Roger Hodgson
The Talk Of London Nightclub
10th August 2000

'Take The Long Way Home'

I have to admit there are a few perks to doing this little review job - some promo CD's (which range from the dire to the wonderful), and the occasional free concert. But when I received an invitation from Sony to a 'secret gig', and this gig was Roger Hodgson's first UK concert for 17 years, I knew, and was almost able to persuade my wife Julie who came with me ('My God, I've even heard of him!'), that the constant hours spent on 'that bloody computer' are indeed sometimes VERY worthwhile.

The concert, 'by invitation only', was held in a little nightclub located in London's Theatreland. About 150-200 people had been invited to warmly welcome Roger home. 'Intimate' was the watchword, with most people seated around tables and Roger commenting that he felt like we were all just sitting in his living room and backstage was the kitchen. An almost completely solo performance with Roger accompanying himself on guitar and keyboards, it had the feeling of one of those 'Unplugged' concerts that were televised some years ago.

The excuse for the event was the imminent release of Roger's new solo album, 'Open The Door', and this gig was the last of a number of these small launch concerts around Europe. Roger evidently got the idea for them after he watched a Pete Townsend solo performance, loved the way Who songs sounded when stripped back the their basics, and thought he would like to try the same with some of his solo material and old Supertramp numbers.

It was listening to those stripped-down classics that just made you realize how much Roger Hodgson's voice and staccato electric piano style was Supertramp. Sitting there listening to 'Hide in Your Shell', 'Even In The Quietest Moments', 'Breakfast In America' and 'Babaji' was just like replaying the soundtrack of my teenage years. There was a certain magic in the air which I am sure was felt by all present.

During the evening we had two on-stage guest appearances. The first was an Australian quartet (reduced to a trio for this performance) called Fourplay to aid a performance of 'Breakfast In America', and then the producer of 'Open The Door' on harmonica during 'Take The Long Way Home' (which could have been the subtitle for this concert). The marriage of Fourplay's sound to 'Breakfast In America' intrigued Roger so much that he performed half of it again purely acoustically, without his keyboard backing

The old classics were interspersed with tracks from the new album. From what I heard I want to hear more, but there was only one song, 'Death And A Zoo', which immediately felt and sounded good enough to be considered up there with his early best. But you can't review or judge an album on an initial solo performance.

Looking not a day over 35 (has he got a picture in the attic?), I think Roger felt very at home with the casual intimate atmosphere. He encouraged lots of audience participation. At one point he asked 'Anyone here consider themselves a drummer?' which led to one guy playing Roger's new toy - a Japanese electronic 'Wave Drum'. A round of applause to the gentleman who mastered the intriguing instrument first time! And then later: 'Hey, I need some help here - Ray's not here, so can you lot do the backing vocals?' (as if he really needed to ask…).

Telling us some stories behind the songs, he is one of those rare performers that can hold an audience captivated in the palm of his hand and at the same time come over as a long lost friend and all round 'nice guy'. He constantly told us how happy he was to be finally playing at home, and how emotional he was feeling, even admitting to almost breaking down in two numbers. You could see that he was holding back the tears during and after performing 'Dreamer'.

He finished the main set with a 'What do you want to hear?' session. 'Babaji' followed an almost forgotten 'Lady', and the main set finished with the aforementioned 'Dreamer', and much to Julie's delight, 'The Logical Song'.

Three encores followed, and the performance closed with perhaps an unusual choice but a personal favourite, the wonderful 'Fools Overture'.

The great news is that this tour seemed to be Roger dipping his toes back in the water after almost retiring from the business. He announced that he would be returning with a full band to tour Europe AND THE UK later in the year.

A wonderful evening, and even after a few hours' sleep, the memory of it put a definite bounce in my step the next day. We all felt very privileged to have been there - a big thank you to Roger and Sony from BoA.

Ian (Martin, Julie and Chrissie) August 2000.

I'd just like to add a couple of points. First, I didn't realise (or had forgotten) quite how many hummable favourites Roger Hodgson has been responsible for. I thought I'd be in for a night of stuff I'd never heard before, with the odd well-known track thrown in as a sop to the gallery, but instead it was solid gold almost from start to finish (the man knows his audience, that's for sure), and as Ian says, the new material certainly sounds worthy of closer investigation. And second, I was transported back to a night in February 1976, when I saw Supertramp perform 'Crime of the Century' at the Royal Albert Hall. Magic. I didn't have any great expectations before the gig, but in the event I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Go see him when he tours.

Martin