Birmingham Post
February 1, 2000
Less Chat And More Music From Rocking Robyn
Robyn Hitchcock
Ronnie Scott's, Birmingham
by Oliver Kirkland
The fourth Songwriters' Festival drew to a close on Sunday evening in laid-back style. Audience numbers might not have matched those of earlier shows, but this was far from an anticlimactic occasion.
It was only a few months ago that Robyn Hitchcock last visited this venue. This time, however, Hitchcock brought a whole band along for company and, consequently, there were few similarities between the two gigs.
We were only treated to 15 minutes of the Hitchcock solo experience at the beginning, which was something of a relief because the obligatory between-song observations and anecdotes were already beginning to grate.
When his four accomplices joined him onstage, Hitchcock more or less kept his mouth shut and concentrated on delivering the barrage of wry-yet-joyous Psychedelic Pop masterpieces everyone knows he is capable of.
The band's nonchalant demeanour was deceptive.
No musicians can perform so intuitively together without dedicated practice and the fruits of Hitchcock and Co.'s interaction was frequently inspired.
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