nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (08/04/85)
["I often dream of trains when I'm alone. I ride on them into another zone"]
I just saw Robyn Hitchcock last night and decided to gloat over all of
you that missed him, because he was so mind-blowingly great it blows the
mind to think about how mind-blowingly great his music blows one's mind.
It's clear that Syd Barret's mind is not dead, it just vacated his old
body and now lives within Robyn Hitchcock. It also seems like some of
the best parts of John Lennon's psychedelic spirit made it into
Hitchcock too.
He only came to the U.S. this time to do three shows, two in NYC and one
in Boston, so you won't be able to see him, if you haven't already. I
even got "I Often Dream Of Trains" and "Black Snake Diamond Role"
autographed! Bids are being taken (only kidding!).
The only disappointing thing about the show was that Hitchcock only
played for a little over half an hour. But it was a half hour of
complete bliss! I was about two feet away, the sound system was really
good: I could understand all the lyrics, the band and Robyn played
perfectly, and Hitchcock definitley radiated that Syd Barret psychedelic
"What reality am I in? What is reality anyway?" aura!
I talked to one of the guys in the band (Chris Cox, who played on "I
Often Dream of Trains) for a few minutes. He told me that jet lag had
done something awful to Robyn the last time they were here, and that he
collapsed on stage in Austin Texas and had to have surgery -- that's why
he cancelled out of the shows before. They did the current three shows,
he said, because they had to come back to the U.S. to get their
equipment anyway, so they decided to do a few shows. (Someone else told
me that Hitchcock received death threats saying he had to come back and
play Boston, or else...) Chris Cox also told me that Robyn Hitchcock
isn't all that well known in England -- in fact 80% of his record sales
are in the U.S. He said that radio in England is awful. They do
everything by playlists, and if they don't put something on their
playlists then it never gets heard. I told him that that is mostly true
here too on commercial stations, but not at all on college stations. He
said that they don't have any free-format or college stations there, and
that it is really awful.
So it sounds like the music scene in England isn't all that great. It
seems that what appears on their charts is often a lot better than here,
but that if you don't appear on the charts there then it's very
difficult to get heard.
I was telling him how almost all the music that I like never appears on
singles charts and mentioned among others, Kate Bush. He said "But Kate
Bush is a phenominal success". I explained to him that she is fairly
unknown in the U.S., though, and he could barely believe that. I asked
him "But didn't she disappear into obscurity even in England when she
did 'The Dreaming'?" and he said something like "'The Dreaming'? I
thought her last album was 'Never for Ever'?"
I also want to tell you about one of the warm-up bands: Salem-66. They
are really good. It's a band with three women and a guy: a female
drummer, a male guitarist, a female singer / guitarist / song writer, and
a female singer / bassist / song writer. The music they make is slightly
poppy, slightly folky, somewhat psychedelic and good. They have a six
song EP called "Salem 66" (which is missing the male member), but I
don't like it as much as seeing them live, because it's not wonderfully
recorded. It was a nice surprise to see Salem 66, because I had no idea
they were going to be a warm-up band for Hitchcock.
The other warm-up band was Scruffy The Cat. The audience seemed to like
them a lot, but I didn't. They do country-style Rock 'N Roll and
rockabilly and rock. It's was okay, but I'd rather have been doing
something else (I guess my horrible musical predjudices are blaring
through...) They definitely played their instruments very well (five
guys: drummer, guitarist, guitarist / singer, bassist, banjoist /
keyboardist), and they did some psychebilly that seemed okay, but ....
"yawn" really.
Of course, it would have been worth sitting through Scruffy the Cat for
48 hours to see half an hour of Hitchcock! Hitchcock this Saturday!
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic last Saturday! Salem 66! How much pleasure
is one person allowed to have in such a short period of time??? And I
missed The Bobs on Friday... I suspect that if I had caught that, it
would have just been too much, and the pleasure centers of my brain
would have vaporized my head. On the other hand, tomorrow Kate Bush's
new single is being released to radio stations. This is the first time,
I believe, since 1978 a KB single has been released in the U.S. ("The
Man With The Child In His Eyes" reached 88, or so). And I'm also going
to a KB fan get-together that is happening because of people that called
me up while I was doing The First Annual WMBR Kate Bush Birthday Special
on Tuesday, so it's still likely that my head might vaporize....
"It's time to visit the planet smile
It's time the love bomb was dropped
It's time to eat music
It's time to kiss the sun
It's time to drown yourself in SOUNDGASM
It's time to dance through the mirror"
Doug Alan
nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)cv@linus.UUCP (Chris J. Valas) (08/06/85)
In article <4858@mit-eddie.UUCP> nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) writes: >["I often dream of trains when I'm alone. I ride on them into another zone"] > >I just saw Robyn Hitchcock last night and decided to gloat ... etc. etc. [ insert general (and accurate) raving about the show ] > >The only disappointing thing about the show was that Hitchcock only >played for a little over half an hour. But it was a half hour of >complete bliss! I was about two feet away, the sound system was really >good: I could understand all the lyrics, the band and Robyn played >perfectly, and [ so on, and so forth ] > I was sitting at the second table on the left from the stage, and I was as electrified as Doug. However, he seems to have been suffering from the 'time flies when your mind is being devastated' syndrome. Hitchcock played for at least 50 minutes: I know because I have a beautifully clean boot of the show. (Now who's gloating, Doug?) > >I also want to tell you about one of the warm-up bands: Salem-66. They >are really good. [ details deleted ] It was a nice surprise to see >Salem 66, because I had no idea they were going to be a warm-up band >for Hitchcock. > Have you got friends in this band, Doug? Do you get a percentage or are you sleeping with the drummer? They had two good songs out of perhaps eight or nine interminable and indistinguishable attempts. The lead guitarist could barely stumble along on her instrument and I'll try not to flame her too much for her voice, or should I say her lack of voice? The drummer was adequate but spent much of her time looking as bored as the audience. She *was* bored: the music wasn't going anywhere and she had little else to do but keep time. (But not too fast, or the lead guitar wouldn't keep up.) Enough! Mail these people to a folk festival. I'll pay postage. > >The other warm-up band was Scruffy The Cat. The audience seemed to like >them a lot, but I didn't. They do country-style Rock 'N Roll and >rockabilly and rock. It's was okay, but I'd rather have been doing >something else (I guess my horrible musical predjudices are blaring >through...) They definitely played their instruments very well (five >guys: drummer, guitarist, guitarist / singer, bassist, banjoist / >keyboardist), and they did some psychebilly that seemed okay, but .... >"yawn" really. > Were you at the same show? Oh, right, Robyn Hitchcock.... You must have been busy getting a beer when Scruffy the Cat was on. They played more real rock and roll and had more fun with the crowd in four minutes than Salem 66 could muster in a full set. It's too bad Swift's doesn't believe in dancing (they'd sell a lot more beer, too) because there would have been a danceFEST if there had been any room for one. At least we agree on the *important* things. (Kate Bush, Robyn Hitchcock, and Joy Division.) Chris J. Valas {decvax,utzoo,philabs,security,allegra,genrad}!linus!cv -=- "And you've got innocence like diamonds, and hunger like a big disease, and you've got legs, and you've got heaven." -=-
root@ima.UUCP (08/07/85)
g note guitar styleuldLremember all that free-form between-song discourse that he was layin' on us.NSomething like "This next song is about two-dimensional people who turn sidewaKsideways when they pass on the street so that they become invisible to each2other". I think I might know someone who taped it.deserves.s. omething like "This next song is about two-dimensional people who turns (and minds).about two-dimensional peoplepeople who turnso that they become invisible to eachways when they pass on the street so that they become
nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (08/12/85)
> From: cv@linus.UUCP (Chris J. Valas) [Regarding Robyn Hitchcock live in Boston...] > I was sitting at the second table on the left from the stage, and I > was as electrified as Doug. However, he seems to have been suffering > from the 'time flies when your mind is being devastated' syndrome. I guess it's always possible. I timed it by looking at my watch, but who can read such trivial things as numbers under such circumstances? > Hitchcock played for at least 50 minutes: I know because I have a > beautifully clean boot of the show. (Now who's gloating, Doug?) Ooh, you lousy no good bastard! >> [Me:] I also want to tell you about one of the warm-up bands: >> Salem-66. They are really good. [ details deleted ] It was a nice >> surprise to see Salem 66, because I had no idea they were going to be >> a warm-up band for Hitchcock. > Have you got friends in this band, Doug? Do you get a percentage or are > you sleeping with the drummer? That might be kind of nice, but no I don't know anyone in the band. I just like them! > They had two good songs out of perhaps eight or nine interminable and > indistinguishable attempts. The lead guitarist could barely stumble > along on her instrument and I'll try not to flame her too much for her > voice, or should I say her lack of voice? The drummer was adequate > but spent much of her time looking as bored as the audience. She > *was* bored: the music wasn't going anywhere and she had little else > to do but keep time. (But not too fast, or the lead guitar wouldn't > keep up.) Enough! Mail these people to a folk festival. I'll pay > postage. Foo! Well, yeah, the lead guitarist can't play very fast, and doesn't sing in tune, but so what? I'd rather see a group who aren't perfect instrument players do something interesting with what they've got, than a group of really talented instrument players wasting their talent on something cliched and trivial (like Scruffy The Cat). >> The other warm-up band was Scruffy The Cat. The audience seemed to like >> them a lot, but I didn't. They do country-style Rock 'N Roll and >> rockabilly and rock. It's was okay, but I'd rather have been doing >> something else (I guess my horrible musical predjudices are blaring >> through...) They definitely played their instruments very well (five >> guys: drummer, guitarist, guitarist / singer, bassist, banjoist / >> keyboardist), and they did some psychebilly that seemed okay, but .... >> "yawn" really. > Were you at the same show? Oh, right, Robyn Hitchcock.... You must > have been busy getting a beer when Scruffy the Cat was on. They > played more real rock and roll and had more fun with the crowd in four > minutes than Salem 66 could muster in a full set. It's too bad > Swift's doesn't believe in dancing (they'd sell a lot more beer, too) > because there would have been a danceFEST if there had been any room > for one. I just can't stand Rock 'N Roll! What can I say? It all sounds to me like I've heard it all a billion times before. I guess I just don't like "fun" music, either -- I'd rather listen to something that makes me think or stimulates my imagination. I'd rather listen to music in a pitch black room with headphones on while sitting on a sub-woofer, than go out dancing. Some "fun" music is good, though, like the B52s and the Tom Tom Club, because there's more to their music than just being "fun". > At least we agree on the *important* things. (Kate Bush, Robyn > Hitchcock, and Joy Division.) Yup!!! "Some say that heaven is hell Some say that hell is heaven" Doug Alan nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)