Kinks at their best and worst.
"I started this week with a slight case of trepidation, knowing that I would see The Kinks and Black Sabbath. The Kinks have been here twice before, terrible each time, and Black Sabbath’s reputation for incredible loudness preceded them.
All ended well, folks. Black Sabbath weren’t that loud! And they were quite good (a long line outside the Whiskey proclaimed huge success).
The Kinks, at Santa Monica, were wonderful; I don’t know how they did it, but they changed the act, adding some acoustic numbers and they seemed almost likeable.
Ray and Dave even smiled.
Backstage Dave was behaving himself and we had a brief chat. I told him I thought they were much improved since their last gig at the Whiskey, and he agreed. "That was terrible. So demoralising. I left after that, got on a plane back to England."
"I had one more day in Los Angeles, so I thought I’d go out to Disneyland. I was there once before, and I kept starin’ at the people; I wasn’t sure they were real."
Disneyland continues to be a star attraction out here for English groups, which always surprises those who live here. We manage to ignore the place, being righteously indignant with Disneyland’s anti-long-hair policy. Mr. Disney was very right-wing you know.
Anyway, Dave wasn’t so charming the next night. He sat near me at the Black Sabbath show and kept yelling "play Temptation!" or "Albatross!" Perhaps he was shouting strange English endearments, but it sounded rude to me.
Then he and his two Kinks cohorts spilled everything in sight, which prompted the gentleman next to me (also English) to mutter, "Drunken Limeys." "
Judy Simms, Hollywood.
