It was an intimate coffee house gig in a major rock venue as songsmiths Robyn Hitchcock and Billy Bragg gave solo performances at San Francisco's Warfield Theater. Hitchcock and Bragg performed comfortably in such a large space performing selections off their new albums: Hitchcock's "Moss Elixir" and Bragg's "William Bloke." And the two proved that if they weren't such smart songwriters, they could be pretty decent comedians.

The graying Hitchcock, dressed in a polka-dot shirt, stuck with his acoustic guitar for the first two-thirds of the evening, then occasionally picking up an electric. Hitchcock was frequently joined by female violinist Deni Bonet who provided a furious staccato accompaniment on the new "Sinister But She Was Happy" and "The Devil's Radio."

Except for a few blasts from the past, Hitchcock provided no great surprises in either the songs he played, how he played them or in the telling of his trademark brand of monologue-of-the-absurd diatribes. His newest collection of tunes prove he is still set on playing Beatles-esque pop, but he still hasn't lost his knack for cracking up his audience with his strange remarks. At one point, he rejected an audience member's song request by retorting, "This set has been predetermined, manufactured and factory sealed for your protection."

Hitchcock closed the show nicely with a haunting version of "Beautiful Queen," the catchiest song on the new album. Performed with ghostly violin and Hitchcock's own reverb-heavy voice, the song's chorus echoed and drifted toward the arched ceiling to great effect.

Bragg, who recently became a father, hasn't lost the passion of his political convictions or his hearty sense of humor. He comically alluded to parenthood in his set-closing signature tune "New England" -- ("I'm not looking for New England, I'm just looking for a good baby sitter.").

Alternating between new material and comical political observations, mostly focused on the recent presidential election, Bragg also made time to poke fun at American youth culture. "Do you know why I think women get navel piercings?" he asked the crowd. "Because they can't grow goatees."

Bragg, who is arguably the most clever political songwriter since Bob Dylan, still doesn't tolerate fools, which comes through in his songs. In "Goalhanger," a term describing soccer players who selfishly do nothing but look to score, Bragg sings: "His apologies are tired because he uses them a lot, his excuses are so lame that if they were horses they'd be shot."

Bragg got introspective when he performed the lead song off his new album: "From Red to Blue." "You're a father now, you see things in different ways... But the ideals you've opted out of, I still hold them to be true. I guess they weren't so firmly held by y