Los Angeles Times
November 11, 1996
Songs Of Imagination, Songs Of Protest
by John Roos
Billy Bragg and Robyn Hitchcock are British Pop troubadours who approach their craft from decidedly different perspectives.
A committed Socialist, Bragg is a protest singer whose feet are planted firmly in the serious-minded politics of the day. For the most part, life is black and white (and definitely red) for Bragg, and when he cries out the words of his fist-waving anthem "There's Power in the Union", there is little ambiguity or subtlety in his message.
Hitchcock, on the other hand, is an eccentric who drifts off into an imaginary world in which insects, facial cream and 13th century cathedrals are focuses for metaphorical ruminations on desire and life's mysteries. His 1960s-influenced Pure Pop is splendid "music to dance to -- internally", as he puts it.
Co-headlining at the Coach House on Saturday night, each served up a career-spanning, mostly satisfying set and took advantage of the cozy venue (Bragg to a lesser degree) with between-song banter that was chatty and witty. (Introducing "Egyptian Cream", Hitchcock said: "This is one of those songs about someone who goes from woman to dude to vegetable in three easy verses.... I wrote it long ago when I was just a psycho wannabe.")
Alternating between electric and acoustic guitars, joined at times by Deni Bonet, a violinist from New York, Hitchcock infused each song in his 80-minute set with a distinct, vibrant personality. Perhaps the most impressive selection was "Heaven", a realistic, heartbreaking look at addiction. Hitchcock started singing with a detached, melancholic acceptance of an addict's inevitable downward spiral, but as the song built, his vocals grew in intensity ("You'll wait for it/Ache for it/Scream for it...all night").
Other highlights ranged from the deliciously catchy "DeChirico Street" and "1974" to such odder confections as "My Wife and My Dead Wife". For encores, Hitchcock unleashed a sonic blast of Rock 'n' Roll fury with powerful versions of "Heliotrope" and "Sinister But She Was Happy", both from his wonderful new Moss Elixir album.
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