Before the scheduled show at Largo at the Coronet on April 1, 2011, RH played three clandestine gigs at Largo's "Little Room." The tiny bar across the courtyard that holds about 50 people at best. Each show had a slightly different lineup of musicians, and were "no repeat" shows - a rule that was violated only once. Not an easy room to tape in. There is one mic in the center of the stage. Not much of a PA system at all. It's almost as if they are playing in your living room with no amps. A very unique three days of Robyn Hitchcock greatness. Enjoy.

I'll eventually upload all three Little Room shows and the 4/1 show with Jon Brion and Grant Lee Phillips. No particular order. This is Night 3. Jon Brion played the whole show except the encore. Bill Rieflin played various percussive toys and and tambourine. His only drum was an empty Harp Lager box. Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger) is still great. Perhaps the best sounding of the three. Recorded the closest to the stage.

Online review by Setlist Guy
It’s one thing when you’re on the road to stay up a little later and punch out a quick review and setlist after getting back from a show. But when you’re back at home and have life stuff to deal with (not to mention shows on your DVR to catch up on), it can be a little more challenging to sit down and write. At least for me.

Another thing is that I feel pretty comfortable writing about Wilco or Jeff Tweedy shows, so it’s no sweat to put some quick thoughts down. Since I’ve seen more than my fair share of their performances over the years, I’m more confident about what nuances to look for, what’s to be expected and what might be a little more out of the ordinary. I suppose this is another reason why I’ve sometimes shied away from posting about a lot of other shows I’ve attended: I worry that I won’t be offering much in the way of insight or even basic reportage. But ultimately, if this blog is to endure, I guess that’s just something I need to get over.

Lest I get much further behind in my recapping, then, I should try to at least say a few words about the Robyn Hitchcock show I caught in Los Angeles a week ago. I should preface this by saying I’m far from the world’s most knowledgeable Hitchcock fan, so go easy on me. The funny thing is I had just seen Robyn in Chicago about two weeks prior on his tour with Joe Boyd, so it felt a little odd to be seeing him play again in a different city under a completely different set of circumstances. But when a friend suggested we might be able to make it to his set at Largo just a couple of hours after my flight landed, how could I refuse?

Largo, of course, is an LA institution, but on this night Robyn (and some friends) were playing in the venue’s so-called “Little Room,” which is a wonderfully intimate space that probably has room for about 75 people, give or take. If you ever get a chance to see a performance there, do yourself a favor. Robyn has some pretty famous musical friends, so it’s always interesting just to see who will turn out on any given night. For this final show of a three-night run in the Little Room, he was joined by Jon Brion on piano, R.E.M. and Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin on percussion (primarily, and amazingly, an empty Harp Lager cardboard box with brushes) and Harvey Danger frontman Sean Nelson on background vocals.

It was a performance, I think, that could only have taken place in The Little Room, with its tiny, foot-high stage and relaxed atmosphere. Well, at least it certainly would have felt different anywhere else. Robyn strummed his acoustic guitar and sang, sometimes into the lone microphone on stage but mostly not, and called out chord changes or keys of songs. When he decided what song they would play next, he often used initials (as in S.A.B., for Sometimes A Blonde) to inform the other players. There was a setlist, though who knows how closely it was adhered to.

Of course, what would a Robyn show be without a little eccentricity? So we got some banter about marmite; a long introduction to the song “(A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs,” that began with, “Many people have suggested reasons for a second Dirty Harry movie…” (which I guess isn’t that weird, unless you don’t know the song is about—not kidding—the Dirty Harry sequel, “Magnum Force.”); and a couple of improvised songs in the encore, including one I’m calling “Lorenzo and His Mother,” in which Robyn harmonized from the stage with the rest of the band in the back of the room. (You probably had to be there.)

Anyway, all of it made for a quite an enjoyable evening. And I haven’t even mentioned the covers Robyn and friends performed. I think I was most pleasantly surprised to hear “The Only Living Boy In New York” because I love that song and because I wouldn’t have necessarily considered it to be up the alley of this particularly group of musicians. More along the lines of what I would have expected were the main set-closing “Oh Yeah” (into “Dear Prudence”) and “Soul Love.” The latter was a particularly sublime version of the Bowie tune from Ziggy Stardust, and it made you feel lucky yet again to be among the relative handful of people watching this performance transpire.

Here was the complete setlist, as played:

Queen Elvis
Beautiful Girl
Chinese Bones
Dismal City
Sometimes A Blonde
(A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs
The Only Living Boy In New York [Simon and Garfunkel]
When I Was Dead
The Main Thing [Roxy Music]
Balloon Man
My Wife And My Dead Wife
Uncorrected Personality Traits
Oh Yeah [Roxy Music]>
Dear Prudence [The Beatles]
Soul Love [David Bowie]
———————–
—”Lorenzo And His Mother” (impromptu song)—
—”Birth of Random Baby Numbers” (impromptu song)—
Bass

Online review by Easily Fooled
I'm getting better at not freaking out over show times, but this gig--the last evening of Robyn Hitchcock's three-night stand in the Little Room at Largo--required more precision than your average club date, as it involved three flights (one of which was changed specifically to accommodate this show), two Los Angeles-area airports, the freaking 405, dozens of text messages, and far too many red lights on La Cienega. Still, we made it to the Little Room with minutes to spare and prime seats for what turned out to be a grand kickoff to a fantastic weekend.

Robyn Hitchock, the Little Room at Largo, March 31, 2011: Robyn opened the gig in troubador style, strumming on the guitar and walking toward the stage while playing "Queen Elvis." Soon after, Bill Rieflin and Sean Nelson joined him on percussion (actually, a Harp beer case) and backing vocals, respectively. Robyn made one more trip to the back bar to recruit his final player: Jon Brion on piano. This casual intimacy carried over for the rest of the show; Robyn didn't even sing into the microphone for most of the performance.

For the full setlist, check out my friend's new blog, but even without the official rundown, I won't forget the highlights very soon. As the guy sitting next to me--miles more conversant with Robyn's catalog and history than myself--remarked, it was practically a greatest hits set, as Robyn and the gang hit such classics as "Balloon Man" and "My Wife and My Dead Wife," as well as some of Robyn's more current material and rarities.

On the covers front, they went for Simon & Garfunkel ("The Only Living Boy in New York") and David Bowie ("Soul Love"), but c'mon, the Roxy Music tunes made the night for me. I was somewhat prepared for "The Main Thing," which I'd first heard back in September, but "Oh Yeah" seguing into "Dear Prudence"--break out the smelling salts! The fanboy next to me reported reading of Robyn's admiration of Bryan Ferry, but the songs were all the evidence I needed.

In between, we got lots of stream-of-consciousness Robyn banter, including a long meditation on the Queen of England, glue, and marmite; a lengthy retelling of the Dirty Harry movies; and a couple of spontaneous, free-form compositions. One of the last works, something about Lorenzo, involved Robyn helming the tune by himself onstage, while his collaborators lined the bar. They were hardly off the hook, however; instead, they were conscripted to add backing vocals/call and response. They started out echoing the last words of each line, but eventually branched off with their own impromptu word association. Wow, that may be the most boring description of an incredibly entertaining exchange I've ever written, but it just goes to show you--you really need to be there.

Robyn was in fine form all night, but his band met him step for step. Sean's harmonies were smooth and sweet, and despite his initial reticence, Jon delivered as always, even when Robyn requested a mandolin or saxophone solo--on the piano--of him. Believe it or not, the mandolin solo came close to re-creating the sounds of the stringed instrument. However, the MVP of the night was Bill Rieflin; not only did he coax a whole range of sounds from his decidedly lo-fi beer case, he added charming harmonies too. It's hard to imagine a better supporting cast.