Robyn Hitchcock Appreciation Thread

Yes, he's playing at the Bell House on Saturday November 19th. It's a 7:00 show and then Minus 5 and John Wesley Harding are playing a show at 9:00. There's a combined ticket for both shows that'll save you $5.00.

I sort of expect Robyn to be playing solo acoustic that night, but the Venus 3 and Minus 5 are basically interchangable so who knows? I'm really looking forward to it.

EDIT: Ahh... he's going to be playing Eye at the Bell House too. Excellent. The two US shows seem to be rehearsals for a concert in London on Saturday the 26th.

 

Report back on the show, would you? And enjoy it!

 

I would love to see a box set for RH.

 

Anyone heard this recent solo album Tromso, Kaptein apparently released for Norwegian fans?

 

It's excellent. He re-recorded Raining Twilight Coast from Eye and there's a Norwegian-language re-recording of Goodnight Oslo. The new material is really great and I love the sound of the record and the ensemble of musicians he worked with.

Like all of his albums, opinions vary. Some fans think it's the best thing he's done in years and other fans think it's a bit of a step down from his recent purple patch. The two re-recorded songs give it something of a less-ambitious feel, but I put it on a par with his other recent albums.

 

So, Guy - how was the show?

 

It was excellent.

The evening started stressfully when my driving posse arrived to pick me up in midtown Manhattan at 6:50 PM for the 7:00 PM show in remote Gowanus Canal/Slippery Slope Brooklyn. Early shows like this are fairly prompt; I feared we'd miss "Side One" of the album and had half a mind to bag it. But I figured he'd go on at least a little late, so...

The traffic wasn't too bad; we arrived at 7:30 and ran inside while the head of our posse found parking. Robyn hadn't taken the stage yet (cue: huge sigh of relief). I walked over to the bar to get a beer and just as I placed my order Hitchcock walked on stage to a big round of applause (cue: immeasurable brightening of mood).

It was basically solo Robyn, but a young fellow came out and sang back-up on a few songs and also did an admirable job of going tête-à-tête with Robyn in his stream-of-consciousness repartee. Scott McCaughey also joined on one song. It was a fairly relaxed performance. When Robyn let everyone know he was starting the CD Bonus Track mid-section of the show (between LP Sides) he wondered aloud if he'd forgotten anything. Certainly Cliquot had been purposefully skipped, but he'd also forgotten to play Linctus House, which he then dutifully performed after the audience reminder. I’ve always enjoyed his guitar work on this album and watching him perform it live I was struck by how difficult his fretwork appeared to be, as if he’d constructed unorthodox (and very challenging) progressions for these songs.

The Bell House is one of my favorite venues; it's an old warehouse/shop space with wood trusses and a vaulted ceiling. It has warm natural acoustics and is a friendly and comfortable joint. The room was full - I’ll guess 400-capacity - and the audience was very appreciative and attentive throughout. Robyn came back and did a nice encore including One Long Pair of Eyes. The full Minus 5 combo came out for the final pair of encore songs.

We’d bought the combo ticket for Robyn Hitchcock followed by Minus 5 & John Wesley Harding, but I’d guess that half the audience left (although I also know people who came only for the second show). It was a great night all around. The music ended at midnight, after which we indulged in nitecap city… quite unbecoming of a "pushing-60" posse.

 

^ Fantastic... thanks for the update, Guy. It goes without saying "I wish I'd been there..."

I suppose I'll head home now and play all four sides of Storefront Hitchcock. It's as close as I'll get this time around.

 

This thread inspired me to listen to Globe of Frogs last night after years and years of criminal neglect on my part. I picked it up in the late 80s but have probably not listened to it since the 90s. Geez, what a fantastic album that, in my opinion, has held up so well over time (in a sense, its kind of timeless in fact). How could I forget about it? The only other one I have is Queen Elvis, again something I picked up around 1990. So I just ordered Perspex Island, as I saw that is was his next album with the Egyptians. Any others I should especially consider given my like for Globe of Frogs and Queen Elvis?

 

'Fegmania' and 'Element of Light'. Those are probably his best two records ever, and if you like Globe and Queen Elvis you'll love them.

I'd also recommend 'Respect', his last album w/the Egyptians.

 

Thank you! Will order...

 

If you like this era of Robyn's career, also pick up Eye (1990), the solo album he recorded while taking a short break from the Egyptians. It's a true delight.

 

I found the Storefront Hitchcock DVD at Big Lots for $1 a few years ago. I'll have to dig that out again.

 

The Kershaw Sessions. Unfortunately you'll have to watch ebay for a good price, as it is out of print. Has different versions of songs from that era.

http://www.discogs.com/Robyn-Hitchcock-And-The-Egyptians-The-Kershaw-Sessions/master/179565

 

"I Often Dream Of Trains" is one of the greatest albums I've ever heard.

 

Well, I was there, and it was good.

He had previously played a festival in Golden Gate Park, outdoors and packed with people (though he was hardly the biggest name on the bill and played at like 1-2 PM I think). So beyond the Eye album, he played Madonna of the Wasps and a few songs he had played in the park such as Man's Got To Know His Limitations and Ole Tarantula (sorry if I'm messing up the titles- I'm an old school Soft Boys fan primarily, love the Eye album, very unfamiliar with other stuff from recently). In the park he covered the Dead's Candyman which kind of ruled.

But the Eye songs- some of them were really excellent, and you can tell he plays them often, like Queen Elvis. It was awesome to hear him call out to Linda Ryan in the audience right before Flesh Cartoons. Other songs, like Linctus House, had so many flubs I wonder if he's ever played them live at all. He didn't even attempt to play Certainly Clicquot. Even though the performances were not perfect, I love the album front to back and enjoyed it anyway- you can tell the album really represents a rough time for him, it really came through.

 

As others have noted, Fegmania and Element of Light are both terrific RH & the Egyptians albums. I love his more recent work and will recommend the Moss Elixer/Mossy Liquor 2-fer and let's say... Ole! Tarantula from a few years ago. You can't go too far wrong with any of his key albums.

I'm glad he had a rehearsal in San Fran before hitting The Big Apple!

I noticed just two flubs in his performance, but they passed without disrupting the flow. I'm not a musician, but as I said above, some of the fretwork appeared to be quite tortured and challenging by his standards.

 

How is Gotta Let This Hen Out! as a live album? I saw that its under him and the Egyptians so I'm assuming its more rocking (rather than acoustic). I'm into the more rocking side of Robyn at this point.

Just wondering about the sound and performance.

 

Rocking its is for sure
great sound and performance , very recommended , a great record ( and usually i am not a big fan of live albums)

 

Essential.

 

I've been a fan since I was like 15

 

Stumbled across this today, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=4u2-V-1sivA&feature=endscreen


Something Shakespeare never said is "you got to be kidding" ...

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Did anybody mention the record "Eye" yet? If Nick Drake wrote Pink Moon while living in SF in 1990 you would have Eye. Eye might even be better than Pink Moon. Its that great.

Love the 80's Egyptians stuff also, a recent-ish release I also love by him is Spooked with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

 

I got interested in the 80's and then went backwards to explore the Soft Boys. I probably have enjoyed "Element of Light" from Robyn the most.

I picked up a "Can of Bees" record last week which I'm hoping is the UK original. It goes into my Soft Boys collection with "A Tin of Crabs" 7".

There are probably a few more recent solo albums I'm missing so this thread is a good reminder.

 

One thing I've learned collecting Hitchcock is there is always something missing.



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