Post by davek on Mar 28, 2007 21:49:42 GMT -5
[IF I DON'T SPELL HIS NAME OUT, THE CENSOR CHANGES IT TO HITCHTHINGY]
Holly and I saw Robyn Hitchc-o-c-k perform a fantastic concert last night at the Knitting Factory in NYC. It was an unusually warm Spring Day in New York and the place was just sweltering. The opening act was Johanna Kunin, a folk indie rock singer in the Cat Power/Chan Marshall vein. Kunin performed solo on keyboards and in the company of a guitarist. I found her to be gracious and likable, but not exceptional. Still I enjoyed her performance. One of the coolest things was her use of this tape loop effect to create rhythm tracks and harmony vocals. For those interested in tape loopers:
www.loopers-delight.com/loop.html
Robyn Hitchc-o-c-k opened on solo acoustic guitar and was joined one by one on successive songs by members of his band including Bill Rieflin on drums, Peter Buck on guitar and Scott McCaughey (pronounced McCoy) on bass. Some REM fans in the audience were there to see Buck, but McCaughey is Hitchc-o-c-k's foil--joining in inane banter, singing great backup vocals and dancing madly across the stage. The early part of the show had a distinct acoustic and more mellow flavor to it. In general, Hitchc-o-c-k performed a lot of songs from his back catalog including Madonna of the Wasps, Queen Elvis, Sally Was a Legend, Surgery and Balloon Man. He also tore through 2 Soft Boys (Hitchc-o-c-k's punk new wavish 70s band) songs, Kingdom of Love ("You've been laying eggs under my skin" ;D ) and Give it to the Soft Boys (a fierce rocker).
The second half of the two hour show featured Hitchc-o-c-k on electric guitar and rocked a lot harder. RH is an exceptionally fine lead guitar player, although he rarely solos. As an introduction to each track, he will invariably go on some improvisational rant about Karl Rove, Dentists, the Pope and Jimmy Sommerville, New York in the 80s, therapists, and anything else. The best of them are brilliantly funny and are reason alone to see the show. Highlights of the performance include an always moving tribute to the late Arthur Kane (N.Y. Doll), Jewels for Sophia, The Authority Box, an ode to middle age (sort of) with a chorus of "f*ck me baby, I'm a trolley bus" and a Man's Gotta Know his Limitations, Briggs. He saved the best for the encore which included 4 songs. Among them was an absolutely killer version of Syd Barrett's "See Emily Play" (Robyn is a huge Syd fan) and they just the tore the cover off of Eight Miles High (one of my favorite songs and I was beyond ecstatic). It was a great cap on a wonderful evening of music.
The band members hung around after the show and signed CDs and whatever else. Both Holly and got our CDs autographed. The audience was rather mixed with some folks in their 20s, but many in their 40s and 50s. Some of the crowds were die hard fans who knew all the words to each song. My only regret is that they are playing another show tonight and I'm not there
. But I still have a good buzz from last night, so things are cool ;D .
Holly and I saw Robyn Hitchc-o-c-k perform a fantastic concert last night at the Knitting Factory in NYC. It was an unusually warm Spring Day in New York and the place was just sweltering. The opening act was Johanna Kunin, a folk indie rock singer in the Cat Power/Chan Marshall vein. Kunin performed solo on keyboards and in the company of a guitarist. I found her to be gracious and likable, but not exceptional. Still I enjoyed her performance. One of the coolest things was her use of this tape loop effect to create rhythm tracks and harmony vocals. For those interested in tape loopers:
www.loopers-delight.com/loop.html
Robyn Hitchc-o-c-k opened on solo acoustic guitar and was joined one by one on successive songs by members of his band including Bill Rieflin on drums, Peter Buck on guitar and Scott McCaughey (pronounced McCoy) on bass. Some REM fans in the audience were there to see Buck, but McCaughey is Hitchc-o-c-k's foil--joining in inane banter, singing great backup vocals and dancing madly across the stage. The early part of the show had a distinct acoustic and more mellow flavor to it. In general, Hitchc-o-c-k performed a lot of songs from his back catalog including Madonna of the Wasps, Queen Elvis, Sally Was a Legend, Surgery and Balloon Man. He also tore through 2 Soft Boys (Hitchc-o-c-k's punk new wavish 70s band) songs, Kingdom of Love ("You've been laying eggs under my skin" ;D ) and Give it to the Soft Boys (a fierce rocker).
The second half of the two hour show featured Hitchc-o-c-k on electric guitar and rocked a lot harder. RH is an exceptionally fine lead guitar player, although he rarely solos. As an introduction to each track, he will invariably go on some improvisational rant about Karl Rove, Dentists, the Pope and Jimmy Sommerville, New York in the 80s, therapists, and anything else. The best of them are brilliantly funny and are reason alone to see the show. Highlights of the performance include an always moving tribute to the late Arthur Kane (N.Y. Doll), Jewels for Sophia, The Authority Box, an ode to middle age (sort of) with a chorus of "f*ck me baby, I'm a trolley bus" and a Man's Gotta Know his Limitations, Briggs. He saved the best for the encore which included 4 songs. Among them was an absolutely killer version of Syd Barrett's "See Emily Play" (Robyn is a huge Syd fan) and they just the tore the cover off of Eight Miles High (one of my favorite songs and I was beyond ecstatic). It was a great cap on a wonderful evening of music.
The band members hung around after the show and signed CDs and whatever else. Both Holly and got our CDs autographed. The audience was rather mixed with some folks in their 20s, but many in their 40s and 50s. Some of the crowds were die hard fans who knew all the words to each song. My only regret is that they are playing another show tonight and I'm not there
. But I still have a good buzz from last night, so things are cool ;D .
]
