Saw Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 at the Cat's Cradle last night. This was the (1,2,3,4,5...6?) sixth time I've seen him, and the fourth time I've seen him at the Cat's Cradle. I suppose that means I'm one creepy smile away from getting a restraining order. It was another great show.

Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR
The Venus 3 are Scott McCaughey, Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck - all of whom play, in various capacities, with some band called R.E.M., and another called The Minus 5. There were a surprising number of people in line who had only a passing familiarity with Hitchcock, and were there to mostly see Peter Buck. Nothing wrong with that of course; Buck's kind of a legend, and I was all gushy over seeing him last time they came to town.

Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR
And Robyn Hitchcock remains Robyn Hitchcock: still as funny and clever and musically interesting as ever. Who else could make a crowd sing along and pump their fists to a line like "Fuck me baby, I'm a trolley bus!" ? (OK, maybe Malkmus)

Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR
This time around, they played mostly songs from the two R.H. & V3 albums, with a few from Robyn's Egyptians-period (including an acoustic "Lady Waters", by request, which he said he hadn't played since the mid 80s), a couple of Soft Boys' songs, and just a couple from Robyn's many solo-acoustic albums (typically my favorite). But, they're a good enough band that it all sounded great. The new stuff I especially liked live - the songs seem a little too polished in the studio.

Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR
They played Matt Pond PA's "Last Light" album on a loop, before the opening band came on. I'll just go ahead and assume that the Cat's Cradle staff reads this blog. Kidding, of course. Matt Pond PA played there last year. And I didn't go, because I'm lame.
There was a silent auction for miniature traffic cones that Robyn had doodled all over. My $50 bid was immediately trumped. I'm not sure how much they eventually went for. Instead, I bought a giant print of a double-decker bus with "Goodnight Oslo" (title of their current album) printed on its side. They were numbered prints, and I got number "200/200". I don't know if that means I got the last one they had, or just the last one printed, or if it doesn't mean anything. Anyway, Buck and Hitchcock signed it for me.

Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR
Robyn and Scott McCaughey were both playing these funky-lookin Airline guitars. Retro-hipsters!
The opening band, Durham's Erie Choir was quite good, too. It was the first time I'd seen anyone play a wooden box, live.
Saw Neko Case the night before, and I left the Cat's Cradle last night at 12:45AM, with a 40 minute drive home - in a car reeking of BBQ. Fuck I'm tired.