Late last summer, I started hearing this pretty rockin' track on Radio K--my beloved former place of work--by this fellow Rodriguez. It was something about Haight Street, and it was just the sort of thing you put on mix cds for people who you want to impress with your in-depth knowledge of cult rock figures when you really only know who the artist is because you happened to stumble across him/her on college radio. His album Cold Fact was recently reissued by Light in the Attic and let me tell you, it is full of stone cold hit upon stone cold hit. Practically all the info you'll read about him describes him as "folk rock" which kinda of conjures up images of long-haired women singing about pollution. Or Akron Family. But Rodriguez is way trippier, way more droll, and way more biting than any of that. You want a song where Rodriguez pleads with his drug dealer? You got it! You want a song where Rodriguez rips on rich people? You got it! You want a song where Rodriguez calls you the "coldest bitch I [he] know[s]?" You got it! In spades!! All of it in spades!
Anyways, after being considered a "lost" artist for decades, this dude went on a quest to find him. It seems Rodriguez is a revolutionary figure in South Africa. Check out this website to learn more. It's pretty interesting. But the real news here is that Rodriguez is going on tour. This is awesome!! Unfortunately I can't afford to drive down to Chicago for this, but you know who is? Local dudes and (one of my favorite Mpls bands), Vampire Hands. They're opening the show, which is pretty damn cool. (Once I had a dream about running into Angus Andrew on an escalator--he was going down, I was going up--and desperately trying to find a Vampire Hands cd to give him. In the dream he liked them. I think he would in real life, too.)
05.08.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern
05.09.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
05.13.09 - Washington, DC - Rock And Roll Hotel
05.14.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
05.15.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05.29.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05.30.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
06.01.09 - Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
06.03.09 - Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
06.06.09 - London, United Kingdom - Barbican Hall
06.22.09 - Vancouver, BC - Richard's On Richards Cabaret
06.23.09 -Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
06.24.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
06.26.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
06.27.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
07.12.09 - Liege, Belgium - Le Parc
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