Los Angeles Times
April 18, 1988
Hitchcock Creates Internal Vibrations
by Steve Hochman
Robyn Hitchcock knitted his heavy eyebrows, peered out at the 1,000 or so people at the chilly John Anson Ford Theatre, and explained: "If you want to dance, it's better to just vibrate internally, because this isn't Dance music." But the tall, lean Englishman's outdoor concert Friday showed that his melodic, intelligent Pop and often bizarre, twisted imagery call for as much a physical response as a cerebral one.
Hitchcock himself was much more animated than in past shows, interacting with bassist Andy Metcalfe and drummer Morris Windsor and even good-naturedly mocking the Pete Townshend-like moves of guest guitarist Peter Buck of R.E.M. --or maybe he was just reacting to the cold.
Whether singing the praises of flesh and fish or, in his convoluted-but-coherent between-song remarks, denouncing the "forces of darkness" embodied in his wristwatch and a faulty foot-pedal, Hitchcock showed he has the wit and Pop-sense to merit the Sgt. Pepper-ish cap he sported. While many on hand seemed to appreciate the earthy and cosmic humor of the tunes and tales, many others sat stone-faced, as if hanging on every word of a prophet. Or maybe that was just because of the cold, too.
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