Let me introduce this by saying that until half an hour before the start of the concert I had no-one to go with me there so I was gutted. I wrote on Facebook, asking if anybody fancied going there with me, and a French girl from Paris commented that I should have went on my own, and made me realize I would have definitely regret not going.

So I turned the volume up to 100 and double-clicked on “You Really Got Me”. (play on Spotify). Put my shoes and jacket on, then literally ran out of my flat, down the stairs, in the street.

I arrived at the Usher Hall and bought my ticket just before they closed the doors, got in and found my spanish friend Juan that sat beside me.

The atmosphere was very intimate, Ray went on the stage with a big applause, and then he sat down and started to play his acoustic guitar, playing even up-tempo songs like “I Need You”. It felt as he was sitting in your living room playing just for you! The sound was great and everyone in the audience was so quiet. 

Between a song and the next one Ray told us a bit about him and his life, and damn - he would be a cracking comedian! 

“This song got featured in a movie called Juno, and I have never seen it”

Just before playing A Well Respected Man.

He included most of the Kinks classics in his set, and involved the audience a lot during tunes such as “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” (After saying: I’m going to play a traditional English folk song, here in Edinburgh, and my guitar was made in Ireland).

“See My Friend” was particularly touching at a point when Ray sang so quietly you could barely hear him. “Waterloo Sunset” acoustic version was really sweet and nostalgic, it really captured the essence of the song. Lyrics at the end go: “as long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise” and Ray added he still is..

After maybe a dozen of songs the full band came on stage and they switched their guitars to distortion, and attacked the audience with songs such as “All Day and All of the Night” - the Kinks’ 1964 number 2 single.

Ray told the audience a story about the Kinks at the start of their career, when they were still unsigned, and said that after bringing their songs to record labels he had fun reading the letters saying they had been refused, with self-irony he said he’d been described as an horrible singer and that they particularly dislike the sound of their rhythm guitar, saying it sounded like the bark of a dog! After saying this they attacked with “Till the end of the day” one of their heavier tunes and the audience all stood up and started dancing, clapping and rocking!! 

At that moment I went below the stage for the final hits such as the classic “Lola”, and after the song Ray came to me and shook my hand! I honestly didn’t expect it to happen, I just said “you’re amazing” but I wish I had thought of something better to say in such a situation.

After the show me and the others below the stage asked the technician to give us something, 3 lucky people got picks, and I got a bottle of water! Juan defined it as Blessed Water! Now I think you’d have to be a really devoted fan to found any value in the water that Ray Davies was drinking. haha! 

This was my first review of a concert, I’d like to hear some comments, what do you think?