Alt rock progenitor and charming eccentric Robyn Hitchcock played a satisfying and memorable show to a full house at the Neptune Theater Friday night. Hitchcock has amassed a large and enthusiastic following during his 5 decades in music, a decent chunk of that time spent as a resident of the Pacific Northwest. He and his wife, Emma Swift (who opened the show) now live in Nashville, TN. Hitchcock is a revered figure among music nerds, record store employees, and other connoisseurs of jangly, psychedelic pop.
Hitchcock’s first band of note, The Soft Boys, were only active for a handful of years and released a scant two albums during their short lifespan. Their impact on bands that followed in their wake, however, was significant and long lasting. It’s hard to imagine artists such as REM and the Replacements enjoying their success had the Soft Boys not helped chart the course in advance of those younger band’s careers. It would be overstating the facts to say that the Soft Boys ‘created’ what has become known as alternative rock but they were absolutely on hand at its inception.
Hitchcock has gone on to a long and fruitful post-Soft Boy’s career, recording for years as ‘Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians’ and ‘Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3’, as well as a number of albums recorded under his name. He readily cites Dylan, the Beatles, and Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd as influences on his music and aesthetic.
Friday’s show opened with a solo version of one of Hitchcock’s most striking and well-known songs, ‘I Often Dream of Trains’, which was dedicated to a Seattle area friend who had recently passed. Hitchcock was then joined onstage by his current 3-piece band, who struck up the familiar intro to the Soft Boy’s ‘Kingdom of Love’. The first two songs set the pace and tone for the remainder of Hitchcock’s set, alternating between bouncy, up tempo jangle pop and more spacy and contemplative numbers. Hitchcock was joined toward the end of his set by Seattle area rocker Kurt Bloch (Young Fresh Fellows, Fastbacks). Bloch’s presence kicked Hitchcock and the band into another gear entirely, as the band fell into a heavier, more rocking groove. The audience called Hitchcock back for a 3 song encore, concluding with a lovely version of ‘Dear Prudence’. The band then took its bows and left the stage, to a sustained ovation from the audience. Then, most unexpectedly, Hitchcock, armed with only an unplugged acoustic guitar, made his way from the stage to the middle of the Neptune Theatre floor. He proceeded to lead the delighted crowd in a tremendously moving singalong of the Beatles ‘A Day in the Life’. Hearing the delicate strumming of Hitchcock’s unamplified guitar and his lone voice transition to a volunteer choir a thousand voices strong is something this fan will long remember.
The show was opened by a lovely set from Emma Swift. She focused primarily on songs from her most recent release, ‘The Resurrection Game’ and concluded her well received performance with a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Sweetheart Like You’. Swift also joined Hitchcock and his band during their set, providing vocal support.
