Robyn and Emma's house
Details
- Date
- October 06, 2020
- Venue
- Robyn and Emma's house London, England
- Billed As
- Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift
- Gig Type
- Online
Set List
- Gimme Some Truth John Lennon Robyn solo
- I'll Get You The Beatles Robyn solo
- Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out) John Lennon partial, Robyn solo
- Isolation John Lennon Robyn solo
- Rain The Beatles
- Dear Prudence The Beatles
- Oh Yoko! John Lennon
- Mind Games John Lennon
- Yes It Is The Beatles Robyn solo
- #9 Dream John Lennon Robyn solo
- Across The Universe The Beatles
- The Ballad of John and Yoko The Beatles
- Jealous Guy John Lennon
- Whatever Gets You Thru The Night John Lennon
- She Loves You The Beatles partial
Reviews
Review by Steve McGowan from Zub Records
Because of the Vice-Presidential debate, a poll was taken by the Wednesday Groovers (on Facebook) and Robyn and Emma decided to move the live stream this week a day early, and at 8 pm Eastern. Robyn appeared and said there would be no stories tonight, just Lennon and Lennon-related songs. He started off, solo, with a really super version of ‘Gimmie Some Truth.’ As I mentioned in an earlier post, the protest songs are getting sharper. He introduced the next song as “one of the B-sides of the first Beatles record I ever owned.” He did a terrific version of ‘I’ll Get You.’ It’s obvious the Beatles are deep in Robyn’s DNA. He commanded this one.
He started another song ‘Everybody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)’ but quickly stopped, saying it was the wrong one. Then right into ‘Isolation,’ a magnificent, simple song that Reg killed, wrenching his voice perfectly. Then Emma Swift appeared, after a bit of banter, they both sang on a lovely, folkie tinged version of ‘Rain.’ This had a serious Summer Of Love vibe and their voices were great together. Emma mentioned she had a new, original song coming out soon, ‘The Soft Apocalypse.’ They went into a mind-blowingly good version of ‘Dear Prudence,’ Reg nailing the fingerpicked guitar. This is one of my favorite songs, ever, and these two really got it.
Emma mentioned The White Album was her favorite, and she grabbed their cat Tubby for a brief cameo. Tubby was not having it tonight, but they launched into a bright, peppy version of ‘Oh Yoko.’ After discussing shoplifting and smoking weed, they did a driving version of ‘Mind Games,’ Em’s harmonies really shining. After, Emma discussed how ‘Mind Games’ was a “pagan song” and theorized that Bowie may have been an influence.
Reg, solo again, did a pretty version of ‘Yes It Is,’ a difficult song to play with some tricky harmonic twists. He did well with it, then straight into a folk-rock version of ‘#9 Dream.’ Emma reappeared with Perry the Lobster, and the duo did a stunning version of ‘Across The Universe,’ another of my favorite songs ever. The singing and playing were extraordinary. After a discussion of improving their amount of “brain RAM,” Reg mentioned that Andy Partridge showed him how to play ‘Ram On,’ but then mentioned this was a Lennon show so we would not be hearing that one. Next was a loose, fun version of ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko.’
Reg discussed that he was visiting his therapist and he was bringing Perry as his “comfort lobster.” The duo then did a sparkling version of ‘Jealous Guy.’ stopped half way through, and into ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night,’ a pleasant and unexpected cover. Germaine the Koala appeared, Em mentioning he was a “rocket koala,” to which reg said “it’s going to be a long long time.” Running short on time, they did a tiny scrap of ‘She Loves You,’ and the show was over.
This was a stellar, magnificent show, Robyn knows his Beatles/Lennon inside and out. Emma is always the secret sauce. It’s so fun to watch them interact, they are like a comedy duo in between songs. It was all just wonderful.
Because of the Vice-Presidential debate, a poll was taken by the Wednesday Groovers (on Facebook) and Robyn and Emma decided to move the live stream this week a day early, and at 8 pm Eastern. Robyn appeared and said there would be no stories tonight, just Lennon and Lennon-related songs. He started off, solo, with a really super version of ‘Gimmie Some Truth.’ As I mentioned in an earlier post, the protest songs are getting sharper. He introduced the next song as “one of the B-sides of the first Beatles record I ever owned.” He did a terrific version of ‘I’ll Get You.’ It’s obvious the Beatles are deep in Robyn’s DNA. He commanded this one.
He started another song ‘Everybody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)’ but quickly stopped, saying it was the wrong one. Then right into ‘Isolation,’ a magnificent, simple song that Reg killed, wrenching his voice perfectly. Then Emma Swift appeared, after a bit of banter, they both sang on a lovely, folkie tinged version of ‘Rain.’ This had a serious Summer Of Love vibe and their voices were great together. Emma mentioned she had a new, original song coming out soon, ‘The Soft Apocalypse.’ They went into a mind-blowingly good version of ‘Dear Prudence,’ Reg nailing the fingerpicked guitar. This is one of my favorite songs, ever, and these two really got it.
Emma mentioned The White Album was her favorite, and she grabbed their cat Tubby for a brief cameo. Tubby was not having it tonight, but they launched into a bright, peppy version of ‘Oh Yoko.’ After discussing shoplifting and smoking weed, they did a driving version of ‘Mind Games,’ Em’s harmonies really shining. After, Emma discussed how ‘Mind Games’ was a “pagan song” and theorized that Bowie may have been an influence.
Reg, solo again, did a pretty version of ‘Yes It Is,’ a difficult song to play with some tricky harmonic twists. He did well with it, then straight into a folk-rock version of ‘#9 Dream.’ Emma reappeared with Perry the Lobster, and the duo did a stunning version of ‘Across The Universe,’ another of my favorite songs ever. The singing and playing were extraordinary. After a discussion of improving their amount of “brain RAM,” Reg mentioned that Andy Partridge showed him how to play ‘Ram On,’ but then mentioned this was a Lennon show so we would not be hearing that one. Next was a loose, fun version of ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko.’
Reg discussed that he was visiting his therapist and he was bringing Perry as his “comfort lobster.” The duo then did a sparkling version of ‘Jealous Guy.’ stopped half way through, and into ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night,’ a pleasant and unexpected cover. Germaine the Koala appeared, Em mentioning he was a “rocket koala,” to which reg said “it’s going to be a long long time.” Running short on time, they did a tiny scrap of ‘She Loves You,’ and the show was over.
This was a stellar, magnificent show, Robyn knows his Beatles/Lennon inside and out. Emma is always the secret sauce. It’s so fun to watch them interact, they are like a comedy duo in between songs. It was all just wonderful.