I had the pleasure of seeing Rodriguez for free Friday night (last night, technically, but I am writing this on Monday). There's not much I can say about the show except to say that the band that backs him is totally competent in reproducing the instrumental genius of Cold Fact and even, in some cases, improving upon the original recordings----like in Sugar Man the normally straight-laced seeming long-haired guitarist with the googly eyes performed a raucous guitar solo complete with hair flailing and tendons in his arms throbbing while he wailed on the tremolo.

The man himself was the Mexican equivalent of Ozzy Osborne, shuffling his feet and wandering across the stage as if partially confused. The band would whisper things to him and grab his arm and point him toward the mic, at which point he'd say something only mostly confusing and laugh at himself ("I don't trust a band that drinks... and I don't trust a band that doesn't drink... heh heh heh..."). The minute a song started, however, he was nothing but a professional, playing each song wonderfully and singing it just as well, as if a day hasn't passed since he recorded his albums in the 70's.

Cold Fact itself is just as great as any of the numerous reviews you'll find on the internet are. Rodriguez' lyrics are relatively simple, and at times near-silly in their simplicity, but you can't deny his natural talent for writing good songs. What really makes the album, however, is the near flawless instrumentation across the whole thing. Every song features not only the hook that Rodriguez wrote into his song, but instrumental hooks and flourishes courtesy of a talented group of musicians you can find named in those aforementioned reviews elsewhere on the 'net.

If you haven't sat down and listened to Cold Fact at least a couple times, you're missing out on one of the best albums out of the 1970's that I can guarantee you've never heard.