Kinks

NORTH HADLEY - It was around lunchtime when the accordion kicked in. Dave Simons, the mustachioed leader of one of the world's most unexpected Kinks tribute bands, sang the opening bars of "Sunny Afternoon. " The other members of the Muswell Hillbillies, ranging from high school kids to the 60-year-old drummer, played along. The group was rehearsing for its last show, a gig tonight at the Iron Horse in Northampton. Why quit now? "I don't want us to wear out our welcome," explained Simons, 54. That might sound strange for a band that's played just six gigs, including...

NORTH HADLEY - It was around lunchtime when the accordion kicked in. Dave Simons, the mustachioed leader of one of the world's most unexpected Kinks tribute bands, sang the opening bars of "Sunny Afternoon. " The other members of the Muswell Hillbillies, ranging from high school kids to the 60-year-old drummer, played along. The group was rehearsing for its last show, a gig tonight at the Iron Horse in Northampton. Why quit now? "I don't want us to wear out our welcome," explained Simons, 54. That might sound strange for a band that's played just six gigs, including...

Quarterback Taylor Martinez's big day against Chattanooga couldn't disguise the kinks that showed up in the debut of Nebraska's new offense. Coordinator Tim Beck says the No. 10 Cornhuskers faced too many third-and-long situations in their 40-7 win Saturday. He said they never established much rhythm. Beck's no-huddle system gives Martinez freedom to audible and freelance. He rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns and was 11 of 22 for 116 yards passing. But the running game between the tackles was almost non-existent against a Mocs' defense that crowded the line of...

    "Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star     And everybody's in movies, it doesn't matter who you are    There are stars in every city     In every house and on every street     And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard    Their names are written in concrete" Ray Davies , the Kinks , "Celluloid  Heroes" (Here's a video of the band performing the song...

Reprinted from late editions of yesterday's Globe. "I'm not like everybody else," Ray Davies sang in the opening number of his concert Tuesday night at the Orpheum. He sure isn't. A leader of a legendary British Invasion band -- the Kinks -- who waited until this year to put out his first solo album, Davies went his own way back in the 1960s and, at 61, he continues to do so. The show was a joyful, sharp-edged nostalgia trip that walked the line between irony, shambling music-hall archness, and straight-up rock 'n' roll.

LONDON - The Beatles have Liverpool. The Beach Boys can lay claim to Southern California. But to me, no rock band is as closely linked to a geographic territory as the Kinks are to this city. When I listen to their near-flawless '60s catalog, I can almost taste the buttered currant buns and Sunday roast. And there is no song better than "Waterloo Sunset. " So on a recent trip to London, I connected with Olga Ruocco, a longtime fan of the band and guide of a most informal Kinks tour.

When Ray Davies led the Kinks, he sang with a chip on his shoulder large enough to fill the Albert Hall. The Beatles and Stones were rock stars. The Kinks were the British Invasion's working-class antiheroes, with the mischievous, gap-toothed Davies attacking his prey with sarcastic glee. His not-so-omniscient narrators considered the repercussions of war ("Some Mother's Son"), the past ("Come Dancing"), and domesticity ("Two Sisters"). Even when Davies failed -- with half-baked rock operas and meatheaded arena rock in the 1970s -- he at least...

Demented quests have driven people to climb mountains, tilt at windmills, and track down drinking vessels used by religious super heroes. Likewise, compulsive fans camp out for days to score concert tickets, and linger till 3 a.m. to glimpse stars slinking into their tour buses. In the documentary “Do It Again,’’ Globe reporter and wannabe rocker Geoff Edgers joins this kindred fellowship of the obsessed. Close to his 40th birthday, with salary cuts looming at the newspaper (it’s 2009)

    "Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star     And everybody's in movies, it doesn't matter who you are    There are stars in every city     In every house and on every street     And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard    Their names are written in concrete" Ray Davies , the Kinks , "Celluloid  Heroes" (Here's a video of the band performing the song...

"I'm not like everybody else," Ray Davies sang in the opening number of his concert last night at the Orpheum. He sure isn't. A leader of a legendary British Invasion band -- the Kinks -- who waited until this year to put out his first solo album, Davies went his own way back in the 1960s and, at 61, he continues to do so. The show was a joyful, sharp-edged nostalgia trip that walked the line between irony, shambling music-hall archness, and straight-up...

Quarterback Taylor Martinez's big day against Chattanooga couldn't disguise the kinks that showed up in the debut of Nebraska's new offense. Coordinator Tim Beck says the No. 10 Cornhuskers faced too many third-and-long situations in their 40-7 win Saturday. He said they never established much rhythm. Beck's no-huddle system gives Martinez freedom to audible and freelance. He rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns and was 11 of 22 for 116 yards passing. But the running game between the tackles was almost non-existent against a Mocs' defense that crowded the line of...

Demented quests have driven people to climb mountains, tilt at windmills, and track down drinking vessels used by religious super heroes. Likewise, compulsive fans camp out for days to score concert tickets, and linger till 3 a.m. to glimpse stars slinking into their tour buses. In the documentary “Do It Again,’’ Globe reporter and wannabe rocker Geoff Edgers joins this kindred fellowship of the obsessed. Close to his 40th birthday, with salary cuts looming at the newspaper (it’s 2009)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Cam Newton ran around Bryant-Denny Stadium with a hand over his mouth, having hushed those who might have thought his shot at the national title was done, along with the Heisman Trophy. He’s very much on track for both, thanks to his most audacious performance yet in this season of triumph and controversy. No one had ever rallied a team to victory over Alabama after trailing by 24 points. That’s just what Newton did yesterday, leading No. 2 Auburn to a stunning 28-27 triumph in the annual Iron Bowl that kept the Tigers (12-0, 8-0 SEC)

“Are there any individuals here tonight?’’ Ray Davies asked at the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday, and a sizable portion of the crowd, missing the irony, erupted in cheers. The former Kinks frontman, ever the wag, then persuaded his audience to sing along with the title phrase of “I’m Not Like Everybody Else.’’ Having made his point with his typically mordant wit, the often-cantankerous Davies remained in high spirits for the rest of the night. Rather than replicate the choral versions of Kinks songs on his recent album, Davies took the...

LONDON - The Beatles have Liverpool. The Beach Boys can lay claim to Southern California. But to me, no rock band is as closely linked to a geographic territory as the Kinks are to this city. When I listen to their near-flawless '60s catalog, I can almost taste the buttered currant buns and Sunday roast. And there is no song better than "Waterloo Sunset. " So on a recent trip to London, I connected with Olga Ruocco, a longtime fan of the band and guide of a most informal Kinks tour.

In 1886, the Austro-German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing published "Psychopathia Sexualis," his groundbreaking catalog of sexual disorders. The work shone scientific light for the first time on various fetishes, discussed homosexuality with what was then considered shocking rationality, and coined the words "sadism" and "masochism. " You don't need to be a masochist to watch Bret Wood's "Psychopathia Sexualis," a cinematic dramatization/commentary on Krafft-Ebing's treatise, but it would probably help.

“Are there any individuals here tonight?’’ Ray Davies asked at the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday, and a sizable portion of the crowd, missing the irony, erupted in cheers. The former Kinks frontman, ever the wag, then persuaded his audience to sing along with the title phrase of “I’m Not Like Everybody Else.’’ Having made his point with his typically mordant wit, the often-cantankerous Davies remained in high spirits for the rest of the night. Rather than replicate the choral versions of Kinks songs on his recent album, Davies took the opposite approach at the outset.

For years the Mr. T Experience has been among power pop's greatest secrets. Driven by lead singer/guitarist Dr. Frank, the band has been combining smart lyrics with contagiously catchy hooks since 1986. "Yesterday Rules" finds the band embracing the melancholy of their past while streamlining their name (now simply MTX) for the future. Once again the band delivers, be it the smart dissection of classic rock lyrics that is "She's Not a Flower" or the swinging mod beat of "The Boyfriend Box. " What is particularly noteworthy on this release is Dr. Frank's delivery of lilting and lovely...

LENOX -- In its first week of existence the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra gave its debut concert. The level of talent within the ensemble is outstanding, its potential boundless, but orchestras aren't built within a week, and it's probably not fair to ask young conductors to make their first Tanglewood appearances under such circumstances. Eva Ollikainen and Tomasz Golka are both gifted and experienced, but the TMC band sounded like a great-orchestra-in-the-making only when Old Master Bernard Haitink took over the podium for Shostakovich's 10th Symphony after intermission Monday...

Reprinted from late editions of yesterday's Globe. "I'm not like everybody else," Ray Davies sang in the opening number of his concert Tuesday night at the Orpheum. He sure isn't. A leader of a legendary British Invasion band -- the Kinks -- who waited until this year to put out his first solo album, Davies went his own way back in the 1960s and, at 61, he continues to do so. The show was a joyful, sharp-edged nostalgia trip that walked the line between irony, shambling music-hall archness, and straight-up rock 'n' roll.