Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift: Sweet Home Quarantine-the 1980's Show, Part 2

A screenshot from Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift's "Sweet Home Quarantine: the 1980's" show, June 12, 2020.

The setlist for Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift’s second 1980’s show was very similar to the first show. If you’re a subscriber to Robyn’s Patreon page, you can watch the video of the second 1980’s show, and I’d highly recommend you do so. There are a lot of excellent songs.

Robyn started the show with Roxy Music’s “More Than This,” which he covered long ago on the “Madonna of the Wasps” CD-single. I always like it when Robyn sings Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry, and he did a great job on “More Than This.” Robyn told a story about being in Oslo in 1982, the year “More Than This” came out, and feeling quite hopeless until he met the members of R.E.M. Robyn’s story reminded me of his 2009 song “Goodnight Oslo,” and I think he was talking about the dark time described in the song. Robyn then sang R.E.M.’s “You Are the Everything.” Next up was Robyn’s terrific version of Don Henley’s hit “The Boys of Summer,” with excellent guitar work.

Emma Swift joined Robyn for the unlikely choice of “Funkytown,” the one hit from Lipps Inc. (They were from Minneapolis!) Robyn worked a bit of his song “Brenda’s Iron Sledge” into “Funkytown,” so that was a fun detour. 

Emma got her solo spot with “I Drove All Night,” and rocked it, just like she did on Wednesday’s show. Emma really has a fantastic voice, and a song like “I Drove All Night” just shows it off so well. “Charlotte Ann” reappeared, with great guitar work, as did “Handle with Care,” which featured great vocals from Robyn and Emma. Emma also reprised her other solo spot from Wednesday, the Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” which she really needs to record. Her vocals on the song are absolutely amazing, and with Robyn’s guitar, it’s a superb combination. 

“Love My Way” and “Walking on Sunshine” made appearances, and both songs sounded great. Robyn then said that he was leaving us in a “Bryan Ferry sandwich,” a phrase that sent Emma into laughter. Emma was wearing a very cool vintage 1988 Bryan Ferry tour t-shirt. They sang a great version of Roxy Music’s “Oh Yeah,” which was a great way to end the show. I’d love if it if Robyn and Emma did an all Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music “Sweet Home Quarantine” show in the future. We really need to hear Robyn sing/speak “In Every Dream Home a Heartache.”

Concert Review: Bryan Ferry at the Palace Theatre in Saint Paul

Bryan Ferry on stage at the Palace Theatre, Saint Paul, August 5, 2017. (Photo by Pondie.)

Marquee of the Palace Theatre in Saint Paul. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

Last night I saw one of my favorite musicians live at the Palace Theatre in Saint Paul: Bryan Ferry. I’ve been a fan of Ferry’s music, both solo and with Roxy Music, for several years, and he’s been at the top of my list of artists that I hadn’t seen in concert yet. Ferry didn’t disappoint, bringing a set list full of gems from his formidable back catalogue. At age 71, Ferry still looks dapper, stylish and handsome as ever. He didn’t say much during the concert, and the closest he got to telling any stories was saying, “These songs are from here, there, and everywhere.” Ferry’s nine member band did a terrific job of re-creating tricky Roxy Music songs like “Ladytron” and “If There is Something.” Kudos to all of the band members, especially Jorja Chalmers, who handled saxophone duties, a job essential to capturing the sound of Roxy Music songs. 

Opening for Ferry was the British singer/songwriter Judith Owen, who played a half hour of songs that reminded me of Carole King’s work from the 1970’s. Owen was playing with bassist Leland Sklar, who has played on over 2,000 recordings, according to Wikipedia. Sklar has played on many of James Taylor’s albums, as well as albums by Leonard Cohen, Phil Collins, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Rod Stewart, and Barbra Streisand. Owen also featured a percussionist, cello, and violin, which lent her songs an engaging sound. Fun fact: Judith Owen is married to Harry Shearer, well known for playing bassist Derek Smalls in This is Spinal Tap and for voicing numerous characters on The Simpsons.

Ferry played keyboards on quite a few songs, and also blew some nice harmonica solos on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate,” and the old chestnut “Let’s Stick Together.” As a vocalist, Ferry still smolders effectively, even if he’s lost some of his top range-the high notes on “More than This” just aren’t quite there anymore. But Ferry’s voice still has great emotion in it, and his voice now adds a melancholy vulnerability to his songs. 

My only disappointment from the set list is that Ferry didn’t sing any of the songs from his most recent solo album, 2014’s excellent “Avonmore.” (Which I reviewed back in 2014 here.) Well, and if I’m being honest, there are some Roxy Music songs like “Over You,” “Dance Away,” and “Same Old Scene” that I would have loved to hear as well. But that’s a small quibble when you’re seeing a rock legend up close. I was a little surprised that Ferry sang “In Every Dream Home a Heartache,” which has to be the weirdest Roxy Music song. It’s a good song, but it is weird-it’s a critique of capitalism as Ferry gets a little too attached to a blow-up doll. The lyrics aren’t sung, but spoken like a prose poem. 

The Palace Theatre was a superb venue for Bryan Ferry, as its style of decaying glamor fits his own aesthetics quite well. The open seating on the floor meant that my wife and I were very close to Ferry, and it was fun to watch his facial expressions throughout the show. It’s very evident, for all of his British reserve, that he really enjoys what he does. Ferry seemed quite touched by the huge audience reaction at the end of the show, which he fully deserved. 

Set list:

The Main Thing

Slave to Love

Ladytron

Out of the Blue

Simple Twist of Fate

A Waste Land

Windswept

Bête Noire

Zamba

Stronger Through the Years

Can’t Let Go

Remake-Remodel

In Every Dream Home a Heartache

If There is Something

More than This

Avalon

Love is the Drug

Virginia Plain

Let’s Stick Together

What Goes On

Jealous Guy

Editions of You

Concert Review: Robyn Hitchcock at the Turf Club

Me and Robyn Hitchcock, June 15, 2017. (Photo by Davey Good Times.)

The Minneapolis skyline, with the art deco Foshay Tower from 1929 to the right, one of Robyn Hitchcock's favorite buildings.

On Thursday night I saw Robyn Hitchcock in concert again, this time at Saint Paul’s Turf Club. It was a typical Robyn Hitchcock show, with a set list that was mostly made up of songs that fans had requested through social media. There were fewer stream of consciousness monologues in between the songs than usual, and oddly enough, some of what Robyn said actually related to the song he was about to sing. Fancy that!

Robyn wore three different Robyn Hitchcock-style shirts-one during the show, one for the encore, and one after the show. What is a Robyn Hitchcock-style shirt, you might ask? Well, it’s a button down shirt with a vibrant paisley pattern or polka dots-I’ve long thought that Robyn should have his own clothing line. 

Some of the highlights of the show for me were “1974,” one of my favorite Hitchcock songs, which I wrote about a long time ago, “My Favorite Buildings,” “Raining Twilight Coast,” “Heaven,” and “Element of Light.” The set list skewed towards older songs, with just three tracks from Robyn’s latest release, titled Robyn Hitchcock. As always, Robyn’s guitar work was best showcased on “I’m Only You.” I wouldn’t mind it if he ventured off on similar flights of fancy on the fretboard on other songs as well, but for whatever reason that song really brings out his guitar playing. 

My favorite Robyn quote of the evening was, “I can count the number of times I’ve had sex in the Foshay building.” This was during the introduction to “My Favorite Buildings,” which Robyn, as usual, dedicated to the Foshay Tower. 

The encores featured a lovely version of Roxy Music’s “More than This,” which Robyn recorded as a B-side for a CD-single, back in the day when CD-singles existed. After the show Robyn graciously chatted with fans and signed autographs. He had a long conversation with the guy ahead of me about foreign pressings of LPs. Robyn told me that he liked my shirt-I was wearing a t-shirt with the cover of his new album. I told him that I was glad he played “1974,” and he asked if I was the person who had requested it. (I wasn’t.) All in all, it was another enjoyable evening with a uniquely talented individual.

Set list:

Old Pervert

I’m Pray when I’m Drunk

1974

Trilobite

Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)

Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom

My Favorite Buildings

Glass (not Glass Hotel)

Satellite

Beautiful Girl

Raining Twilight Coast

Madonna of the Wasps

Virginia Woolf

I’m Only You

Heaven

Mad Shelley’s Letterbox

First encore:

Element of Light

Visions of Johanna

Queen of Eyes

Second encore:

She Belongs to Me

More than This