Robyn and Emma's house Set List Notes Reviews

Details

Date
February 24, 2021
Venue
Robyn and Emma's house London, England
Billed As
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift
Gig Type
Online

Notes

'Sweet Home Quarantine' online show on StageIt.com
Celebrating George Harrison's birthday

Set List

  1. Don't Bother Me The Beatles Robyn solo
  2. Savoy Truffle The Beatles Robyn solo
  3. Be Here Now George Harrison Robyn solo
  4. Only a Northern Song The Beatles Robyn solo
  5. Beware of Darkness George Harrison
  6. Something The Beatles Emma vocals
  7. If I Needed Someone The Beatles
  8. Old Brown Shoe The Beatles medley, Robyn solo
  9. Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan medley, Robyn solo
  10. The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord) George Harrison Robyn solo
  11. All Things Must Pass George Harrison Emma vocals
  12. Handle With Care Travelling Willburys

Reviews

Review by Adrienne Meddock from Zub Records
What a night to be late! When I joined, Em and Robyn were in conversation about a less than optimal gluten-free donut. Robyn did not enjoy it, but as the conversation turned to movie Bonds RH conjectured that Roger Moore might like the donut, on whatever plane he is currently on. They wonder: what of Sean Connery? Emma shared a sweet memory of her dad making cinnamon donuts for her and her then boyfriend Paul’s visit.

The George commemoration resumed with Emma singing ‘Something;’ it’s very lovely and sentimental, not a trace of Victorian squids. Robyn’s acoustic is very bright tonight, and a nice contrast to Emma’s ethereal vocals on the Harrison highwater mark with The Beatles. Well, one of them. I’m a bit of a ‘Taxman’ or ‘Here Comes the Sun’ fan, the latter I sang to myself delivering Chicago Sun-Times and Tribunes at dawn, back when tweens did such things.

Emma tells us Abbey Road was her first Beatles record (on CD, natch!). Emma tells us she has changed her favorite Beatle to John, part of her marriage’s contractual obligation to Reg. The reason the cat is named Ringo is that John seemed somehow inappropriate. Robyn says the surviving two are looking well, living for those who have passed on.

‘If I Needed Someone’ is next by very popular demand, and we get a wonderful, melodic Swiftcockian take. This led to a discussion of their respective sources of nihilism. Robyn launched into ‘Gimme Love’ but only lasted a few bars before declaring it “too Zen.”

Robyn then performed ‘Old Brown Shoe,’ a song I always found disjointed and jagged, a bit unformed. Robyn brought cohesion to the entropy that always struck me in the Let it Be version. Harrison’s clever lyrics became unburied. It occurs to me I’ve never heard a Beatles “naked” version of ‘Old Brown Shoe.’ I’ve given myself homework.

Announcing that RH found himself at the crossroads of Dylan and The Beatles, he could always “count on George to dissolve into a bowl of rose leaves.” This was by way of introduction to a song from the Living in the Material World LP. Afraid of it being too pretty, RH asked to “imagine Lou Reed singing it.” It’s “The Lord Loves the One,” with Robyn occasionally replacing “Lord” with “Law,” a change he thought was permitted, as it was closer to George’s intentions.

Emma took this opportunity to terrorize Robyn with Starship’s “We Built This City,” I have a handwritten note of Robyn’s reply that I can only hope is accurate: “like sunlight to an aubergine,” which is probably 50% accurate and one hell of an image.

We move on, having witnessed “one of the most inane introductions to one of George’s saddest songs” ‘All Things Must Pass.’ Emma sings a sweet and sad and poignant version, redolent with grief, regret, acceptance, and aching. RH recalls seeing Let It Be session footage with a version of ‘All Things,’ The Beatles playing it “with all the enthusiasm of a George song.” Ah, to be the third best songwriter in a band that reigns in the pantheon of greats.

It is then time for us all to pick our Wilbury names. Reg and Em are Ghastly and Shiny? Well moonlight strikes and I am turned into an aubergine and must sign off.

-Adrienne Meddock, aka Thumper Wilbury