Roger Hodgson; Borgata Atlantic City, NJ 9/30/11

[jimmy19029]

"It's nice to be able to do some shows down here in the States, my home now", said Roger, just after he came on stage. "Especially in intimate places like this. I feel like you're all in my living room. And feel free to sing along.......At least till the person next to you gives you one of these".......he pantomimed a violent elbow nudge.

It's been thirteen long years since I last saw a Roger Hodgson show. After seeing him do his final tour with Supertramp back in 1983, he didn't tour at all as a solo act until nearly fifteen years later. And even after he started doing so, he very seldom hit the US. Indeed, the last concert of his I attended (at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA back in 1998) had drawn about 20-30 people. That one really had felt like an intimate evening in his living room.

And since that time, he's mostly played exclusively in Europe and Canada, where he's still in huge demand. Apparently, he did slip back into the US to play Resorts here in A.C. three years ago, but I missed it, somehow. Glad he didn't make us wait another decade before returning!

Back in '98, it was just Roger alone on stage singing and switching between guitar, piano and pump organ. I recall an audience member coming up to play drums on one tune and his son Andrew coming out to sing a song, but mostly back then, it was Roger by himself as it was not economical to bring a full band to the States.

Wisely, in recent years, he has decided to add a second player for his jaunts over here. Tonight, it was Aaron MacDonald who added harmonica, melodica, keyboards, synths, back up vocals.......and the all important saxophones that were missing from his earlier solo concerts. Roger explained, "If you're wondering where the band is, you'll be surprised at the sound two guys can make....and all the space, giving the songs more room to breath, more like I intended them to sound originally..."

Most of his best known tunes were offered up, including Take the Long Way Home, The Logical Song, Dreamer, Breakfast in America and Sister Moonshine. Lord is it Mine, a track from Supertramp's Breakfast album, was seldom played back in his days with the Tramp but is now a regular feature in his sets. Tonight, he dedicated it to a fan of his who'd recently sent him a letter indicating how the song had helped him through difficult times. "It's hard to choose which of my songs is my favorite", he explained. "That would be like trying to choose a favorite child. What? You have a favorite child? Well, you shouldn't.....", he laughed as he mock scolded the audience member who told him she did.

London, he said, was about him waking up on certain days and missing some of the things about his birth country and Breakfast in America he wrote as a teen after hearing about the Beatles playing America and dreaming of going there himself one day. He even played Across the Universe in honor of the Beatles and told us of performing it at the infamous Cavern Club in Liverpool in recent years.

One of the other things he did alot of tonight was dedications: Dreamer was dedicated to a guy in the audience who bought FIVE HUNDRED TICKETS to bring along some of his friends (Quite a popular and RICH guy he must be!) and the beautiful Two of Us was played for several couples who were having anniversaries.

Along Came Mary was attempted but abandoned after one line when his one twelve string guitar in the required tuning had a faulty connection. I didn't mind too much as it was played over the p.a. as he left the stage and I'd heard him play it back in '98. And I was very happy he played the WHOLE Know Who You Are this time after likewise abandoning that one back in '98 when he forgot the words.

Yes, quite a treat to see an artist we don't get to see as much. Hopefully he'll be able to do even more US shows in the future.




Take the Long Way Home
Give a Little Bit
Lovers in the Wind
A Soapbox Opera
Easy Does It
Sister Moonshine
Breakfast in America
London
The Logical Song
Lord is it Mine
Child of Vision
Across the Universe
Know Who You Are
Don’t Leave Me Now
Dreamer
Fool's Overture

Two of Us
School
It’s Raining Again