Robyn Hitchcok & the Venus 3/Jennifer O'Connor - Black Cat - April 9 2009

Jennifer O'Connor - One woman with microphone and acoustic guitar. You get the drill. Nice set, pleasant but I have a feeling it won't be memorable.

Robyn Hitchcock - I haven't seen Hitchcock in decades. He played with a violinist then. Now, he has two axemen and a drummer with him. I enjoyed the full band. They never hit the tempos of the old Soft Boys, but gave a good flavor to the songs with even a touch of light psychedelia. Hitchcock was in fine form delivering his wry songs which had all the hooks you would want without venturing to far into pop music. And note to all other bands/frontmen. Please study Robin Hitchcock stage patter and determine if you are maybe 1/2 or 1/4 as good, then continue. If not, stick to cliches and quick breaks between songs. Because frankly, Hitchcock could stand up there and do spoken word and be worth the cover. And how exactly does he know to use Tyson's Corner to Annapolis as a reference to some quirky strip mall point he was making. No matter, songs were excelent as was the host.

Quote of the Night - "Thank you and my shirt likes you, too" - Hitchcock responding to obvious audience shout. He did have a great colorful shirt with his band mostly in black. Too many additional great quotes, but I would have needed a recorder.