He seemed frail when escorted onstage by two women Wednesday at the sold-out Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. But then he put on his dark-tinted glasses, his floppy black hat and his beige guitar and suddenly he transformed into Rodriguez, musician of mystery, melancholy and that Oscar-winning movie.
"Searching for Sugar Man," which took the Academy Award this year for best documentary, told the story of an obscure Detroit folk-rock singer whose two albums from the early 1970s had somehow made him into a beloved cult hero in South Africa. Two obsessive fans there started searching for the singer, thought to be dead, and not only found him in Detroit but then brought him to South Africa for a series of major concerts in the late 1990s. It was all filmed and eventually turned into a 2012 movie.
It's a fascinating story and a terrific footnote in rock history — that Rodriguez's career was relaunched by an Oscar-honored movie.
And Rodriguez's concert at the Fitzgerald was as winning as the movie. Maybe more so.
Rodriguez, 70, is a star who is masterful at playing the anti-star. With his face framed by long hair and that floppy hat pulled down low, he seemed painfully shy, like the man in the documentary who played with his back to the audience early in his career. Between songs in St. Paul, he was quiet at first, then told a silly old joke about Mickey Mouse, Minnie and Goofy and eventually segued into witty comments and self-deprecating humor.
"I'm a solid 70," he said. "On May 9, I received a doctorate at Wayne State University. [He also has a B.A. from there in philosophy.] I don't know if that means I'm smart — or educated. I want everyone to know that I want to be treated like an ordinary legend."
Perfectly put.
Not only did Rodriguez prove to be funnier than expected but also more musically satisfying than the movie or its soundtrack suggest. While his songs clearly owe a debt to 1960s Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, Rodriguez demonstrated a gift for writing lyrics and melodies, a flair for expressing sadness and sweetness. The guy is unquestionably a romantic (he crooned the Flamingos' "I Only Have Eyes for You" as if it were a jazz standard) even if the heartbreak songs like "Forget It" had more impact.