Alte Oper ~ Frankfurt, Germany ~ May 7, 2013
 

Thanks for the concert yesterday in Frankfurt. I drive 700km for see you in Frankfurt. BRILLIANT! I see 3-5 concert from you in the year if i can. BUT this concert was the best I have ever seen before best sound best voice best songs. Very very thanks. See you in Bochum again...hope with the song Babaji ~Stephan Wohlgemuth

Beloved Roger, How wonderful to see you and your people in such a good mood in Frankfurt / Main. I always love the concerts in your living room! Thank you so much for this beautiful evening. Love you ~Videh

Thanks Roger for this awesome concert in Frankfurt/M. It was a great evening! ~Carola

Thank you again for an unforgettable evening in Francfort. We will never forget, what you and Linda did and do for Tristan. Not only inviting him for the concert. You really gave us the feeling, that you are involved in his situation. It means so much for him, visiting concerts, playing music, meeting you.... I'm sure, that music and your music gave him also power to finish his momentary situation in a good way! We will never forget about that and it's good to know you Always yours, ~Thomas and Tristan with the Family


Thank you for a wonderful evening at Frankfurt. ~ Christiane Jovi

it was a wonderful evening again with you Roger & Aaron, my 6th, always a pleasure !!! All the best wishes ~ Marion Herschberger

Thank you for this wonderful evening. I'm still fascinated and enthusiastic. I have long not seen such a beautiful concert. Roger, you were wonderful and Aaron, you're amazing Aaron, you're a virtuoso. Breakfast in America was one of my first LP and you have made me very happy today. And next year I will bring my LP, and I hope an autograph on her ~ Cornelia Garber

thanks for the great concert in Frankfurt, it was an awesome evening!!!! ~ Carola Feix

~

New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Frankfurt, ...

The big cities are always quite special locations when it comes to Roger's concerts. As for Frankfurt, it is one of the five biggest cities in Germany and it is situated on the Main (pronounced Mine) river - or to play on words a bit: on the Main stream. A lot of what you get here in Frankfurt is just that: mainstream but if you are lucky, you will get a lot more than that. It's just the same with Roger Hodgson. You cannot deny that there are certain aspects of mainstream here - you can't sell more than 60 million records and have your hits played on the airwaves for almost four decades and not be labelled mainstream. But, boy, if you take a closer look, there is so much more to Roger Hodgson than that. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with mainstream - we're all swimming in it, floating with the current to a certain extent. But for me, I love it when magic happens and when mainstream is left behind - moving on to the endless possibilities of the ocean. And that's what always happens during Roger's concerts. Even his mainstream hits become waves in the ocean taking you to new shores.

It never ceases to amaze me how much Roger cares for his fans, how he sees the good in everyone and how his concerts are always journeys of the mind and growing experiences - at least my husband and I always get to hear from people we regularly meet at concerts, how our nine-year-old son has grown since they last saw him --- forgive me the pun, I just couldn't resist.

Seriously, I always wonder about how Roger does it. How does he always choose the perfect songs (which sometimes even requires him to change the setlist halfway through) to exactly hit the nerve of an audience of more than 2.000 people? In Frankfurt, we had a bit of a "more solemn" setlist. There was "Say Goodbye", there was "The More I Look", "Don't Leave Me Now", "Rosie", "Lord is it Mine" and there was a spontaneous change: "The Awakening". Most of these songs had me in tears and the growing experience is once again a tremendous one. Judging from the audience response, Roger got it all perfectly right to fit the "collective mindset" that night.

Roger and Aaron are simply fabulous, there seems to be an understanding between the two that is beyond words and some of my favourite moments during the shows are when they smile at each other. But Roger is not only Aaron's musical mentor, Roger is, as he keeps jokingly saying, also Aaron's professor for German and last night all of us could hear what a great job the professor (whoever he or she may really be) has done over the years because Aaron surprised the Frankfurt audience by telling us about his relationship with Roger and how it feels to play for us - in flawless German!

The bantering was not limited to the stage, though. Roger always communicates with his audiences and sometimes he loves to tease us as well (which I simply love). It's also a certain risk that he takes but that makes things just more thrilling... Some "teasing-episodes" from Frankfurt: Right after the opener "Take the Long Way Home" Roger was presented with a couple of roses. He put them onto the piano, where there was already a huge bouquet of flowers (in a vase, I should add), a gift from the venue/promoter. Roger then played "Give a little Bit" which had some massive singing along. When the song was over, he put his 12-string down, then walked over to sit down at the piano to play "Lovers in the Wind" but while the applause was still roaring for "Give a little Bit", I could see that playful sparkle in Roger's eyes which may imply that something totally unexpected is going to happen next. And it really did. Roger got up once more from his piano chair, took the huge bouquet of flowers - including the vase and gave it to the lady who had presented him with the roses before. But, no need to worry, the venue/promoter got their vase back in the end - sans the flowers, of course!

At one point, someone from the backrows yelled a question at Roger. The man asked: "How old are you?" but Roger did not get it at first and asked back: "Pardon?" (yes, he simply does things like that!) and so the man got the chance to rephrase his question into: "How young are you?". This time Roger got it and answered: "32!". The audience and Roger himself chuckled about that and finally he said: "I believe you're as old as you feel." which caused quite some applause. I love how Roger kind of not answered but at the same time more than answered that question. Not sure if the man who had asked the question was totally satisfied but if he still insisted, I'm sure that someone sitting next to him was able to give him that unimportant figure...

This story later caused Roger to state that he "only gets that from a German audience" and how he loves German audiences in general. He told us that we should not be so harsh on ourselves and instead see the good aspects in ourselves as well and he added that Germans never can do a thing badly. Being a German myself, I finished that last sentence by saying to my husband that this may be a blessing or a curse and in the end we agreed with Roger to concentrate on counting the blessings...

Thank you Roger for playing all of those songs for all of us who needed them so much at this particular point of our journey. We're very curious to discover the setlist the next concert will bring - far away from the big cities and out in the open!

~

Nearly 8 month were gone, since we saw Roger and Aaron last time performing in the L’Olympic in Paris. Early this year we used the chance to get some tickets for the announced show in the "Old Opera” in Frankfurt on 7th May 2013. A wonderful location for an intimate concert with a fantastic acoustics inside. You can’t compare it with any other modern venue. That would be the third time we would join Roger there so we did knew, where the best places will be. On the one hand with a perfect view on stage and on the other hand getting a nearly perfect acoustic. Not row 1 to 3, ‘cause you won’t get the full sound from the bigger loudspeakers hanging left and right beneath the stage, but only from the monitors in front of it. So it’s better to get row 4 to 6. So we decided buying ticket for row 5 in the middle. And it was a good decision. After starting at home in the afternoon (it was raining), driving 200 km to Frankfurt, we reached the well known parking under the "Old Opera” at 16:30 p.m. while the sun was shining. J We shortly got in contact with some friends who were listening the sound-check inside the "Old Opera”.

The time flew, and at 19:00 p.m. the doors opened. Lots of people rushed into the venue. There were young children, maybe 10 years old, and older ones … 50 and above.

Inside the "Old Opera” there was a magical silence, like in a church. People were talking to each other, but quite. And we could recognise, that there were a lot, which did join Roger at this place not even for the first time.
 

19:55 p.m. … 5 minutes ‘till the show should begin, the "Old Opera” was full!!! Maybe 1 or 2 hands full seats seemed to be without owner. J The audience began to clap and shout … Louder and louder …

And then it happened … as I remember, for the first time since I visit Rogers shows all over Europe, Roger came on stage without any announcement …!!! While he was smiling all over his face he could see the first "standing ovation” before he played only one simple tone!

He started – as so often – with "Take the long home” … what else? ;-)

He came back to his beloved Germany. It was his first stop, right here in Frankfurt, in Europe during his Breakfast in America Tour 2013. And he couldn’t have chosen a better place!!!

From the first moment ‘till the end of his show (2 and a half hour and a little bit more) it was simply entertainment the way it couldn’t be better. He played his classics, "Breakfast in America”, "Dreamer”, "The logical song”, "School”, and, and, and … and some rare diamonds like "Rosie had everything planned” or the not recorded "The awakening”! During each song he interacted with the audience that kind, as if he would sit with us in our own living-room. Very kind, funny, joking, just like friends. And Aaron, he is not even more only a "sax-player” on Rogers side. He is now playing for about 9 years with Roger. And man!!! He is a genius that way Roger is. Both together are so special. SUPERTRAMP? What is SUPERTRAMP? Roger and Aaron – that combination – is more than only perfect. It is like a miracle. I think, there is a very special relationship between both, that make this kind of music, both play, that way possible. When you compare the gigs over the years, you always discover some new fine differences in each song, making ‘em more interesting, more delicate, very loveable. It’s gorgeous!

After Roger played the first accord of "Dreamer”, all the seats in the "Old Opera” could have been removed. There was no need for anymore until the end of the show!!!

All were dancing, singing, clapping … sometimes even louder than Roger was singing. But … as so often you visit one of Rogers shows … the time with him and Aaron passes to fast. Can’t wait to see and listen Roger and Aaron again. Next time in London at the Royal Albert Hall. Can’t wait!!!

Thanks so much for your music and friendship.
Gregor and Gabi
 

Photos by Echo-Live.de
 

 
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