The Week According to IHEG

What a nutty week. Last night Robyn Hitchock sculpted a typically ornate and unique set drawn from the nearly 1000 songs in his repertoire. People used to shout out requests at Robyn shows but these days it's just unkind and impractical to expect him to be able to do anything on command. The set included at least one new song, which sounded suspiciously like an old song, "The Serpent at The Gates of Wisdom," but obviously the lyrics are the crucial aspect of most Hitchcock songs, especially solo acoustic where band arrangements are not an issue. Robyn is an entertainer and a great storyteller as well as a fine pianist and guitarist. Here's the setlist for freaks like me: Museum of Sex, Heaven, I've Got the Hots, The Ghost Ship, Idonia (this was the new one), Victorian Squid, Born On the Wind, You and Oblivion, The Wreck of the Arthur Lee, Oceanside (my shaky video below), Take It Away, Goodnight Oslo. Encore:
Nocturne (piano), Flavour of Night (piano), Somewhere Apart (piano), Ole' Tarantula,
Glass Hotel. Here's a treat. I videotaped this. You're not allowed to. I work here.


Friday night Gary Hoey tears it up at the Iron Horse with his mind-numbing electric blues rock. The highlight of the show is usually his cover of the song Hocus Pocus by the Dutch 70s prog band Focus. Focus did the song as a parody of heavy metal at the time, though most didn't get the joke. Because it was freakin' GREAT metal. Sometimes satire is so accurate it becomes what it mocks!Bax and O'Brien from Rock 102 heart Gary. Watch it:


Of course Melissa Etheridge is at the Pines on Friday and Ani DiFranco and Kimya Dawson play Saturday. The weather looks like it's going to be just fine so join us in the forest for some good times. Ice cream and beer!


The Sippy Cups are a rock band geared toward kids, so all parents who figure solid covers of the Velvet Underground and The Ramones are better cultural fiber than Dan Zanes or the Wiggles should stick around for the show too. We moved it from Pearl Street to the Iron Horse this Saturday at 3PM so park accordingly.




Van Hunt is a great new R&B singer who's managed by Randy Jackson of American Idol judgement infamy, dog, but don't judge him based on that. He performed with Sly Stone at the Grammys and was the more....coherent of the two. This is the sleeper of the weekend, Saturday at 7PM. But then so is Trombone Shorty on Sunday at 7. Shorty's a bud of Wynton's and his brass will knock you on your bum.