Renowned British singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock pays tribute to Syd Barrett
Revered British songwriter Robyn Hitchcock performs the songs of avowed cornerstone influence and Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett at two special events held to mark the iconic psychedelic rocker's birthday Saturday.
Similar to Barrett and his Pink Floyd bandmates, Hitchcock began exploring music while attending art school in London, playing in college band the Beetles before relocating to Cambridge in 1974. There Hitchcock started busking as he cultivated an admitted obsession with Barrett, playing his songs solo while participating in a string of different groups. One of those bands -- the absurdly named Dennis and the Experts -- would evolve into the songwriter's first notable group, the Soft Boys.
While emerging amid the early rumblings of the UK's punk movement, the Soft Boys were a bit of a throwback with the fractured, neo-psychedelic style of power pop exhibited on their debut single for Raw Records, "Give It To the Soft Boys" in 1977. The band released its first proper album A Can of Bees two years later, showcasing Hitchcock's songwriting that leaned heavily on surrealist lyrics and alternated between lurching post-punk workouts and dreamy pop confections.
The first album's mix of nervy post-punk, and psychedelia recalled Barrett's work with Pink Floyd and his solo albums after being dismissed from the band when he began to unravel mentally due to his regular consumption of LSD. The Soft Boys' sophomore effort Underwater Moonlight in 1980 made the connection even more explicit with a cover of the Barrett song "Vegetable Man" that was included on German and Canadian issues of the album (though the riff on "Kingdom of Love" bore a resemblance to the guitar part that drove "Interstellar Overdrive").
The record made little impact at the time of its release and the Soft Boys would split the following year, but retrospective critical evaluation would hail Underwater Moonlight as a classic that prefigured the neo-psychedelic movement that emerged during the '80s. Later reissues of the album would include an expansive number of outtakes and bonus material.
Hitchcock would launch a solo career the same year, releasing his debut album Black Snake Diamond Röle before fronting his new backing band the Egyptians that included former members of the Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor starting in 1985 with the unit's first effort Fegmania! The new outfit would sign with A&M Records, scoring a college radio and MTV hit in 1988 with "Balloon Man" from Globe of Frogs, followed in 1989 by "Madonna of the Wasps" from the Queen Elvis album.
Hitchcock would disband the Egyptians midway through the '90s, but has maintained a steady output of solo recordings and collaborations, both with Soft Boys reunions that produced one new album -- entitled Nextdoorland -- in 2002 and a trio of recordings with new group the Venus 3 in the 2000s. The songwriter has made the Bay Area a frequent stop when touring thanks to almost annual visits for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival that has seen him perform in a variety of settings including solo acoustic, alongside Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones and will the backing of a full electric band.
Hitchcock released his latest album Life after Infinity -- the first entirely instrumental album of his career -- last spring, but will be focusing on the songs of Syd Barrett for these upcoming San Francisco appearances on Barrett's birthday presented by concert promoter folkYEAH. In the afternoon, Hitchcock performs a brief solo acoustic set of Barrett's music at the 4 Star Theatre prior to a screening of Have You Got It Yet?, the new documentary about the British psychedelic rock pioneer. The singer is also performing prior to a screening on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. (both screenings are sold out). On Saturday night, he plays a full set of Barrett's songs at the Chapel accompanied by San Francisco songwriter and musician Kelley Stoltz with Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show providing an appropriately psychedelic backdrop to the proceedings.
Robyn Hitchcock: Syd Barrett Birthday Show
Saturday, Jan. 6, 8 p.m. $32-$35 (sold out)
The Chapel