Robyn Hitchcock
Milestones
Rochester, N.Y.
March 7, 1997
* new 2014 transfer *

Source: audience recording, likely made on a Sony D6 by "Lobstie"

Lineage: cassette received in trade circa May 1997 (likely 1st or 2nd gen.) > recorded to hard drive
  in November 2014 > tracks split using Cool Edit (no other processing) > FLAC using Trader's Little Helper >
  you!

Sound quality: A- / A

Track list:
1. intro. banter
2. Devil's Radio
3. banter
4. DeChirico Street
5. banter
6. Madonna of the Wasps
7. banter
8. Balloon Man
9. banter
10. 1974
11. banter
12. I'm Only You
13. banter
14. My Wife & My Dead Wife
15. Daisy Bomb (with backing vocals by opening act The Dear Janes)
16. banter
17. I Something You
18. I Am Not Me
19. The End (The Doors cover)
20. banter
21. You and Oblivion
22. Banter
23. Airscape
24. Freeze
25. crowd noise
26. Only the Stones Remain
27. banter
28. Queen of Eyes
29. I Often Dream of Trains
30. banter
31. Listening to the Higsons
32. The Speed of Things
33. banter
34. My Favourite Buildings
35. banter
36. Heliotrope
37. outro banter (cut short)

Notes:
Despite being a Robyn Hitchcock fan since his mid-80s Egyptians heyday, this was the only time that I've had 
the pleasure to see him perform live.  As "Lobstie" states in his review (see below), this is best described as
a "Robyn Hitchcock 101" show.  Truly, the entire show is comprised of singles, fan-favorite album cuts, and just 
enough in the way of minor oddities that the hardcore fans probably walked away happy.  "Lobstie" certainly did, 
as he wrote that this was the best R.H. solo gig he'd ever attended.

I received this recording in an old-fashioned snail-mail cassette trade within a month or two of the show, so I'm 
sure that it's a low-generation lossless recording.  My best recollection is that it came from a trader somewhere in 
New England, but I'm not positive if I traded with the taper or not.  There was a small crowd in attendance for 
this show (probably 150-200 people), and I'm guessing that there was only a single taper in the audience.  With 
that in mind, I'm provisionally crediting "Lobstie" with this recording, as he notes that he had made a good 
recording of the show with his Sony D6.

Please enjoy Lobstie's excellent review of the show, taken from the R.H. fan site "The Glass Hotel".

I think that what originally was intended to be a "Robyn Hitchcock 101 Primer" gig for the uninformed 
(Robyn has never, to my knowledge, played in Rochester before) ended up being a great experience where the 
audience surprised him and met him halfway.

The cones: About 25 of them when I walked in (I was the first to buy a cone), only one left when i exited the 
building.

The clothes: Robyn wore a white shirt with black vest. Encore was the white shirt with black polka dots.

The guitar: The blue telecaster was utilized.

Note: This was the first gig to feature the red lightbulb. Tell your
grandkids.  The red lightbulb screwed into the top of the green cone. It was rapturous.

The set: Easily 100min, maybe closer to 105.somewhere in the electric portion, Robyn started playing the chords 
for "Went To See The Gypsy" by Dylan. It was just a tease tho, as he stopped and switched to something more familiar.

The show started and ended with readings/ad-libs from the anthology "Great Stories of Mystery and Suspense".

Like I said before, it started out as a routine "Here's some of my hits" gig. But the audience really responded-----
singing along to "Balloon" and "Madonna", whooping during every guitar solo, dancing during some of the
later stuff, yelling out "We love you Robyn" after every song in the encore. You could tell that Robyn was 
affected, and that the crowd was too--there was very little talking (from the crowd i mean), even during the
longer stories.

Thanks be to god for the Dear Janes, who got Robyn to play "Daisy Bomb". I desperately wanted to hear something new.

Dear Janes continue a tradition of fine opening bands for Robyn. I liked their stuff. I really liked their sound 
(a big upright bass, an acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar.)

That's all. its 3:45am. but i am buzzed on road caffeine, and gig vibes and knew i must pound this out now, and then sleep.

I taped the show with my recently repaired Sony D6, I listened to bits here and there, and it sounds very good. trades later??

Hope you enjoyed this review. Please keep those reviews coming. I've REALLY enjoyed reading the ones so far. I want 
Knitting Factory epistles from every one of you! :)

ps. this was the best robyn solo gig i've ever been to. -- Lobstie