Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift: Special Bob Dylan Birthday Show

On Sunday, Bob Dylan’s 79^th birthday, Robyn Hitchcock performed a special show for his Patreon subscribers. It was on Zoom, and, like everything on Zoom, it took a few minutes to get fully sorted out. But once it started, it was a great show. The setlist had some similarities with the all-Dylan show that Robyn and Emma performed as part of their weekly “Sweet Home Quarantine” concerts, but it was by no means a repeat of that show. 

Robyn opened the show with solo versions of “She Belongs to Me,” “Desolation Row,” “Born in Time,” “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven,” and “Clothes Line Saga.” It was fun to hear “Clothes Line Saga,” as I’ve never heard Robyn sing that song before. Apparently “Clothes Line Saga” was Bob’s answer to/parody of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” Robyn’s guitar work was sparkling, as usual, and I was really mesmerized by it on “Desolation Row” in particular. 

Emma Swift then joined Robyn and sang a lovely version of “The Man in Me.” It was also announced on Sunday that Emma will be releasing an album of Dylan cover songs titled Blonde on the Tracks. It comes out in August and will be released on a variety of formats. It should be a treat, as I’ve been looking forward to hearing more of Emma. 

Robyn and Emma duetted on lovely versions of “Just Like a Woman,” and “Lay, Lady, Lay.” In the chat, someone asked if Robyn had ever met Dylan. Robyn said that he almost met Dylan on a kibbutz in Israel in 1971. At first, I thought Robyn was joking, but he told the whole story about how he went to take a shower, came back, and his friends told him that Bob Dylan had just been there. Dylan did indeed visit Israel in 1971, so there you have it. 

Emma sang a very cool version of one of Dylan’s newest songs, “I Contain Multitudes.” Robyn praised Emma for not sounding like Dylan at all and went on to explain that he always hears Dylan’s vocal inflections in his own versions of Dylan’s songs. Robyn and Emma sang “Shelter from the Storm” together, then Robyn did a solo version of “Not Dark Yet” with a great guitar solo. Next, Robyn sang what he usually says is his favorite song ever, “Visions of Johanna,” which he always does a great job of performing. 

Emma returned to duet with Robyn on “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and “Tiny Montgomery,” and Robyn closed out the show with a great version of “The Times They Are a-Changing,” done more up-tempo than the original. It was a great show, and a nice thank you from Robyn to his fans.