Robyn Hitchcock played ONCE Ballroom – 3/3

U.K. troubadour Robyn Hitchcock brought his renowned solo acoustic show to Somerville’s ONCE Ballroom last Friday evening.

I darted across town following a few minutes with The Flaming Lips earlier in the night just in time to catch the beginning of Hitchcock’s set, which initially consisted of nothing more than the man and his guitar. One might’ve hoped that Yo La Tengo would tag along after the run of electric full-band NYC shows they’d backed him on earlier in the week, but it wasn’t meant to be. No matter though; Robyn is plenty enough entertainment on his own.

The witty and prolific Hitchcock is a man of many words, both in song and in speech. He can be both heartbreaking and uproariously funny, sometimes simultaneously, and delivers anything but a rote live performance. That famously freewheeling spirit was in full effect last Friday, when the set was frequently as entertaining for its monologues and absurdist asides as for its survey of Hitchcock’s sizable catalog. Somewhere between the riff on British musicians desperately seeking Elvis hair and the recurring impression of the drunken airline pilot, one had to wonder why there isn’t a Pollard-esque collection of this stuff out there.

There was also something to be said for the songs, naturally. Hitchcock offered up a number of cuts from his forthcoming self-titled LP, as well a range of older tunes (including “I Often Dream Of Trains,” a favorite of mine) and some collaborations with tour-mate Emma Swift. The highlight of the night arrived at its conclusion, when Hitchcock invited noted Bob Dylan affiliate and otherwise legendary musician Al Kooper on stage for a short set of Blonde On Blonde-era Dylan covers. “Visions of Johanna” is magical in any context, but sounded especially nice here as a flashback to Hitchcock’s brief appearance to perform it at the 2015 Newport Folk Festival’s closing Dylan tribute.

See more photos from the evening below.