Legendary flaneur Robyn Hitchcock will play a special gig at City Winery, joined by friends Sean Nelson and Lenny Kaye
City Winery
155 Varick St. at Vandam St.
Sunday, February 28, $35-$55, 8:00
212-608-0555
www.citywinery.com
www.robynhitchcock.com
flickr slideshow
The inimitable Robyn Hitchcock is part of the same British singer-songwriter school that has brought the world such endlessly entertaining musicians as Richard Thompson and Graham Parker, playing ironic, cynical, highly intellectual, and downright hysterical songs while filling their live shows with ironic, cynical, highly intellectual, and downright hysterical off-the-cuff chatter. From his days with the Soft Boys through his backup bands the Egyptians and the Venus 3, Hitchcock has put together a remarkable collection of pure pop pleasure, Beatles-esque with touches of Bob Dylan and even flashes of early Pink Floyd, commenting on the state of contemporary culture and romance like no one else can. Last year Hitchcock released two discs, I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS IN NEW YORK (Yep Roc, November 2009), which documented his live show re-creating his 1984 album I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS, and GOODNIGHT OSLO (Yep Roc, February 2009), another delightful grab bag of dazzling tunes, including the catchy “Saturday Groovers” and the beautiful “Hurry for the Sky” that fit in well with such classic Hitchcock as “Balloon Man,” “Madonna of the Wasps,” “So You Think You’re in Love,” “My Wife and My Dead Wife,” “Man with the Lightbulb Head,” “Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl,” and “Give Me a Spanner, Ralph.” In addition, Hitchcock — whose cutting-edge Web site, the Museum of Hitchcock, was one of the first to integrate music and merchandise in clever ways while creating an intimate fan community — has developed a long-term relationship with director Jonathan Demme, beginning with the music documentary STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK (1998), in which Robyn played in a empty window space in New York City, and continuing with soundtrack work and cameo appearances in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (2004) and RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (2008). Hitchcock, who will turn a youthful fifty-seven next week, will be joined by Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger) and the great Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group) for this very special gig at City Winery, where Thompson played last year and Parker will be performing in April. Hitchcock will also be participating in the March 2 Carnegie Hall benefit concert “The Music of the Who,” with such artists as Mose Allison, Bob Mould, Willie Nile, Bettye LaVette, the Smithereens, the Gaslight Anthem, and many others covering the career of Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon.