The San Francisco Chronicle
February 28, 1992
Hitchcock Comes In From the Fringe
Alternative Rocker Packs Loyal Fans At Slim's
by Joel Selvin
While last year's Perspex Island may have been his most obvious bid for the Pop mainstream yet, that didn't mean Robyn Hitchcock would turn into a Beatles-like songsmith overnight during his two-night run this week at Slim's.
Eccentric, iconoclastic and, (at times), downright weird; Hitchcock manages to put a few wrinkles of his own into a style that blends elements of John Lennon, Captain Beefheart, and '60s Psychedelic Rock.
After more than 10 years of steadily increasing support from the Pop perimeters (such as college radio), he commands a loyal brace of cultists who filled the 11th Street nightclub Wednesday and last night.
The British songwriter performs as comfortably on acoustic instruments as he does in the Electric Rock context provided by his two-man band, The Egyptians (and, in the past, has been spotted busking on Haight Street during his occasional San Francisco vacations). He split his performances at Slim's between the electric and the acoustic. And while his talent with a song may have been shown in a clearer light in the Folk vein, Hitchcock rocked with a vengeance, too.
Full Sound
Through tight, clever arrangements and driving instrumental work, the trio put together a surprisingly broad -- almost fat -- sound, Hitchcock filling out the palette with colorful and imaginative guitar parts. Bassist Andy Metcalfe and drummer Morris Windsor -- his longtime associates -- also supplied near-choral vocal harmonies and often textured the blend with sustained "oohs" and "ahhs" that served instead of keyboards.
Of course, his songs star in the show, and they ranged from the lilting, Beatlesque Pop of "So You Think You're In Love" to the cautionary a cappella Psychological Pop of "Uncorrected Personality Traits". He mixed older material like "Balloon Man" with Perspex Island tunes and tossed off some songs so wordy the weighty lyrics simply broke down conventional song structure.
But even the most tortured of his concoctions still somehow sported an offhand feel, quite conversational and relaxed while brimming with clearly etched imagery and wordplay. In "When I Was Dead", he envisions his mortal demise as merely another event he can recall happening to him. When god advises him to turn down the devil's invitation to dinner, telling Hitchcock, "I have all your albums", Hitchcock rejoins, "Who do you think wrote all the tunes?".
Fun And Nonsense
Clever and whimsical, Hitchcock loves language and humor in a very British way -- even sending up his own song introductions with Goon Show-style nonsense. Rather than striding out and singing, he actually opened the show Wednesday muttering some Dada tale of rocket ships packed with 60-year-old salamis supplied by the Jessup Brothers of Baltimore.
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