Live Review: Rodriguez, Archie Roach

Archie Roach slowly and gracefully takes to The Plenary stage among uproarious applause. As silence falls, Roach's recent health issues become apparent with spluttering coughs echoing through the hall. However, the minute the band begin to play, Roach explodes into his trademark gritty croon, sending chills throughout the crowd. Drawing extensively from his latest release, Let Love Rule, Roach and his band blend flawless musicianship and poetic storytelling (with Roach, of course, being one of the country's finest raconteurs). The singer is contagiously affable and balances a delicate intermingling of humour and earnestness, shown so perfectly in renditions of Spiritual Love and Get Back To The Land.

Eschewing any kind of conventional showmanship, the legendary Rodriguez shuffles into the house-lit theatre almost without warning. Accompanied by indigenous elder Auntie Joy Murphy Wandin, the pair perform a traditional Welcome To Country before Rodriguez beckons his band and a rousing audience reaction welcomes Crucify Your Mind. At 74, the elusive singer-songwriter is certainly a little worse for wear: he remains seated for the entirety of the performance and his voice struggles at points throughout, but damn it all if he isn't as raw and powerful as ever. Softly spoken and incredibly gracious, this is an underrated expert of the poetic sprawl - lost to the ages of Cohen and Dylan.

His graciousness, both to the music and the people, is unfortunately completely unreciprocated by this audience. The audacity of many of tonight's punters is astounding: heckling and interrupting as if this is amateur night at a backpackers' open-mic event. Rodriguez remains unfazed and thankful for the support, but clearly the same can't be said of his fans.

I Wonder showcases the singer as his best, the twang of his matter-of-fact lyricism pairing perfectly with his phenomenal flamenco-style guitar playing. "This is a descriptive song, not a prescriptive song," he says of the explosive Sugar Man, before I Think Of You and Establishment Blues round out the collection of favourites. The simple, "Power to the people!" exclamation sends off the night before an encore, perfectly exemplifying the man himself.

Rodriguez, through the stumbles and interruptions, still knows how to put on a show. His voice may fault at times, but his charisma and sincerity never does. Throwing in covers of songs by Elton John, Jefferson Airplane and even Midnight Oil is inspired. It's not Rodriguez in his prime, but it's still undeniably Rodriguez.