Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift: Sweet Home Quarantine Week 8

Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift.

Week 8 of Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift’s “Sweet Home Quarantine” shows happened on May 6, 2020. You can watch Robyn and Emma on the Stageit website. Week 8 was another dig through the back catalogue of Robyn Hitchcock.

The show opened with “If You Were a Priest,” the opening track from Element of Light, Robyn’s 1986 album with his band the Egyptians. This was followed by “A Skull, a Suitcase, and a Long Red Bottle of Wine,” an early 1980’s outtake that first appeared on the 1986 compilation Invisible Hitchcock. It’s since been added as a bonus track to the Yep Roc reissue of Robyn’s first solo album, Black Snake Diamond Role. It doesn’t do much for me as a song.

Robyn sang a lovely version of “Mr. Kennedy,” a song from the Soft Boys reunion album, 2002’s Nextdoorland. It made me think I should revisit that album, since I haven’t listened to it in a long time. After the song, Robyn had some very humorous banter with Emma, as Robyn did a Beatle voice and was wondering how Paul and Ringo stay so thin. He said, “They probably have personal trainers.” Emma replied, “You could have a personal trainer too, but you just spend your money on cheese.” This made Robyn laugh. It always cracks me up when Emma makes Robyn laugh, because you can tell it’s genuine. For all his reputation as a “quirky surrealist” or whatever term you want to use to describe him, Robyn seems like a serious fellow, so when he laughs, I think he’s genuinely amused by something.

Concert staple “I’m Only You” was next, and as usual, featured a superb guitar solo from Robyn. In concert, this is almost always the song where Robyn shows off his guitar chops. I don’t know why he doesn’t play more guitar solos because he’s a terrific guitar player. Emma got her solo spot, singing her original song “How to be Small.” It was lovely, and hopefully she’ll record more in the future.

Robyn sang “No, I Don’t Remember Guildford,” the tune he sang over the closing credits of the 1998 concert film Storefront Hitchcock. It’s a very pretty song, with great harmonies from Emma. Robyn sang one of my favorite songs, “I Often Dream of Trains,” played on the very same Fender Telecaster that he originally recorded it on. I’ve always loved the lyrics of “I Often Dream of Trains.” The last songs of the night were “1970 in Aspic,” from Robyn’s 2017 self-titled album, and “Cynthia Mask,” from 1990’s Eye. The lyrics of “Cynthia Mask” have always intrigued me, with their references to Napoleon and Neville Chamberlain. From reading a biography, I learned that Napoleon really did eat a lot of chicken, as he apparently instructed his chefs to always have one roasting, so he could have one whenever he felt hungry. The perks of being First Consul. The night ended with a minute or so of the truly odd “Antwoman.”