I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen Robyn Hitchcock over the years. It must be approaching a dozen, including the Soft Boys reunion at First Avenue in 2002.
In one format or another, I have most of Hitchcock’s recordings (some on multiple formats such as vinyl and CD). I’ve attended his local shows as long as I’ve been paying attention to the concert calendar. I scrawled his lyrics onto bathroom walls in college. I even road-tripped to see him in Chicago at Schuba’s in 2004. People like me are probably one of the reasons Hitchcock jokingly referenced himself as “a cult figure” in the punch line to one of the many stories he told Sunday night at the Cedar Cultural Center
For us hardcore Robyn Hitchcock fans at the Cedar on Sunday, the show was a dream come true as he presented some of his best songs to a quiet and attentive audience – never mind the blarney of using the show to promote whatever disc has most recently been released or will soon be released. Hitchcock doesn’t bother with such trivialities. Cult figures don’t have to. The rules of engagement are: Robyn makes recordings. We scarf them up.
That said, Hitchcock did release a disc this year on his current label, Yep Roc, Sex, Food, Death and Tarantulas, a seven-song CD that includes a studio version of “Ole Tarantula” and six live tracks. (The Cedar set list included three of the album’s songs.)
Once he’d opened his set with “Chinese Bones,” the same song he opened with last time he played the Cedar in November 2004, we knew anything could happen. The 2004 performance was during the temporary closing/displacement of First Avenue, and the day after that he played a free show at the Kitty Cat Klub to help cheer people up on the day of George Bush’s re-election. Hitchcock, who seems familiar with Minneapolis, made reference to that show Sunday night, saying that the good news is that odds are against Bush getting elected for a third time. Someone shouted out, “Don’t count on it,” but Hitchcock replied that he preferred to remain optimistic.
Despite plentiful banter, something I’ve always enjoyed at Hitchcock’s shows almost as much the music, songs were plentiful, and he covered a wide variety of stuff from his now extremely extensive back catalog as well as newer songs. I was particularly pleased to hear “My Wife and My Dead Wife,” always a favorite of mine. “Television” came off with even more tender sadness live than it does in its recorded version.
For the final part of his set, he was joined by opener Sean Nelson on vocals. Nelson had played a quirky piano set as opener on his own electronic keyboard. The piano on the Cedar stage was equipped with a mic, but interestingly enough, it was never touched by either performer.
Hitchcock was back for a couple of encores, including a crowd-pleasing cover of Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” (to which HowWasTheShow’s Jen Paulson – read Jen’s review here – sang secret backup). All told, this was one of the most quietly enjoyable Robyn Hitchcock shows I’ve attended, and one of the most rewarding “sit down and listen to someone play music” experiences in a while.
Set List:
- Chinese Bones
- Only the Stones Remain
- Ole Tarantula
- Sally Was a Legend
- Autumn Is Your Last Chance
- My Wife and My Dead Wife
- I’m Only You
- Alright, Yeah
- Television
- Cynthia Mask
- Wax Doll
- “Take It Away” (unreleased)
- [switch to electric] I Often Dream of Trains
- Creeped Out
- Queen of Eyes (“I don’t know why she never gets anywhere with you)
- You & Oblivion
Encore
- Visions of Johanna
- ?
- Adventure Rocket Ship