Rodriguez (w/ Tim Bovaconti) @ Massey Hall (Toronto, ON) on September 15, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

Legendary singer-song writer Rodriguez was in Toronto on Friday night at a totally sold-out Massey Hall, with Tim Bovaconti and his band starting things off with a solid performance.

I have to admit , I wasn’t very familiar with the opener and local Toronto musician. When I did a little research and read his bio…Wow! Quite an impressive repertoire of amazing bands this musician has performed with: Ron Sexsmith, Burton Cummings, The Kelele Brothers, Leonard Cohen, Kim Stockwood, The Sattalites, Jason Wilson, Fergus Hambleton, Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention), Dick Gaughan, Strato-Chief, The Supers, Andrea Koziol, Shonen Knife, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lost Dakotas, Bob Egan (Blue Rodeo), Andy Kim (“Sugar,Sugar”)….

After a brief intermission we had a special performance by the daughter of Rodriguez, Sandra Rodriguez Kennedy.

Then it was finally time for the man everyone was here to see… Rodriguez walked on stage to a standing ovation from a full house of… let’s just say extremely exuberant fans. It was a very intimate performance. Rodriguez had his entire band with him and always took time to interact with the fans between songs. With a different hat for almost every song, Rodriguez thrilled us with all of his hits.

If you’re not entirely familiar with this pioneer of the “peace, love, and groovyness” era, I recommend you check out the documentary Searching For Sugarman. It really is a fascinating story.

Rodriguez’s Set List

01. You’d like to admit it
02. Only Good For Conversation
03. Your Song (Elton John cover)
04. I Wonder
05. Crucify Your Mind
06. Climb Up On My Music
07. Inner City Blues
08. On The Street Where You Live
09. Dead End Street (Lou Rawls cover)
10. Sugar Man
11. Somebody To Love (Jefferson Airplane cover)
12. Street Boy
13. I Think Of You
14. Light My Fire (Doors cover)
15. Forget It
16. Like Janis
17. Somethings Got A Hold On Me (Etta James cover)
18. Love Me Or Leave Me
19. I’m Gonna Live Till I Die (Frank Sinatra cover)