A Kink in Montclair

As a longtime resident of Montclair, I still have to pinch myself each time I see a show at the Wellmont, the gorgeously renovated theater that is bringing so much great music — like last night’s show by Ray Davies — into my hometown.

Even Davies, a veteran of 50-plus years playing rock on the road, was impressed. “I can’t believe this is so beautiful,” he said at the start of his 90-minute show. “What is this? Montclair, New Jersey? I think I might move here.”

Well Ray, speaking on behalf of Montclair, you’d certainly be welcome. The Montclair show was the final stop on Davies’s brief U.S. tour to promote a new Decca album, “The Kinks Choral Collection,” on which he performs many of his old band’s classics with a chorus from his native North London.

Some of the U.S. shows were performed with choral backing. The Montclair show was not. Instead, Davies played with his current four-piece band (including keyboardist Ian Gibbons, a member of the late-stage Kinks).

Davies dug deep into the Kinks catalog for the terrifically entertaining set – but this is no nostalgia act. At 65, Davies looks and sounds great, and treats his vast Kinks repertoire with energy and respect. He also introduced the crowd – a near-packed house – to newer material off his excellent solo albums: “Other People’s Lives” from 2005 and “Working Man’s Café” from 2008. Ever the showman, Davies sprinkled tasty little diversions into the performance, channeling Johnny Cash for one verse of “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” and deconstructing “You Really Got Me” to demonstrate how the song was written all those years ago.

Davies’s debut in Montclair was a triumph and a delight. We hope he’ll come back to the Wellmont. And maybe even move here.

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Tags: Montclair | Davies, Ray | Wellmont Theatre | Kinks,

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