I saw House of Freaks only once. They opened for Matthew Sweet who opened for Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. I remembered liking HoF enough to pick up a couple of their albums, but most of my memory of them was wiped away by the excessive volume of Matthew Sweet's set. That night, Robyn played a 15 minute version of Freeze (due to a problem with his guitar effects pedals, Robyn went into a long story about chickens landing at the airport, and finally wrapped things up by plugging his guitar straight into the amp - "the old fashioned way"). Later, Marc
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The Washington Post
February 5, 1992

Robyn Hitchcock

by Mark Jenkins

Such is Robyn Hitchcock's gift for impromptu absurdism that one of the highlights of his Saturday show at Lisner Auditorium was an improvised rap that eventually -- after the roadies overcame the wiring problem that prompted it -- led into "Freeze". But then, there were many highlights (and much absurdism) in Hitchcock And The Egyptians' performance, which was divided between two sets: one of crisp Neo-Byrdsian Rock-And-Roll, another of Amiable Music-Hall Surrealism.

Hitchcock was droll throughout. But he, drummer Morris Windsor, and bassist-keyboardist Andy Metcalfe were also exceptionally precise. The three -- who've been playing together for more than 15 years -- have become a seamless unit (with Hitchcock providing economical near-McGuinn solos and all three contributing dead-on harmonies). When they swooped through such songs as "So You Think You're in Love", the roar was electrifying.