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| Robyn Hitchcock, at the Dakota, October 12, 2012. (Photo by Mark Taylor.) |
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| Robyn Hitchcock |
Last night I saw Robyn Hitchcock at the Dakota Jazz Club. It
was a terrific show, just Robyn and his guitar-and a couple of songs on the piano.
Richard Lloyd, the guitar player from the band Television, opened for Robyn.
Lloyd is a good guitar player, but he lacked any stage presence and his songs
all sounded very similar to me.
Robyn was wearing a colorful shirt, as always. It was white
with blue or purple flowers-very cool. He began the concert with two Soft Boys
oldies, “Only the Stones Remain,” and “I Got the Hots.” He played some
harmonica throughout the show, which I’ve indicated in the set list below.
Robyn’s guitar playing is really fantastic. He played a wonderful extended solo
on “I’m Only You,” like he did in the concert movie “Storefront Hitchcock.”
Like Nick Lowe, Robyn is able to captivate an audience with just his voice and
his guitar, which is not something all performers can do. Robyn described “I’m
Only You” as a song about “becoming the thing you love.” True to Robyn Hitchcock
form, in between songs he entertained us with his stream of consciousness
spoken word pieces. I’ve heard that his spoken word pieces are completely
different every night, and I believe that, I really think he just makes them up
as he goes along. It might be the closest we’ll get to getting inside Robyn’s
mind. Robyn played a lovely version of his song “Museum of Sex,” which is one
of my favorites from the “Ole! Tarantula” album. “Museum of Sex” has one of my
all-time favorite Robyn lyrics, “Music is the antidote to the world of pain and
sorrow.” Beautiful, and very true. Robyn switched to piano for a few songs, the
delicate “English Girl,” from his 2004 album “Spooked,” the lovely “Flavor of
Night,” (or “Flavour of Night,” to use the British spelling) from his classic “I
Often Dream of Trains” album, and a brand new song, “I Don’t Know Anything
About You Anymore.” (I’m not entirely sure of the title, but that’s the
chorus.) Robyn said that this new song will be the first song on Side 2 of his
new album, which will be out next spring. Robyn then switched back to guitar
for a terrific version of “My Favorite Buildings,” which he dedicated to
Minneapolis’s Foshay Tower. Robyn said that two of his favorite things about
Minneapolis are Nicollet Mall and the Foshay Tower, both of which are very
close to the Dakota. (The Dakota is on Nicollet Mall, and the Foshay is just
blocks away.) Next up were two songs from Robyn’s album “Eye,” which he is
playing in its entirety tonight in Chicago. His version of “Glass Hotel” was
especially nice, with great guitar work. Robyn closed out the night by playing
three more recent songs, “Sometimes a Blonde,” from “Spooked,” the supremely
catchy “Up To Our Nex,” from “Goodnight Olso,” and the title song from “Ole!
Tarantula,” which is one of my favorite Robyn songs.
The encore was entirely covers, which surprised me a little
bit. Robyn said that Jim Morrison was his favorite rock star, which also surprised
me. Robyn said that the David Bowie song “Soul Love” is his daughter’s favorite
Bowie song, as well as his wife’s favorite Bowie song. And Robyn’s. And the cat’s.
Robyn had a great line about Bowie, saying something like, “He’s British, but
he’s not dead, so that must mean that he lives in America.” It was a great, fun
song to close the evening with. It was a great show, and a lot of fun to see
Robyn solo. He said he’d be back in the spring, so I’m already looking forward
to that. Robyn is such a unique performer, there’s no one quite like him. I
love his mixture of catchy melodies and witty, surreal lyrics. He’s one of my
favorite songwriters, and I think his recent albums are as good as anything he’s
done. I did get to meet Robyn after the show and get my copy of his most recent
CD “Tromso, Kaptein” signed. Robyn was amazed that I had the physical CD. (It
was only released physically in Norway.) He said, “Where did you get this?” I
said, “From your website.” He was very nice, but he wasn’t going to make small
talk, so I didn’t get a chance to ask him if he’s been to the bar at the top of
the Foshay Tower. Oh well, maybe in the spring.
Set-list:
Only the Stones Remain-harmonica
I Got the Hots
The Wreck of the Arthur Lee
Museum of Sex
Dismal City
I’m Only You
English Girl-piano
Flavor of Night-piano
I Don’t Know Anything About You Anymore-new song-piano
My Favorite Buildings-dedicated to the Foshay Tower
Queen Elvis-harmonica
Glass Hotel
Sometimes a Blonde
Up To Our Nex
Ole! Tarantula-harmonica
Encore:
River Man-Nick Drake cover
Dominoes-Syd Barrett cover
Crystal Ship-The Doors cover
Soul Love-David Bowie cover