Live Review: Rodriguez, Archie Roach

For his first shows in Perth in 35 years, Rodriguez had no trouble selling out three nights at King Park. There was a triumphant feeling in the air at Thursday night’s show, as thousands of fans braved the weather for what was to be a magical night, mostly.

Archie Roach, accompanied by guitarist Craig Pilkington, helped the sun go down with his fine songwriting and incredible storytelling, both heartbreaking and humorous at the same time. As a fairly chatty crowd found their way to their seats, Roach didn’t seem fazed by the early slot. Tales of his childhood, and working with his late partner Ruby Hunter, had such an effect that he eventually had everyone’s attention. Took The Children Away was, arguably, the most moving performance of the entire night.

While Rodriguez’s highly celebrated debut album Cold Fact was as iconic for its sparse, brooding sound and memorable orchestral arrangements as its songs, it was clear the moment his band walked on stage that a straightforward, rock-band approach was on the cards. Backed by guitarist Brett Adams (Tim Finn), bass player Maree Thom and drummer Pete Wilkins (Blue King Brown), Rodriguez – greeted by a thunderous applause – launched straight into a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s Somebody To Love. It was on odd choice for an opener, given how long people had waited to hear his own songs performed live. It wasn’t the only cover either, with Frank Sinatra and Little Richard both getting the Rodriguez treatment later in the set.

Sugar Man, I Wonder and Crucify Your Mind naturally got the biggest receptions of the night, while other songs went by almost unnoticed as we all struggled to slip into our complimentary ponchos when the rain hit. Rodriguez’s singing and guitar playing, when unaccompanied, were a real highlight of the show. Unfortunately those moments were few and far between, with the band having seemingly decided the easiest way to bring his songs into 2014 was via the middle of the road. Each song was given a bland, session-player sheen with some blues-guitar noodling filling almost every gap between Rodriguez’s vocals. His own unique sense of feel and timing seemed out of place against the clinical nature of the band; however, the audience lapped it up all the same. At the end of the day, they came to hear those songs, and at the very least, they got exactly that.