Dave Davies "I Will Be Me," Live, Taste of Lincoln Avenue

(Cleopatra) There's an old clip of the Kinks on Saturday Night Live in 1977, where they're blasting through "You Really Got Me." Dave is pulling out the stops on the guitar wank - he's cranking up the volume, making scrunched-up faces, and letting you know what a guitar heavy he was. If you saw that episode and wished Dave had a forum of his own to do what he does, this album is for you. Guitars cranked up to 12, and surreal, half-spoken lyrics that sound closer to Lemmy from Motorhead than the guy who sang "Love Me Till The Sun Shines" with the Kinks. While his CD left me a little cold, his performance at the Taste of Lincoln Avenue street fair was far better. Sounding more coherent, he blasted through a set that was half Kinks songs and half solo originals, including an acoustic segment in the middle. Admittedly, there were a few quirky moments, but given the fact that he's recovering from a stroke, he did quite well. More than one person asked to hear "Death Of A Clown," and he obliged them, even having a female in the audience join in on vocals. The strange part was, she was off stage almost as quickly as she was on, and the song itself was treated like a fun throwaway, but despite this, everyone was satiated. And his blasting guitar leads at the concert were right on point.