Perennial madcap troubadour Robyn Hitchcock brought his new band The Venus 3 (those three being veteran musicians Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) to the Mod Club last Friday to showcase new rockers from his latest CD "Ole Tarantula" as well as old classics ("Madonna of the Wasps", "Chinese Bones" and a fabulous "Give It To The Soft Boys" closer). Oh yes, and of course share that classic Hitchcock wit. From a mild obsession with "Magnum Force" - purely as segue to his song "A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations (Briggs)" - to giant clams poised to storm Minneapolis, Hitchcock's tall tales remind us that his songs, though splendid, are really just filler for the fantasmagoria that seems to free-fall from his imagination between those songs. I've seen him many times, and have never heard the exact tale twice, and though they seem to run quite amuck, always come back around to making total, shocking sense.

Additional photos from the show: HERE (or, view as slideshow).