Live Review: Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 @ Variety Playhouse, April 7

By Scott Roberts; photos by Sue
Volkert

From the familiar beginning
arpeggiated chords of show opener “I Often Dream of Trains” to the slightly
shambolic ending of final encore “Listening to the Higsons” with its familiar
sing-along “wo-wo” refrain (and guest star Mike Mills joining in on guitar),
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 delivered their usual spirited, musically rewarding
performance. Hitchcock’s invigorating collaboration with The Venus 3 has happily
occurred more often in recent years and the band’s tightness shone brightly.
Featuring the timeless jangle, mostly of the electric 12-string variety, of
Peter Buck, the solid bass playing and far-ranging vocal harmonies of Scott
McCaughey, and the solid, deceptively complex drumming of Bill Rieflin,
Hitchcock has found a solid foundation to support his unique lead guitar work,
often as eccentric as the lyrics he is perhaps best known for, as well as his
distinctive songs.

Though the size of the crowd was somewhat disappointing (The Variety was
less than half-full), the enthusiasm of both longtime fans and the newly
curious (I ran across at least half a dozen people who said this was their
first Hitchcock show) more than made up for it. The band played older classics
such as “Madonna of the Wasps” and “Flesh #1 (Beatle Dennis)” with equal gusto
to the newer material from their just-released Goodnight Oslo CD, and the seamless quality of the set underscored
the timelessness of Robyn Hitchcock, a singer-songwriter with few peers whose
career has spanned four decades.

Robyn
Hitchcock & The Venus 3 continue their tour for the next two weeks, then
take the month of May off and re-emerge at Bonnaroo on June 13.