The Columbus Dispatch
May 14, 1993
Hitchcock's Style Is Easy To Like
by Bill Eichenberger
After Robyn Hitchcock quieted his fans last night in the Newport Music Hall -- "Chill out, you raving fans," he instructed the uninitiated.
"I'm going to play Alternative music. Every song will be Alternative. If I do a song, it will be an Alternative to the song I've just sung...or the song I'm about to sing."
That said, Hitchcock and his Egyptians -- bassist Andy Metcalfe and drummer Morris Windsor -- performed Pop music best described as, er, Alternative.
The American equivalent of Hitchcock and his British Egyptians is the dBs. Same quirky sense of harmony. Same weird sense of melody. Same lyrics that anticipate tragedy even in the most joyous of love songs.
Hitchcock filled in the space between songs with hilarious commentary, piling asides one atop another until you weren't sure what it was he was trying to say.
A bizarre diatribe about Superchunk ended with Hitchcock saying: "Well, he had this ice cream. He wasn't concerned about destiny."
Then, naturally, he launched into "Madonna Of The Wasps". Or something.
Normally, I have little patience for songwriters whose lyrics are intentionally obscure or strange. But while you're worrying about just what "Madonna Of The Wasps" means (if it means anything at all) you're singing along madly.
Those quirky melodies and The Egyptians' sweet, close harmony compensated for lyrics that were as playful as they were difficult to understand.
During his successful Perspex Island tour (only 250 fans turned out last night), Hitchcock frequently found himself performing acoustic sets for radio stations during the day. Those radio station gigs inspired acoustic performances from Perspex Island and his new album, Respect, last night.
When he did turn to an electric instrument, it was a 12-string guitar played tastefully so as not to overpower Metcalfe's acoustic bass.
The most enjoyable aspect of Hitchcock's concert was the unpredictability of each song.
When you expected a heavy strum, Hitchcock would strike a single note. Choruses veered off key: now sweet, now sour, now sweet again.
Morris performed on a scaled down drum kit -- snare, three cymbals, and electronic drum pads for the rest. Metcalfe switched occasionally to keyboards, where he was proficient and added just the right amount of color and contrast.
Though Hitchcock performed several cuts from Respect, he also included songs spanning his solo career.
"Queen Elvis" didn't make much sense. "Beautiful Girl" did. Either way, you could sing and sway along. Either way, it was a fine, uh, Alternative concert.
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