The Kinks Rock CCCC In Portland For The Last Time In 1983

38 years ago tonight, The Kinks played for the second and last time ever at the Civic Center. Their first appearance in Portland was 4 years earlier, shortly after the release of Low Budget on August 3, 1979.

The singular storytelling brilliance of Ray Davies shone once again with their new song, Come Dancing.

We also remember seeing the accompanying video salute to the bygone Big Band era inspired by memories of Ray's sister going to dancehalls "on a Saturday". It came up plenty on a still fairly new channel called MTV.

So needless to say, by the time these former 60’s British Invaders arrived in Portland on June 9, 1983, it was a sold-out show.

This was the State of Confusion tour and The Kinks played here in Portland the night before the album of the same name was released.

Mainers got to see original members Ray Davies on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Davies on lead guitar and vocals, and Mick Avory on drums performing classics like Lola and You Really Got Me.

The latter became a really suped up since the industrial strength 1987 Van Halen cover had gained dominance. The Kinks also mixed in new stuff like Don’t Forget to Dance and the title track of the new album.

We can't find the list of what they played in Portland. However, it was probably pretty close to this from the next night downtah Woostah.

setlist.fm

Here's the song they closed the night with. We forget how much we loved this anxiety- filled romp. Let's freak out with State of Confusion.

We count 4 appearances by the great Ray Davies here in Maine. These include the 2 aforementioned Portland shows above and a return with The Kinks to Bowdoin College in 1990.

I also distinctly remember a solo performance from Ray at the State Theatre in 2001. It was just him and his instruments in a stunning 'Storyteller' type show. Hearing him tell the tale of the iconic power-chord driven, You Really Got Me being born in the parlor of his childhood home was oh so very cool.