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Robyn Hitchcock is a strange cookie. It's his band yet his voice is incredibly
low in the mix. But the only song in which the band departs and leaves him the stage is the strongest of the night. His pre-song
wandering monologues are as much miss as hit. Yet there is genius to be found there if you look. His music is as 'English'
as it comes and yet his band is dominated by Americans.
Nearly two weeks after the gig it is difficult to remember
individual songs, I remember first, the mood that hangs over Robyn and second, the relentless arpeggios of Peter Buck. Of
the former, there is the constant sense he is overwhelmed by the absurdity of life and wants to share it with us. Kind of
like a cross between the cosmic boredom of Peter Cook (with whom he shares more than a passing physical likeness) and the
random, assisted thought patterns of Syd Barrett. With regard to Mr Buck, I was fortunate to be standing a couple of
feet from him and spent the show watching how he achieves the 'REM Sound' - remarkably simply and unassumingly is the answer.
Robyn and the band played for over two hours - with a long encore that included lots of instrument-switching and a
great lyric buried deep in there - "When we were together I said you were the only one. Then I left and you were the only
one."
To close, a fine, if odd show.
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