ROBYN HITCHCOCK
THE ZODIAC, OXFORD
This is the first
time this year Hitchcock has toured the UK,
having released the new album Jewels For Sophia.
The US tour was in support of the Flaming Lips on
their Music Against Brain Degeneration tour. Here
in the UK, he's supported by ex-Gallon Drunk
Trumpet player Terry Edwards and his new band the
Scapegoats, who were already onstage as I
arrived.The Scapegoats play blistering old-style
rock'n'roll, with a coarse, seedy edge. The line
up is interestingly guitar-free: bass, drums and
trumpet/sax provided by Edwards.
At the end of
their set, a tall shambling figure leaps onto the
stage and grabs a guitar from its stand. It's
Hitchcock himself, looking for all the world like
Prof. Hitchcock from the History Fac. He's
obviously excited by the music to the point of
joining in, and the set trails off into anarchy
and the band leave the stage.Not long after,
Hitchcock takes the stage and begins Mexican God,
the first track from the new album, followed by
The Devil's Coachman, an unlikely track from the
disappeared Queen Elvis album. Hitchcock seems
excitable, fluffing some of the guitar lines, but
this only adds to the energy of the performance.
It's been a few years since he's played like this
- he's been playing solo sets since '94 but
tonight it's somehow refreshing to see. A few
more songs go by: You've Got A Sweet Mouth On You
Baby; 1974 to name two, all the songs given a
live lustre, with his between-song banter funnier
than I've seen before.He mentions talking to an
American about how English people don't mind the
rain and the damp because they don't have the
death penalty, and is able to take the stories to
their full extent - on other dates on this tour
he's been a little drowned out due to shouted
requests, something that doesn't happen in front
of the polite Oxford audience.
Another figure
shuffles on stage and picks up a guitar. It's
Kimberly Rew, original guitarist with the Soft
Boys, someone Hichcock hasn't worked with since
their split. Of course this only adds to the
ambience, his guitar lending support to classic
Hitchcock material such as Lost Madonna Of The
Wasps and Birds In Perspex. It's the Soft Boys
material that stands out, though, with Kimberly
providing back up vocals and that famous guitar
sound, turning work-outs like Kingdom Of Love and
Queen Of Eyes into regular guitar
duels."Guinness" says Hitchcock and
disappears off stage, to a very good reception.
Within minutes he's back onstage, joined by
Kimberly and a couple of Scapegoats. Encore songs
Beautiful Queen and the not heard before
Adoration Of The City come across very well, with
the addition of drums and sax (not the ghastly
mellow kind!).Overall, Hitchcock comes across as
having undergone somewhat of a renaissance, and
seems finally to have embraced his cult status.
Personally, I can't wait for the next time he
comes to town.
Matt Sewell
Shots