Review by Steve McGowan from Zub RecordsThis show moved to Robyn’s 1990’s output, the Jewels LP being one of my favorites. Opening up in Studio B, Robyn was talking to Perry the stuffed lobster like some warped version of Hamlet’s Yorick. He grabbed his Gibson acoustic and launched into ‘Don’t Talk To Me About Gene Hackman,’ a bonus CD track from Jewels For Sophia. When he got to the line that name-checked Andie McDowell, he mentioned “I wrote this in 1997.” Once done, he mentioned most of the songs were in E, “A Key Of Confidence.” Next was ‘Daisy Bomb,’ from A Star For Bram, presented in a jaunty and fun manner.
Emma Swift then joined the proceedings, and Reg said “this is a dismal one, dedicated to the man in the red tie.” They then did ‘Mexican God’ from Jewels:
Dreaming your eyes away, closed to the future
Pray for amnesia to finish you off
This is the evil I wished on so many
Time will destroy you like a Mexican god
Moon in a cup, crushed garlic and babies
Sailors all stagnant and bloating and rough
The horror of you floats so close by my window
At least when I die, your memory will too
Afterwards, Emma mentioned they had their new label, Tiny Ghost Records, merch available, and Reg went electric, getting his Fender Telecaster out. The duo did a strong version of ‘Antwoman,’ then Em went off to find a cat. Robyn changed to acoustic and did his song from the movie The Judas Kiss - ‘Judas Sings (Jesus And Me),’ one of his more overtly serious songs:
You're so degraded, you're so alone
Nothing can save you, not even the phone
This is the capital of
Bad luck and dope
Breaking a piece of you is
Your only hope
Nobody loves you but Jesus and me
I've got my reasons...
You're so corrupted, you're so extreme
God and the angels are out of your dream
This is the century of
You don't believe
In anything but what's up your sleeve
So what's up your sleeve?
Nobody loves you but Jesus and me
I've got my reasons so does he
I want your money but he wants your soul
Next, Reg, still solo, played ‘I Saw Nick Drake’ (from A Star For Bram), a pretty, folky, gently-picked-on-the-guitar song. This was a real highlight and showed Robyn’s folky roots. Emma returned with Tubby for a minute, and Robyn switched to electric. They sang a great ‘Sally Was A Legend,’ Reg’s guitar with plenty of delay on it, getting almost a sitar-like sound. Afterward, Robyn mentioned “my grandma was called ‘the shuffler,’” apropos of nothing. Back on acoustic, Em and Reg did a great, playful version of ‘Viva Sea-Tac’ with its cockeyed lyric about the great Northwest:
People flocked like cattle to Seattle
After Kurt Cobain
And before him the rain
Hendrix played guitar just like an animal
Who's trapped inside a cage
And one day he escaped
Do you want to pay for this in cash?
Viva! Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac
Viva! Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac
Viva viva viva viva viva
They've got the best computers and coffee and smack
Emma disappeared again and Robyn did an energetic version of ‘The Cheese Alarm,’ one of Jewel’s funniest songs, always reminding me of a Monty Python sketch.
With two songs to go, Reg said “let’s wheeze through these beauties.” Em and Reg did ‘No, I Don’t Remember Guilford,’ one of Robyn’s best and emotionally bare songs. It was beautiful, their voices going together perfectly. After Emma said “I love the grim ones,” and they ended up with ‘You’ve Got A Sweet Mouth On You Baby,” from Jewels, a slow, stately, Dylan like tune.
Personally these records are among my favorite Hitchcock titles. It was great to hear these songs, and the addition of secret weapon Emma Swift was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better show. Great work, Em and Reg!
Online review by Mark My WordsLast Wednesday July 15th, Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift continued their Stageit series “Sweet Home Quarantine” with a look back at Robyn’s 1999 album Jewels for Sophia, and it’s attendant collection of outtakes, 2000’s A Star for Bram.
Robyn opened the show with one of his more humorous songs, “Gene Hackman,” an ode to the actor that appeared as a hidden track at the end of Jewels for Sophia. (Remember hidden tracks on CD’s?) Robyn then sang “Daisy Bomb” before he was joined by Emma for “Mexican God,” which Robyn dedicated to Donald Trump. Key line: “Time will destroy you, like a Mexican God.”
Robyn and Emma harmonized on “Antwoman,” easily one of his oddest songs—and that’s saying a lot! Robyn sang “Judas Sings (Jesus and Me)” solo, it’s one of those songs that I haven’t listened to in a long time and had forgotten about. It’s a good one. Robyn then sang the lovely “I Saw Nick Drake,” a great tribute to the singer/songwriter. Emma returned to join Robyn on “Sally Was a Legend.”
And then Robyn played a song I’d requested! A Sweet Home Quarantine first! Emma gave me a shoutout, along with the other folks who’d requested “Viva! Sea-Tac,” Robyn’s exuberant ode to the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. Confession: I’ve never actually been to Seattle, but I just love the song. As the chorus says, “And the Space Needle points to the sky/the Space Needle’s such a nice guy.”
Next up it was time to ring “The Cheese Alarm,” a delightful ode to cheeses of all kinds that Robyn sang solo. Robyn said, “These songs are as dismal as any I wrote,” although “The Cheese Alarm” and “Viva! Sea-Tac” are really very chipper tunes. Emma returned to harmonize on “No, I Don’t Remember Guildford,” which she said is in her top 5 Robyn Hitchcock songs. It’s a beautiful, hauntingly melancholy song that debuted over the closing credits of the concert film Storefront Hitchcock. The evening ended with “You’ve Got a Sweet Mouth on You, Baby.” It was fun to revisit an old Robyn album twenty years after it’s release, hopefully one of these weeks we’ll get a show devoted to Ole! Tarantula or Love from London, to name two of my favorite recent Hitchcock albums.