Opening act: Points West

Newspaper preview 1 from The Deseret News dated July 13, 1990
Newspaper preview 2 from The Daily Utah Chronicle dated July 11, 1990
Newspaper review from The Deseret News dated July 17-18, 1990

The show was originally scheduled for July 15, but was postponed by one night - see below review transcript.

Setlist incomplete.

By Jeff Vice
Deseret News staff writer
Robyn Hitchcock: in concert with Points West at the Bar & Grill, July16; one show only
Thank you, Robyn Hitchcock, and thank you, Bar & Grill

Fans of the enigmatic British pop artist Robyn Hitchcock (including this critic who considers Hitchcock to be his personal favorite musical artist) have been waiting years to see him perform live, including a knife twisting disappointment when the putrid NRBQ replaced Hitchcock as the opening act for R.E.M. last year.

Hitchcock's first Utah appearance proved worth the long wait (including a one-night delay from its original Sunday night scheduling) as the moody master of pop macabre mixed storytelling with solo acoustic performances of his psychedelic pop masterpieces.

Opening with "Cynthia Mask" from his recently released "Eye" LP, Hitchcock charmed the small but sophisticated Bar and Grill crowd with a thinly disguised story ridiculing the state's restrictive alcohol laws.

Hitchcock relied on his two biggest strengths during his 90-minute set - his nasal John Lennon-esque vocals and his underrated guitar playing, which really stunned on his "Madonna of the Wasp" from his "Queen Elvis" LP

Similarly wonderful were his "Bass" and "Wax Dolls" which are definitely not typical pop numbers with their delicate guitar arrangements and sinisterly bizarre lyrics.

Though Hitchcock was without his usual musical cohorts (the Egyptians, who have supported Hitchcock since their days in the Soft Boys), his songs took on a more personal, if not more charming, air with his wonderful acoustic work.

Hitchcock could not have found a more ideal concert spot that the cozy Bar and Grill, which proved ample room for an appreciative audience but not enough for a large dance crowd (which Hitchcock considers an anathema)

Throughout, Hitchcock rested his guitar-weary fingers by entertaining the audience with his bizarre stories, the subjects of which included English explorers, grasshoppers, fish and DC-3s.

Anyone who's seen Hitchcock's highly entertaining interview/performances on MTV's "120 Minutes" program can testify to Hitchcock's humor and talent. After all, what other musical artist besides Hitchcock would dare pronounce the lines "frogs are reproducing on your back" (from the former) and "I can't decide which one I love the most - the flesh and blood or the pale, smiling ghost" (from the hilarious "My Wife and My Dead Wife")

However, to fully appreciate his ability to improvise the widest, if not the most entertaining dada stories, one must witness Hitchcock live.

All in all, Hitchcock's set (which included the little-known Soft Boys nugget "Queen of Eyes" and the anti-drug ode "Clean Steve") might be the most entertaining show this reviewer has seen (though he is biased, after all)

Opening act was local group Points West, probably the Bar and Grill's best and most musically compatible support act.

Though the 2-year-old band was originally formed as a quartet, the acoustic duo of Tres Jones and Tom Cram sounds like it's been recording for years that way.

Standouts in their set included "She" and "Don't Walk Away" (both of which sound like they could have been written by the vastly underrated Toad the Wet Sprocket), as well as a sparkling cover of Peter Gabriel's "Biko"