Concert Review: Robyn Hitchcock and Eugene Mirman at the Cedar Cultural Center

Robyn Hitchcock at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, on May 2, 2024. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

Poster for Robyn Hitchcock and Eugene Mirman at the Cedar Cultural Center, May 2, 2024. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

Robyn signed the sleeve of my 45. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

On May 2nd, I saw Robyn Hitchcock and Eugene Mirman at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. I’ve seen Robyn live many times, but I missed him when he came through town in 2023, so I’m glad to have caught him this time around. Eugene Mirman opened the show with his stand-up. I’ve seen Eugene open for Robyn before, and he’s a pretty funny fellow. Robyn brought Eugene back at the end of the show, and I really enjoyed seeing how much Robyn laughed at Eugene. 

Robyn Hitchcock is an artist quite beyond description. His songs are beautiful, catchy, melodic, alarming, charming, disarming, and otherworldly. His concert at the Cedar was a solo show, featuring Robyn on guitar, and piano on a few songs. My wife and I got to the Cedar later than we wanted to, just as Eugene was starting his set, but we happily discovered that there were empty seats in the front row. Thanks for not wanting to draw attention to yourselves, Minnesotans!  

Robyn opened the show with “Balloon Man,” one of his most famous songs from the 1980’s. I didn’t write down the songs that Robyn played, because I foolishly assumed they’d make it online, but I haven’t been able to find a setlist for this concert. Oh well. So it goes.  

The songs that I recall were a mixture of Hitchcock favorites like “I’m Only You,” and “I Often Dream of Trains,” and songs like “I Saw Nick Drake” that are performed less frequently. As always, solo shows highlight Hitchcock’s excellent guitar playing. Speaking of Robyn’s guitar playing, his most recent album is 2023’s Life After Infinity, his first all-instrumental album.  

At the piano, Robyn played “The Man Who Invented Himself,” side one, track one from his first solo album, 1981’s Black Snake Diamond Role. I don’t know if the song was meant to be autobiographical, but the lyrics seem apropos of Hitchcock: “He came bursting out of nowhere like a spear into the sky/and he cast his light on everything it was like he’d never die...he’s the fella, the man who invented himself.”  

Robyn also played “Somewhere Apart” on the piano, one of his most John Lennon-esque songs, which is one of my favorites. I requested “Strawberries Dress,” a lovely song from 2013’s Love from London. When I told Robyn after the show that I’d requested that song, he apologized for the tuning not quite sounding right, but it sounded great to me.  

It was fun to see Robyn in concert again, and after the show he signed autographs. I was dressed for the occasion, with a flowery shirt and a neck scarf. Robyn complimented my outfit, and I told him I was trying to dress like it was 1967—the title of Robyn’s new memoir, coming out in July.  

In an Instagram post from yesterday, Robyn wrote: “The longer I do it, the more I love playing live. I’m grateful for the chance to be my best self, night after night, in front of people who genuinely enjoy what I do. My recent US excursion was a slice of bliss.” It was for us too, Robyn.  

Concert Review: The Surfrajettes and The McCharmlys at the Turf Club

The Surfrajettes on stage at the Turf Club, March 10, 2024. From left to right, Nicole Damoff on guitar, Annie Lillis on drums, Shermy Freeman on guitar, and Sarah Butler on bass. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

Me and Annie, with special photobomb by Sarah.

Set list for the Surfrajettes, held by Annie Lillis (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

My signed photo of the Surfrajettes.

In March, I saw the rock group the Surfrajettes at the Turf Club. Devoted readers of “Mark My Words” will recall that I previously saw the Surfrajettes at the Turf Club last October, when they opened for the Electric Six. This time the McCharmlys opened for the Surfrajettes. The McCharmlys have an awesome retro-60's vibe, so their sound worked really well with the Surfrajettes. The lead vocalist Angie has a really great voice, and I enjoyed their songs. 

The Surfrajettes put on an awesome show, and it’s a treat to see their surf rock songs live. It’s fun to see the guitar interplay between Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff, as they trade between lead and rhythm. Their guitar work is always seamless and flows so well. This time the Surfrajettes had their usual lineup of Shermy and Nicole on guitar, Sarah Butler on bass, and Annie Lillis on drums. Sarah and Annie both did a fantastic job. Annie absolutely crushed the drum breaks on “Roller Fink,” and “El Condor Pasa,” one of my favorite Surfrajette songs. It was immediately evident what a fantastic chemistry Shermy, Nicole, Sarah, and Annie have together on stage. 

The set list featured some different songs from October’s show, although favorites like “Heart of Glass” and their version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” still made appearances. After playing “She Loves You,” Nicole said, “That’s one we wrote,” which was very funny. The band played most of the songs from their debut album Roller Fink, rocking tunes like “Warm Up,” “Roxy Roller,” “Couch Surfing,” “Surfer’s Slide,” and “Snowball.”  

The Surfrajettes are such a fun band to see live, I’m hoping they keep coming back to the Twin Cities every six months. After the show, I was able to get my 8x10 photo signed by all 4 Surfrajettes, and I got selfies with Annie and Shermy, plus a photobomb from Sarah. If you like rock and roll, surf guitars, and awesome instrumentals, go see the Surfrajettes.  

Concert Review: The Surfrajettes and the Electric Six at the Turf Club

The Surfrajettes on stage at the Turf Club in Saint Paul, October 25, 2023. From left to right, Nicole Damoff, Sam Maloney, Shermy Freeman, and Sara Eve. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

A blurry photo of the Surfrajettes on stage, but I think it still looks cool. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

Me and Shermy, co-lead guitarist of the Surfrajettes. (Photo taken by Shermy)

My signed copy of The Surfrajettes' 2022 album Roller Fink. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

In October, I saw the Surfrajettes and the Electric Six at the Turf Club in Saint Paul. I was there to see the Surfrajettes—I reviewed their 2022 album Roller Fink here, and I’ve become a big fan of their surf rock sound.

  

The Surfrajettes put on a great show and in person you can really see the guitar interplay between Shermy and Nicole, as they switch between playing lead and rhythm guitar. I was amazed at how well Shermy and Nicole are able to recreate their trademark 1960’s guitar sound in person. This lineup of the Surfrajettes also featured Sara Eve on bass and Sam Maloney on drums. Maloney’s fiery drumming propelled the band through the songs and was a highlight of the show.  

My only complaint about the staging of the show was that Shermy didn’t have her own spotlight, so she was left playing in the darkness. I’m not sure how the Turf Club didn’t understand that the co-lead guitarist should maybe have her own spotlight. But oh well.  

The Surfrajettes’ set list featured a mix of songs from Roller Fink like “Warm Up,” “Roxy Roller,” and the title track, as well as some songs that have only appeared on their singles like the Halloween song “Banshee Bop” and a great arrangement of the Peruvian song “El Condor Pasa.” The crowd really got into two of their cover versions the Blondie disco classic “Heart of Glass” and Britney Spears’ “Toxic.”  

The Electric Six were fine, but they really didn’t do anything for me. I confess that I didn’t do any research on them before the show, so I’m really not familiar with their music. And the problem with not knowing the songs at a rock show is that you won’t be able to understand the lyrics, so it’s not like you can get much sense of what a song is about. The Six were down a member, as they were without their keyboardist. I found the Electric Six an odd pairing with the Surfrajettes, as the Six just had so much “dude” energy. The Electric Six did play a cool cover version of “Eye in the Sky,” the Alan Parsons Project hit.  

The Surfrajettes are known for wearing matching outfits on stage, and for the show at the Turf Club on October 25th, they wore their “angel” outfits, complete with halos. It was a fun touch for the show. After their set, I bought the Surfrajettes LP Roller Fink and got it signed by all four members of the band. I also got a selfie with Shermy. (She took the photo, so it actually turned out well. I’m terrible at taking selfies.) Since I saw the Surfrajettes last month, they’ve already announced another tour, and they will be coming back to the Turf Club in March 2024. I already have my ticket for the show. If you want to see a fun concert by a group that has great interplay among its members, go see the Surfrajettes.  

Concert Review: Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift at the Turf Club

 

Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift at the Turf Club in Saint Paul, April 15, 2022. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

My Robyn Hitchcock swag: "Somebody Ring the Cheese Alarm!" tea towel, Robyn Hitchcock socks, and a Record Store Day 45 that Emma took to Robyn to get signed. And then re-signed after he signed the shrink wrap the first time! (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

On Friday, April 15^th, I saw Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift at the Turf Club in Saint Paul. It’s the first time I’ve seen Robyn in concert since 2018, although I’ve seen him and Emma many times through my computer since 2018 during their “Sweet Home Quarantine” web concerts. This concert at the Turf Club was the first time I’ve seen Emma sing with Robyn live. In 2018, Emma was handling the merch table, but didn’t perform.

Robyn performed two sets, and Emma sang with him on 6 songs, 3 in each set. In the first set, Robyn played the ultra-rare “For Debbie Reynolds,” which I believe he said he’s never played live before. (It was only released on a rarities and outtakes album.) Robyn played one of my favorite songs of his, “Adventure Rocket Ship,” and he also sang “Balloon Man,” probably his biggest “hit” song. The three songs Emma joined Robyn for during the first set were all lovely: “Raining Twilight Coast,” “So You Think You’re in Love,” and the catchy “Up to Our Nex.”

The second set opened with the beautiful “I Often Dream of Trains,” which resonated strongly with my friend Jo, who grew up in the same part of England as Robyn. “Sudden Town,” from the Soft Boys reunion album, reminded me that I should dig out my CD and listen to Nextdoorland again. Robyn sang the goofy “Trilobite,” which was a treat, and “Alright, Yeah,” one of my favorites from Moss Elixir, one of the first Hitchcock albums I owned. I was also very pleased to hear “Ole! Tarantula,” from the album of the same name. Robyn closed the concert with “Visions of Johanna,” the Bob Dylan song that has practically become Robyn’s own, given how many times he’s performed it.

I was thrilled that there’s more Robyn Hitchcock merchandise available, and I got a pair of polka-dot socks, and the “Somebody Ring the Cheese Alarm!” towel. I told Emma that I’m waiting for Robyn’s signature line of shirts. Her response was “I know!” Robyn’s shirt for the second set was outstanding. It had birds on it, which makes any shirt better. I was explaining to Jo that the cats on the cheese alarm towel are Tubby and Ringo, Robyn and Emma’s Scottish Fold cats, and Emma said that the only people who get the towel are “Groovers,” the nickname for those of us who watch Robyn and Emma’s web concerts.

Robyn had fewer monologues than usual, but he still went on some amusing riffs about the planet Europa, and he said that life is “scary, creepy, absurd, and beautiful.” An apt quotation from modern rock’s champion of the surreal.