Live Performance Review: Rodriguez (London Jazz Festival 2012), Saturday 17.11.2012, 19:30, The Royal Festival Hall, London, & Sunday 25.11.2012 19:00, The Usher Hall Edinburgh

I had stopped believing in the prospect of this gig some years back. I was very keen to see Rodriguez live, though got to a point of thinking it was never going to happen. Then the morning after first seeing 'Searching for Sugar Man' at the cinema I notice within an article in the 'Metro' mention of a date at the Royal Festival Hall during the Jazz Festival in November...I got straight on the phone and got a ticket in the forth row.

The venue was a a larger hall than I was anticipating. Phantom Limb were good though not my cup of tea. One element that I was not comfortable with was the female vocalists tendency to screech, when she had a perfectly good voice at the higher notes there was no need for this. Some can screech and have it fit within their vocal expression, this was not a case of that. There was more control and less screeching in Edinburgh, making the performance more pleasant, though I still won't be seeking out recordings of this group. The musicians accompanying her were 2/5 of the band on guitar and keys. The full band, adding bass and drums, though without the vocalist, was the backing for Rodriguez.

This is the first 'pop' gig I've been to where the entire hall gave a standing ovation for the person just walking onto the stage. The whole of the Cold Fact Album was played with the exception of 'Jane S. Piddy' & 'Gomorrah (A Nursery Rhyme)'. There was a fair portion of songs from the lesser second album and several songs I did not know. There were further standing ovations after particular songs, at the end and throughout the encore, which ended with an unknown song performed solo. The band were sympathetic and a good choice for working with Rodriguez. On some songs his voice is not in as good shape as it was, there was what appeared to be occasional missed lyrics and slight errors, though this did not matter. The gentle humble manner of the man was a rare delight. The audience treated every song with reverence. The audience's response to the man by the end caused me to be in tears. It was beautiful to see someone who's work I appreciate so much, and whom in my view had been overlooked for too long, receive what can only be described as an outpouring of love.

Rodriguez said it was 'honor, pleasure and a privilege', to have performed before the audience present that night. I share his sentiment for having been able to have been present in the audience.

Rating: 10/10.
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(Weeks after this date was announced, and I had organised travel and accommodation, it was announced that he would perform at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.)

In Edinburgh the main set was the same, the band were tighter and adding in more detail of the songs. The lighting was better and the banter similar, though sadly the audience were not quite as rapturous as they were in London, though this is typical of audiences at The Usher Hall. As in London, Rodriguez sang 'Like A Rolling Stone' in the encore, though in a change to London this was proceeded by a performance of 'Blue Suede Shoes'. In London the encore ended with a lovely solo number (that I did not recognise) from Rodriguez, which sadly was not performed in Edinburgh. All in all, I still greatly enjoyed the performance and feel incredibly fortunate to have seen this great musician twice. Though it was not quite as good as London, which I largely put down to the audience.

Rating: 09/10.        

Film Review: Searching For Sugar Man (12A) (Sweden/U.K. 2012) (Director: Malik Bendjelloul), Thursday 26.07.2012 18:30, The Cameo Cinema Screen Three, Edinburgh & Saturday 28.07.2012 18:30, The Cameo Cinema Screen One, Edinburgh

This is a documentary and one of my most anticipated films of the year. Without giving too much of this remarkable story away, it concerns a gentleman called Rodriguez who in 1970 & 1971 recorded the albums Cold Fact & Coming From Reality (After The Fact). Despite high end production and comparisons to the likes of Dylan, he sank without a trace and returned to other means to make ends meet. Somehow, still not entirely clear, the first album became known in South Africa where it has become one of the biggest albums of all time and is credited as an inspiration to young white South Afrikaans in taking an anti-apartheid stance.

If my memory serves me correctly the Cold Fact album was only commercially released in the U.K. in 2009.    I'm consciously aware of having known it since 1998, due to a South-African flatmate in the first year of university (although another friend did subsequently inform me that he played it to me a couple of years earlier, though apparently I was too obsessed by Dylan at the time to be able to properly hear/appreciate it). I was able to order Cold Fact in the import section of H.M.V. in Oxford Street, London in the summer of 1999.

I have considered Cold Fact to be one of my favorite albums, and one of the best I've heard for quite a number of years. Coming From Reality, which in the age of the internet took me four further years to track down, appears flawed in comparison, although does have some good songs. There is a lot of mystique around this man. It was believed that he had killed himself on stage. The film is based upon what happened when two white South Afrikaans got together to try to find out how he did actually die. I will not say any more about the films content, suffice to say it has a killer soundtrack, and is a charming and uplifting film. For what is an extraordinary story, it is told without bombast, in a manner that appears befitting of the subject. I would recommend the film to anyone with an interest in contemporary music and/or social change.

In an age of ever increasing banality within music, a long overdue focus is being shone on someone of true talent. As one of my favorites, where for years if I mentioned him to someone I was almost guaranteed that the person I was speaking with would have no idea as to who I was on about, I could not be happier that he is receiving the recognition.

There has been one other documentary film I have seen at the cinema this year that I have been very impressed with and that was 'Magic Trip' (10/10). Yesterday eve I was thinking is this one better, and is it even possible to judge such a thing. I came to the conclusion that although Magic Trip is very interesting, this is a more coherent and uplifting film.

In terms of music documentaries, I would put this alongside 'Buena Vista Social Club' (10/10), 'Don't Look Back' (08/10), 'Under Great White Northern Lights' (08/10) & 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston' (09/10). Though Searching For Sugar Man is more than a music documentary.

It has taken my a bit over a week to get round to writing this. That is at least in part due to the fact that although I very much enjoyed the film, I was aware that I already knew quite a lot of the story (though it still held surprises) and was also aware that as the Cold Fact album means so much to me, that that fact cannot help but flavor how I receive the film. So when it comes to giving a rating, I thought well I could consider it an X, though that could be due to my building up years of bias, and for someone who has no knowledge of him, they could view it very differently.

Anyhow I got passed this silliness, as the only way I can view the film is as a fan.    

Rating: 10/10.
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5 Flawless Films so far this year: 
2 Documentaries: Magic Trip + Searching For Sugar Man
1 French Feature: Goodbye First Love 
1 Turkish Feature: Once Upon A Time In Anatolia 
1 Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises