Robyn Hitchcock - The FegMANIA! site
South Bank Hitchcock
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, Monday, November 30th, 1998
The first Robyn Hitchcock gig in the UK in a very long time. A gig, it seems, to partner Jonathon Demme's Storefront Hitchcock film which had been shown a few weeks earlier at the National Film Theatre. The movie's star takes to the boards. Or rather comes back to them.
The Demme film, according to London gig regulars, is said to capture the essence of Robyn Hitchcock. Tonight the tiny 12 Bar has been replaced by the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Can there be any significance that this was the venue where late Nick Drake played one of his last gigs? Seven days ago it was the anniversary of Nick Drake's death. Robyn Hitchcock might be said to be a soul brother of Drake as much as he is associated with Syd Barrett. Can there be any significance? Probably not.
For a Monday night, London has a few notable gigs tonight. Nanci Griffith is playing all things country at the plush Barbican. More country, reckoned to be a tad ramshackle, in the shape of Jay Farrar's Son Volt at the Forum in NW1. And on the South Bank, Robyn Hitchcock.
I'd need some persuading to part with £20 for Nanci Griffith at the sombre Barbican. I'd prefer Son Volt at the Borderline. Hitchcock at the Queen Elizabeth Hall has an advantage. A five minute walk to the train South.
One Hitchcock afficianado will not be outdone. It appears at Hitchcock regular Lawrence has travelled to Belgium the day before to see Son Volt so he can see RH tonight. Now that is what I call taking a wide swing at the tremelo.
Lawrence's journey, however, is a tad shorter than Stephanie Blacks of Austin, Texas. Stephanie rose at 5am in the Swiss mountains, took a long coach ride down to Geneva, hopped an Easyjet to Luton, just to be on the South Bank this evening. Stephanie last saw Robyn Hitchcock play, two days before she left town for Europe when the songwriter performed at the annual SXSW bash.
Across the great divide from the tiny 12 Bar, maybe 100 tops to the 1,000 seater Queen Elizabeth Hall seems quite a jump. Then Demme's film should widen Robyn Hitchcock's small but loyal following in the UK. All the regulars are here tonight including Jonathan and Chris and Sally. Even my friend Nick, the only guy who managed to be in Lymington and not find Robyn Hithcock's boat a couple of summer's ago.
It is, I have to say, a strange gig for me. I am more at home at smaller venues anyway. A crammed 12 Bar, or a smoky Borderline but nothing quite as large as the 1,000 seater Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tonight's gig is half full. Almost the entire back half of the auditorium is empty.
A band called Whistler are support. They have a sad, wistful air about them. Very young, very English. Acoustic guitar, flute, violin, lots of percussion and a blonde girl vocalist sat , save for the swaying guitarist, motionless throughout their set. They don't exactly have me leaping out of my seat or retreating to the bar either.
On a return to the auditorium after the bar break the stage has been cleared save for a tiny amp and a couple of microphones. Robyn Hitchcock's performance follows a familiar format. First he comes on stage alone with his acoustic guitar and harmonica. Tim Keegan will join him to add second guitar for a couple of songs. An electric segment follows before a two song encore.
If anything is lacking it is the crammed magic of the 12 Bar which I particularly missed through the electric segment of this set. Using only the house pa the trusty blue Fender sounds a little lost to these ears in the vastness of this stage.
However that said the set still has plenty of great songs like Cynthia Mask, Madonna of the Wasps and my first hearing of I Remember Guildford with its neat, vocal as a horn, backing. There is even a folk song 'I learned this off a Joan Baez album,' says Robyn Hitchcock. One of the encores is a song by REM or rather 'music by Stipe, words by Buck' which Tim Keegan holds up for RH to play from using a harmonica to underline the words.
There were a couple of songs I couldn't place but most were familiar from seeing Robyn Hitchcock perform quite a few times with Tim Keegan. Material like Queen of Eyes and the Seattle song. It is the kind of set that Robyn Hitchcock and Tim Keegan have done so well on smaller stages.
It was a fine set but it lacked the ambience of the 12 Bar for me. Perhaps I was expecting a few surprise guests like Morris Windsor or Kimberley Rew. No matter it was a good nights entertainment on the South Bank. It certainly beat the usually reserved string quartets that turn up here to the post. And Robyn Hitchcock was called back for two encores.
Some things never change however. British Rail got as far South as Woking before breaking down. Chris and Sally made it home early. Nick and I changed trains and got home late.
Mike Plumbley