rings out along with the vocal tones of the Bard of Muswell Hill. I'm shocked out of my seat with wonderment! Why is a song from "Soap Opera" coming from my television? Oh yeah, it's that commercial for a shoe company that has a star for a logo. Hence the use of the song "Everybody's a Star."

I believe that everybody's a celebrity,
And we've all got personality
And individuality.
We all read lines,
And we all act a part,
We all need a script
And an audience to play to.
No matter what you do,
Or who you are,
Everybody's a star.

That dear friends, is my philosophy of life and theatre! Now promoting shoes undoubtedly made in China. I just hope the Davies brothers are receiving appropriate renumeration for the use of said song.

On my bulletin board at school, the following line from this song is posted:

No matter what your occupation is
Everybody's in showbiz.

Because no matter what career my drama students end up in, they will make good use of their theatrical training. They will be able to communicate clearly and work well in collaborative situations. All the world will be their stage and it will need every ounce of creative thinking they can muster in order to overcome all the problems besetting them and it.

For more insight into the song "Everybody's A Star" within context of Soap Opera, the rock and roll musical it comes from, check this post.

Working Man's Cafe DVD preview

I'm off to Cincinnati for another Critical Links in theatre education weekend. So I leave you with this nifty promo preview of the bonus DVD on the new US release of Ray Davies album, Working Man's Cafe:



Order here.

Friday Night Kick Back -- Ray Davies

Here's a song from Working Man's Cafe called One More Time. It has the curious effect of rending my heart and then patching it back up almost at the same time:

Nelson and Starr are OK

A message came in to the Village Green about Nelson and Starr, the hospital workers who tended Ray during his morphine days in New Orleans. Good to know they made it through Katrina.

Working Man's Cafe

Life has been not just a whirlwind but many of them. Blogging hasn't been an option for days, and I do apologize, especially since I will be taking some lengthy time off from posting here over the official school break.

However, I am happy to find that the BBC Electric Proms footage of Ray Davies singing the title track from Working Man's Cafe is now up at Youtube and posted here for everybody's listening pleasure. While I'm away, you can come here and listen to this over and over again until the album is officially released in the US in Feb 08. I think it is already available on US iTunes.

I cannot get enough of this track. I play it over and over and let the emotions wash all over me. I was born into the working class, with genetic code from generations of copper miners, cotton spinners, green grocers and stone masons. My dad was a brick layer when we were kids, which was very much a bonus for us, as he was often off work during winter snow season. He thought up great projects to while away the indoor months, like building a sailing ship to scale, a life size replica of a mummy case, and a model of the Parthenon. Eventually, he stopped bricklaying and became an antiquarian book dealer. My dad is my working class hero, for sure.

My mom was a pink collar worker until she worked her way through college and got to be a teacher after years of taking dictation, typing and assorted office work. She enjoyed teaching a lot more and kept on doing it for a long time. She lead the way into teaching and I have gamely followed her into the classroom. I will always owe her for lending me a suit jacket and skirt for the teaching interview that landed me my dream job. (First and last time I ever wore a skirt on the job!)

Now she and dad are retired and happily living in the little working class house that they built. They seek out working class cafes where a meal is cheap and the atmosphere unpretentious. I will never be able to listen to this song without thinking of them and all they have done for me. So mum and dad -- this one's for you:

A Morphine Song for Charity Hospital

Continuing with a song by song review of Ray Davies' Working Man's Cafe. Tonight we present Track 4: Morphine Song

How do you deal with getting shot in the leg? You write a song to go along with the rhythm of the morphine drip in your arm.

Listen to my heartbeat
Yeah all fall down someone help me off of the ground.

We are on a ward at the Charity Hospital in New Orleans, with a trad jazz band playing in the morgue. The pain killer doesn't stop the patient from observing the scenes around him. There's Star his nurse and Nelson his attendant:

Nelson and Starr
He's got ten grandkids, she's the third missus
He grooves around intensive care, strutting his stuff
He's got a perfect mullet hanging down his back
And Starr walks in, gives a little wiggle
Makes old Nelson grin
He tucks me in, touches my feet
"Hey buddy, you know you got a slow heartbeat"

And across the way is Brenda the alkie:

...the bed beside her is full of cables and leads
Nobody visits, nobody grieves.

She's a junkie and in pain but she's not the one getting the morphine so she cries:

"If I don't get better, I'm gonna die
I'll go cold turkey till I'm clean
I'll go to jail but you get the morphine"

The music plays with the rhythms of the slowed down heart and is supported with a charming traditional New Orleans style horn section backing a simple yet affecting acoustic guitar lead. Two voices teeter along in a child-like harmony on the "yeah all fall down" chorus.

It's a song that works on a lot of different levels at the same time. There's the surreality of the song writer finding himself on the ground and shot, then transported to a ward in Charity Hospital. Ray has said that one of his first thoughts while recovering at the hospital was to write a song to get through it.

Ray had been spending a lot of time in NO, was shot there in 2004, and his recovery was quite long. Just as he was getting up and about again, Katrina blasted away the hospital along with so much devastation and loss of life and homes.

The mournful jazz procession winds through a morgue in a hospital that no longer exists. Sure hope Nelson and Starr made it out OK. Glad you got through it, Ray.

WMC US release Feb 19

From today's Billboard online, news that New West/Ammal has snapped up the rights to Ray Davies Working Man's Cafe for a Feb 2008 release.

Looks like I'll be spending even more money as Billboard reports:

For the New West/Ammal release, the new album will be available in standard form as well as a deluxe CD/DVD with live performances and a video interview. A vinyl edition is also in the works.

Look for Davies to tour North America in the spring.

Time to start a savings fund so that I can catch a few of the US stops! Ah! Reason to go on living!

Peace in our time

Working Man's Cafe is the only music I'm listening to these days. Just over and over until I can sing along with each song. I don't have time to write the all encompassing review yet and can't promise to get it written until the fall play is up and running.

So tonight I'm contemplating this song that might be an anthem addressing global conflicts, but instead is a wry take on a relationship:

Hey girl, let's begin again and try to help ourselves
We're like weary warriors who just came back from hell
You can keep your territory, I will stay in mine
Carefully negotiate and leave this battle behind

Then the mighty chorus with a magnificent build:

All we deserve is some peace in our time
Unconditional love is better
Peace in our time

The phrase "Peace in our time" makes me consider how many years of my life on this planet have coexisted with some kind of ongoing war being waged. The background and soundtrack to my life: wars in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua, Grenada, Iraq. Wars in the ghetto and wars against poverty and drugs.

And at home behind closed doors, wars with a significant other:

The two of us can't take it
Gotta have a truce so we can start
To put it together
Otherwise we're gonna fall apart

The singer is one who has been down this road before:

It really doesn't matter
'cos the world keeps going round
just like a roller coaster
If you let it, it will crush you down

The song maintains its interest by the continual interweaving of the personal story with the imagery of global conflicts, and then ending with a gut-wrenching image:

I'm tearing up the bunch of
Angry letters that you sent
Peace in our time