Breakfast In Spain - Roger Hodgson and Supertramp website

by Kontxi D. Text and photo

En español a continuación

San Sebastian, June 29

During the short time I reviewed live shows, I always tried to put my heart away, but this time it won’t be easy...

We spent the day in Donostia / San Sebastián (the sun treated me badly) together with Pedro (The Logical Group) and his wife. I love showing my homeland to first time visitors.

It was almost seven when we got to the hall of concerts (Kursaal). The ticket office was already opened but not the doors, so we had a coffee next door and looked at the sea for a while. We came back closer to the time, in my case, to go directly to the desk and buy the DVD I had had in mind for such a long time... Excellent material (and thanks for the dedicatory!!!). They also had cds, t-shirts and signed pictures.

It was a bit after eight when he came on stage, all in white, rubbing his hands before he started with “take the long way home” –in my area!-.

Roger’s first speech:
““Do You speak English? Gracias, muchas gracias for being here and not watching the football Eurocup. We can all cross our fingers now, ok?And when we finish the concert, we’ll go and find the good news”

During these first five minutes, controlling my heartbeat was specially hard, I could almost hear it myself. After 25 years, it was high time... not only could I hear it well (beautifully actually) but also see it fine. That seventh of July, 1983 in Madrid, (Famous last Words tour) my height and the huge distance between the stage and myself made a difference.

After thanking us for choosing him over the soccer match (Eurofinal between Spain and Germany) the show continued, taking turns between his 2 guitars and pianos. “Give a little bit”, that, together with “It’s raining again” are probably the 2 songs I can still hear more often–even nowadays- in local and national radio stations, drew the first big ovation.

In my area, there seemed to be (I say this because of their comments) most nostalgic followers. They didn’t recognise the 3 songs from the solo albums –favourites of mine I must say- (“Lovers in the wind”, “Along came Mary” and “The more I look”) not even “Rosie had everything planned”,from the second Supertramp album, great as well. This ignorance made them say: “I hope he plays the tune from “Informe semanal” (they meant “Another man’s woman”, used long time ago as soundtrack for this Spanish tv show and the way many started to know Supertramp in this country). Absent-minded people everywhere…

Most of the greatest hits could be heard during the night, but, I can’t help mentioning I missed “KNOW WHO YOU ARE”, wow, I hear it while I write and still, it send shivers down my spine.

A few days before, the Portsmouth man (-I must take the “Pride of Bilbao” ferry some day from Santurtzi, it’s just 5 minutes from my place!-) had mentioned in a local newspaper that he would be playing two or three unpublished songs (he finally decided not to). He was probably right. We look forward to seeing them included in his forthcoming live CD anyway.

I guess that, in the same way that the artist likes to know his public’s opinion, and see their reactions (the lights were on after each song), the audience –at least me- we also like to know what his perception is about ourselves. There were a few references, like that in the times of “Crime of the century”, Spanish audiences went crazy, but, he also told us we were very respectful and quiet...

He mentioned that his songs were a reflection of his journey through life and, he hoped they were part of our lives too. He said that, in his early twenties, there was a lot of confusion and that was in his compositions as well.

For the Encore, Roger came happy and said:
“I have good news, Spain is winning 1-0. So you still have your fingers crossed, yeah? Ok, what do you want to hear? You want to hear School? Let’s try school.”

I can’t help mentioning either, that his vocal / musical quality is intact (I had to hear / see it to believe it I must say) and, that there’s a little hope inside me that this “extremely short”, ha ha, show, will have a continuation some time in the future.

Very nice (and handsome) Aaron, who said hello to the audience in Spanish, very correctly I must say, and, he even went out to the street to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

A date to remember...

SET LIST

1 - Take the long way home
2 - Give a little bit
3 - Lovers in the wind
4 - Hide in your shell
5 - Easy does it
6 - Sister moonshine
7 - Rosie
8 - Breakfast in America
9 - Along came Mary
10 - Logical song
11 - The more I look
12 - Child of vision
13 - Lord is it mine
14 - Even in the quietest moments
15 - Don't leave me now
16 - Dreamer
17 - It's raining again
ENCORE
18 - School
19 - Give a little bit

Aunque durante mi corta etapa como cronista musical semi-profesional siempre intenté dejar el corazón a un lado, esta vez va a ser complicado.

Pasamos el día en Donosti (el sol hizo estragos en mí) con Pedro (de Logical Group) y su mujer. Me encanta enseñar mi tierra a los que la visitan, sobre todo por primera vez.

La jornada se hizo corta, eran casi las siete cuando nos acercamos al Kursaal. La taquilla ya estaba abierta para recoger las entradas, aunque las puertas aún no. Nos tomamos un café allí mismo, en Martín Berasategui, y volvimos más cercana la hora, en mi caso para dirigirme directamente a comprar el DVD, en el que llevaba pensando mucho tiempo. Excelente material por cierto (y gracias por la dedicatoria!!!). También había cds, camisetas y fotos firmadas.

Poco más tarde de las ocho, apareció él, todo de blanco, frotándose las manos antes de comenzar con “Take the long way home”-¡en mi lado!- como parece ser habitual últimamente. Durante estos 5 primeros minutos, me costó controlar el pulso, extremadamente acelerado. Después de 25 años, que ya era hora… por fin no sólo podría oír sino también ver lo que pasaba. Aquel 7 de julio de 1983 en Madrid (última gira de Roger con Supertramp), mi estatura y la distancia con el escenario marcaron la diferencia…

Tras el saludo y el agradecimiento por elegirle a él antes que al fútbol (final de la Eurocopa España-Alemania) continuó el espectáculo, turnándose entre las 2 guitarras y los dos teclados.
“Give a little bit”, que junto con “It’s raining again” son los dos temas que más he escuchado en emisoras locales y nacionales, arrancó los primeros grandes aplausos y emociones.

En mi zona había, y lo digo por los comentarios, más nostálgicos de los viejos éxitos que conocedores del trabajo de Roger en solitario. No parecieron reconocer los 3 temas de sus discos en solitario (de mis favoritos, todo hay que decirlo, “Lovers in the wind, “Along came Mary” y “The more I look”) ni “Rosie had everything planned”, de la primera etapa del grupo, preciosa asimismo. Este desconocimiento también provocó el comentario: “a ver si toca la de Informe Semanal” (Another man’s woman), irónicamente la sintonía de este informativo hizo a muchos descubrir al grupo en aquella época…
Siempre hay algún despistado…

La mayoría de los grandes éxitos que hicieron famosos a Supertramp sonaron durante la noche, aunque no puedo dejar de mencionar la falta de “Know who you are”, uf, la escucho mientras escribo y realmente me conmociona.

Pocos días antes, el de Portsmouth –(a ver cuando voy en el ferry “Pride of Bilbao” desde Santurtzi hombre, que vivo a 5 minutos)- había anunciado que tocaría alguna canción aún no publicada (finalmente optó por no hacerlo…) Creo que acertó.

Supongo que, igual que al artista le gusta conocer la opinión de su público, así como su reacción (las luces se encendían después de cada tema) a la audiencia, al menos a mí, también nos gusta saber la percepción que ellos tienen de nosotros. Hubo varias referencias, como que en la época de “Crime of the century” el público español en los conciertos, era una locura, aunque también durante la noche nos dijo que éramos muy respetuosos y “calladitos”.

También comentó que sus canciones son un reflejo de su viaje vital y que esperaba que hubieran ocupado una parte de nuestras vidas también. Dijo que a los veintitantos, la confusión reinaba en su vida y que esto también se vio plasmado en su momento.

Cuando volvió para el BIS nos dijo con una gran sonrisa que tenía una buena noticia….. España estaba ganando a Alemania, así que “continuar con los dedos cruzados”, jajaja.

Tampoco puedo dejar de mencionar además de su simpatía y complicidad que la calidad vocal / musical está intacta (tuve que verlo para creerlo) y que albergo la pequeña esperanza que el para mí cortísimo concierto pueda llegar a repetirse algún día…

Muy simpático (y muy guapo) Aaron, que saludó en castellano al público, muy correcto por cierto, y que salió a la calle a saludar a quienes esperaban conseguir autógrafos y fotos.

Un día para recordar…

The day of the show, it was Saint Peter's day (San Pedro), and what a present !.
I'd like to write a few words about the San Sebastian show and express some of my feelings about it.

I was there with my wife, sitting in the middle of the stalls, listening and singing to Roger's music, that went deep inside me. I had already attended a bunch of Rog concerts, but I would certainly go to every show if that was possible.

The clear sound of the 12 string guitar was amazing, and the piano, and the energy of the singing, and the powerful notes of Aaron's sax, all made me drop some tears of happiness and I could feel my body full of electricity. What an spatial sound!

Congratulations for the delicate playing and thanks for transmitting all those details to the audience.
I'm sure that your music could reach everyone there and made them all very happy.

Pedro.