Rodriguez - The Magic
"... Sugar man, won't you hurry 'Cos I'm tired of these scenes ..."
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Australian Tour 2007 Scan of poster supplied by Bryan Randall, April 2007
Wireless Cranium Rodriguez gig [8th April 2007 @ Corner Hotel] Byron Bay Blues Festival .... with Videos! I couldn't believe my eyes…..Reading on sugarman.org that the great man himself was going to come to Australia for a few shows. To my dismay though, he wasn't coming to Brisbane on his short tour. Thankfully for me though, Byron bay was only a 2 hour drive away and tickets for the sold out festival were plentiful on Ebay. I have been into his music since I was a toddler. Mum's cold fact LP got a lot of play time as I was growing up in New Zealand. And his music has stayed with me since. Seeing him live, let alone Alive was something I never imagined would happen. But yesterday it did. A very reserved Rodriguez walked onto the stage, smiling shyly in front of the massive crowd on the main stage who erupted when they saw him. After 2 minutes of fixing his hat, adjusting his mic stand, and waving to the crowd he began with I wonder and immediately got the crowd singing. He then played (in no particular order) Only good for conversation, Crucify your mind, Sugar Man, Can't get Away, Rich folks hoax, Establishment blues, I think of you, Inner City Blues, and ended with Forget It. He stopped throughout the show to talk to the crowd, giving his words of wisdom. The hour long show wasn't long enough, but that's what you get at a festival. Rodriguez made very few mistakes. He messed up some lyrics in Establishment blues, funnily enough the exact same spot as on the “Live Fact” album. He just laughed and apologized, but the crowd didn't care, they cheered him on. He's only human. I got to meet him at the signing tent, unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures, and were told there were “no personal signings”. Rodriguez asked my name and personally signed my cold fact cd anyway. He was very quietly spoken. I thanked him for coming to Australia. He told me to take care, and was very genuine, shaking my hand and giving me a big smile. Overall, it was a great day that was topped off by meeting him. The money I spent on tickets and travel meant nothing, and I would have forked out a hell of a lot more if I had to. It was a once in a lifetime show for me as the last time he toured Australia was a year before I was born. He was the most genuine, humble guy and I wish him all the best. I have recorded some live video from the concert…. The quality is pretty good for a phone camera, and the sound is good apart from some distorting from the bass drum. I have uploaded the videos to my youtube account: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=lukewarmaus Can't get away - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1601J_4OdU Crucify your mind - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6KReTVP9Uk I wonder - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0TFVbKiNTo Rich folks hoax - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVP9d43jXoc Sugar man - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEJK6vHF0MU Feel free to comment/rate the vids. Also if anyone wants to have a stab at fixing the distortion from the kick drum I can send you the raw video files, you can contact me through warmth@bigpond.net.au Thanks to the people at sugarman.org for running a great site! Luke [The Forum, 7th April 2007] The musicians that will be performing alongside Rodriguez in Australia are: Greg Lyon on bass Jim Kelly on guitar Dave Sanders on Drums Steve Russell on Keyboards. The dates for his upcoming shows include: East Coast Blues and Roots Festival - Friday April 6th http://www.bluesfest.com.au/ Corner Hotel in Melbourne - Sunday April 8th http://www.cornerhotel.com/ Factory Theatre in Sydney - April 12th http://www.factorytheatre.com.au/ Fourth show is to be announced. He is also going to be playing at the Hotel Moziaque Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands - Saturday April 14th. http://www.motelmozaique.nl/2007/ (Click "English" in the upper right hand corner of the screen for English version) [The Forum, 17th March 2007] |
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