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Robyn Hitchcock
Concert appearance: Sat., 21 Nov. 1998
St. Ann's Church
Brooklyn, New York
Sandy Denny tribute gig
Set list:
Matty Groves (Traditional, arr. Fairport Convention)
Tribute gig for Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention. Also on the bill: DARIUS RUCKER of the Hooties, MIKE MILLS of REM, DENI BONET, KATELL KEINIG, DON DIXON, VICKIE PETERSON (Bangles), PETER HOLSAPPLE, SUSAN COWSILL. He sang Mattie Groves and he had to read the lyrics off the sheet.
Then he tried to put them back on the music stand but he couldn't so
he had to hold them. A charming moment. Deni's song was quite moving,
as were many of them. Mike Mills' song was something about a pirate,
and though his voice was not up to the task per se, his performance
was heartfelt.
I sat not very far away from Mr. Hitchcock and miniature entourage of
undiscerned composition. He caught me gazing at him a couple times, I
think. Or did I catch him? Hm.
Feh! Yes, I forgot to save the program, but I shook the man's hand,
and surely that's more important. Most importantly, he said he saw me
at the Mercury show and that I had been wearing a polka-dot shirt.
Instead of seeing this for the coup that it was - ie: he had seen and
remembered seeing me- (well, he couldn't have helped seeing me as I
was standing literally right in front of him at the show), all I could
think about was how I had no idea what to say to him. Absolutely
nothing that was not cliched or tepid came to mind. I muttered
something basically incoherent about how I'd been standing in front of
him and then he shook my hand and I couldn't look at him, I was in
disbelief and so embarrassed at not having prepared a statement. Then
someone said something to him, he said he'd be right there, and as he
let go of my hand he said he hoped I'd enjoyed the show. "Yes," I
murmurred lamely, walking off in a fog which unmercifully lifted and
left me confronting the fact that I had conducted myself very poorly
indeed.
So there it is. Not utterly embarrassing, and yet I can't escape the
feeling that I completely fucked up. Didn't even introduce myself,
that's how out of it I was. Shite.
But after all, what can one say? "I love your music." "What is that
one lyric all about, anyway?" "Could you sign this?" I just wish I'd
had a Harrison Ford poster. -Viv L
Just to add, Robyn's shirt that night was the wildest I've ever seen and I've
seen several shows. He was also the first person who actually spoke that
night, thanking host Peter Holsapple for putting on the show about Sandy's
music. He made a comment that clearly showed he enjoyed her music as well
and was VERY glad to be there. The harmonica solo was wild and he actually
moved around quite a bit as he played. --Rosenstoc
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