It had been quite a while since I got the chance to see my favorite songwriter live and in person - I was travelling when he came to the Hamilton last April and I think the last time for me was when he was at the Black Cat with Eugene Mirman. So I got in touch with my friend John Henry and we made the trek into DC to check out Mr H and this new Atlantis place.

The Atlantis is a sort of simulacrum of the old 9:30 club, bastion of cool music in DC in the 1980s. As a college student at GWU I frequently walked to the club. In 1997 the 9:30 moved to a cavernous hall on V street and lost its indie cred. The Atlantis is next door to that new location and holds 500 patrons, that's 301 more than the original 9:30. The turnout was respectable, and I was able to secure a spot at the right-hand corner of the stage for a good view.

Robyn was in good form. He mostly played the hits (by request - most of the songs were requests made earlier), but he played them very well. As he took the stage, a few wags made comments ("No polka dots?") but he didn't bite. One very odd moment came when Robyn paused and asked for some water, some unit in the back took the opportunity to loudly criticize Muriel Bowser. Huh?? Some grumbling and hissing from the crowd, and Robyn broke the tension by saying, with perfect comedic timing, "Yeah so like I said, I'd love a drink of water..." A member of the staff appeared with a can of H2O. Another moment I took note of: after clearing his throat at one point, Robyn said "If you're recording this, edit that part out later." I appreciated the tacit approval of recording, as I was wearing my device around my neck like Flava Flav's giant timepiece! One good thing about the Atlantis is they appear to also be ok with recording if the performer is ok with it.

One nice feature of the night was getting to reconnect with an old friend from the Feg list, Rich Plumb. I messaged him on Facebook and we got to meet for the show. Rich was instrumental in getting the old Glass Flesh tribute album on DAT tape back in 1996 or so. Rich took the pics of Robyn in his colorful flower shirt. A special shout-out to all the remaining and former DC area fegs who could not be there - Chris G, Chris F, Luther, Ed, Doug, Mary, Roberta, Jill, Gene etc.

I thought Robyn's singing and playing were very good, there may have been one or two small mistakes but they did not detract. Emma I thought was unusually good, her singing added much more than what I've seen in the past. Robyn was his usual humorous self, joking about the old 9:30 club and other DC icons like Weasel, the famed DJ at the old WHFS. Initially RH said he only did his Weasel impression every alternate visit to DC, but he ultimately did a bit of it.

After the gig I approached one of the Atlantis marketrons to ask if I could photograph the setlist, he said if I could reach it I could take it (there was a five-foot area in front of the stage roped off, so good luck with that.) While I was wasting time with this guy, Robyn popped out of the dressing room and whisked right by me, another attendee nabbed him and asked if she could have the setlist. She then remonstrated with the staff to get it and give it to her, and Robyn came over to tell them he said she could have it. Such a gentleman! James Kovar (brother of Robert) and I both got to photograph it, so all was well. (Photo above)

All in all a very agreeable evening!

=b

Online review and photos by Parklife DC
Robyn Hitchcock has described his songs as “paintings you can listen to.” They’re typically surreal, but also, often, quite beautiful. His stage banter is equally off the beaten path, and his recent performance at The Atlantis was full of charming, eccentric asides.

Over a long career, Hitchcock’s influence has far outstripped his commercial success. Beginning with the Soft Boys, his ability to mix pop song craftsmanship, melodicism, and an off-kilter sensibility left its mark on generations of alternative rockers, especially REM. Over the course of his solo career, he’s embraced a more acoustic sound, and he’s even worked with beloved roots duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on the album Spooked.

At The Atlantis on Oct. 25, Robyn started with an old classic, “My Wife and My Dead Wife,” then referenced the rodent issues at the old 9:30 Club, joking about how “they’re installing rats backstage.” After “1974,” he did a bit about how he rests in a velvet-lined lead coffin, which I can only assume was designed to protect vampires from Superman. (I was saying to my sister the other day how it would be awful to have x-ray vision, because you’d see the corpses of your friends and loved ones all around you. She said this was pretty dark.)

Hitchcock, whose set consisted mostly of songs people had requested, continued with “Shuffle Man,” “Madonna of the Wasps,” “Mad Shelley’s Letterbox,” and “Viva Seatac.” “Chinese Bones,” he shared, was sung by Suzanne Vega with the Grateful Dead. Bassist Phil Lesh, who had just passed away, seemed to have been the only one who listened to his original recording. Later, he said they were playing long sets in memory of Phil. (If my memory serves, he played about the same number of songs at the Hamilton in May, albeit broken up into two sets.)

Introducing “Raymond and the Wires,” Robyn talked about his father, who he said was “quite a shy man,” and his childhood obsession with “obsolete electric traction,” which he clarified meant trackless trolleys. He joked that his father was afraid he was “forming too many social connections,” so he got Robyn obsessed with the trolleys. In his recent memoir, 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left, he mentions he fits the criteria for Asperger’s; having it myself, I can relate to having cycled through a variety of obsessions over the course of my life. (Significant chunks of Metacritic and AllMusic live in my memory.)

Next up was “Balloon Man,” followed by “You and Oblivion” and “Sally Was A Legend.” Before “No, I Don’t Remember Guilford,” Robyn talked some more about his passion for trolleys. After “I’m Only You,” his wife, Emma Swift, joined him to sing harmonies on “Antwoman,” “Glass Hotel,” “Queen Elvis.” He mentioned playing “So You Think You’re In Love” at the HFSFestival in 1991. Robyn and Emma finished the set with “Up To Our Nex,” “The Yip Song,” and “Queen of Eyes,” a Soft Boys song.

When he came back for his encore, Robyn had changed into his trademark polka dot shirt [ed. note: actually a cream-colored shirt with black flowers - see photos above]. He talked about his memoir and the accompanying album he recently released, 1967: Vacations In the Past. His encore consisted of three songs from that era he recorded on the album: “See Emily Play,” a Pink Floyd song written by Syd Barrett; The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset,” and, finally, the Beatles “A Day In The Life.”