By Dave Woodhall.
What can politely be termed the nostalgia circuit is sometimes brought into disrepute by collections of musicians playing under the name of a band they can only loosely claim to have any connection with. When three members played with the originals, including one who was there from start to almost the finish, tonight’s star turn have a claim to trade under the name of what was one of the greatest British bands of all time. They also have a sense of morality, or maybe less expensive lawyers than the Davies brothers, so it was the wonderfully-named Kast Off Kinks who ran through one of the strongest sets of original material the Robin or any other stage will have ever witnessed.
For almost two hours the hits, classics and a few forgotten gems flowed. Admittedly it took a bit of timer for everyone to get warmed up, but once singer Dave Clarke – the only member of the line-up never to have Kinked – had proved his worth on a stunning rendition of Dave Davies’ solo hit Death of a Clown, we were into top gear.
Dave was happy enough to hand over the singing duties to others – bassist Jim Rodford, who seems to play this venue every other week in some band or another, led a singalong Sunny Afternoon which, together with some fine piano work all night from Ian Gibbons, showed that Ray Davies never was far away from the finest traditions of music hall.
If I could make one criticism it was that some of the song intros went on a bit for the casual listener; Mick Avory is a great drummer and as the longest-serving and original member of the band he’s worth a listen but his lengthy preamble to Lola should be cut in half, and maybe half again. The song itself was as sublime as ever.
A twenty minute break (well, they are getting on a bit), and back with Till the End of the Day. Ian lends his voice to Well Respected Man, while Village Green Preservation Society sounds as good as ever. Mick’s back up front to sing Dedicated Follower of Fashion, his deadpan delivery suiting the sing admirably.
Then the song they admit they never used to dare perform. Waterloo Sunset, a strong contender for the title of finest lyrics ever written, and while it’s nowhere near the awesome poignancy of the original, no-one could ever come close to pulling this one off. Full marks for trying though, and worth the sympathy vote it received. The set finishes with Jim Rodman leading an audience participation You Really Got Me, the song which lifted the band into the big time and the first great rock’n’roll riff.
They’re back on for a couple more. The first is Better Things but you know what’s coming next. “The only time I feel alright is by your side.” All Day and All of the Night, with yet again the whole room enjoying every word; the perfect close to an enjoyable night. It isn’t the Kinks and doesn’t pretend to be. But until Ray starts playing live again and Dave’s health improves it’s as Klose as you’re going to get.