Blog
Rodriguez and Jimmy in Melbourne – you’d think we’d meet? No!
Written by Jimmy
You all know Searching for Sugarman. If you don’t, shame on you, stop reading this blog and buy the DVD. Watch it and report back.
Okay, if you’re still with me, I have a confession. I was in Melbourne on the 21 March. Rodriguez was in Melbourne on the 21st. I didn’t know. He played to a packed house. I watched the Discovery Channel at the Grand Hyatt, while munching on a cheese platter (the real story behind Argo). The next day a friend asked me what I thought of the concert. He then confessed he had forgotten to tell me about it. Yeah. He also went. So before throwing a diet coke at his head, I politely asked him to at least tell you how the concern went. This is an integrity test because I could have just told you all I went. But alas I didn’t go. Here are my friend’s words: ” A great mood last night…my highlights
- An adoring sold-out crowd split between 40’s-50’s and the next generation of 20-somethings all enthusiastic and appreciative of the music. Calls of ‘I love you’, ‘will you marry me’ from several in the crowd who were clearly old enough to know better, brought a self-effacing ‘oh, I’m 70yo…<pause for effect>… keep talking baby’ which had enough humour and irreverence to stoke the crowd’s fire
- Rodriguez reinforced the impression as an incredibly centred guy, but shy and not one to crave the limelight. Somehow he’s not of this time, but is also universally relevant. Eg. Early on he somewhat awkwardly said…”I’m not good at telling jokes but… Mickey and Minnie mouse are at the marriage guidance councillor and the councillor says ‘being stupid isn’t grounds for divorce’ and Mickey says, I didn’t say she was stupid, I said she’s fucking goofy’ – where did that come from? Spontaneous laughter from all. Feeling good now? – you bet!
- He did a great job for a 70yo! All the favourites, plus a surprise version of ‘Blue suede shoes’. Great stuff.
- The support band were great. The first set was a band called ‘The Break’. They are a great surf rock guitar band made up of the three founding members of Midnight Oil, Rob Hirst, Martin Rotsey and Jim Moginie as well as Brian Ritchie, of US band Violent Femmes, and Jack Howard from Hunters and Collectors. For those of us who grew up spending a lot of time watching live music in Melbourne pubs (me!), this was like a class reunion. Having played as ‘The Break’, these guys then changed outfits and became Rodriguez’s band. They were fantastic and clearly love his music…esp. Rob Hirst who is an outstanding drummer.
Wow. That is a lot of music reference and I’ll need to get into all that… But first, it should be noted, that my friend also noted that Rodriguez was a bit subdued in his performance… but I think he said that just to make me feel better. So on to all these references.
We start with Midnight Oil. I assume you know all about them, but here’s Bed’s Are Burning…
Second, let’s hear from Hunter’s and Collectors, Throw Your Arms Around Me…
He then refers to Rob Hirst. Well, here’s my favourite drum solo from 2007:
And, if you like drum solo’s – here’s our favourite from Singing Wells:
Okay. So I didn’t see Rodriguez. I blame it on ‘last mile economics.’ I travelled 10,500 miles to see Rodriguez (longer given I went via China and Sydney), but couldn’t quit make the last mile. That’s what did Web Van in…
Jimmy