When Roger Hodgson sings, people listen. They also stand up, clap their hands, sing along, cheer, stomp their feet and scream for more. A packed house did just that and more at the Casino Niagara Event Center last Friday night when Hodgson brought his "Breakfast in America" tour to town. It was an evening filled with the music of Supertramp, the 70s and 80s progressive supergroup, and also included a few choice Hodgson song selections. Even though he hasn't had much recording success since Supertramp, the faithful following of the sweet tenor "head voice" of Hodgson were ready for a rare showing and he delivered more than two hours and 20 songs of pure bliss.

Casually strolling on stage, Hodgson led off with "Take the Long Way Home" and "School" to a thunderous reception by the Casino crowd. He bantered with the audience between songs, mentioning how much he loved the Buffalo area and recognizing fans who came from as far away as Brazil to attend the show. The hits continued with "Breakfast in America," "Sister Moonshine," "Hide in Your Shell," "The Logical Song," and reached a peak with an extended version of "Child of Vision," bringing the loudest applause of the evening. The hits kept coming with "Dreamer," "Fool's Overture," and encores of "Give a Little Bit," and "It's Raining Again."

The musicianship of Hodgson and his backing band went beyond faithful to the original recordings of the night's music. This was an expert group of players, led by Hodgson's masterful synthesizer and acoustic guitar playing. Every song had a life of its own. His five piece band included Aaron Macdonald on saxophones, harmonica, keyboards, and backing vocals, Bryan Head on drums, Kevin Adamson on keyboards, backing vocals, and David J. Carpenter on bass and backing vocals. Hodgson himself played keyboards, an acoustic 12 string guitar, electric guitar and, of course, handled lead vocals.


Hodgson's voice is one of those rare gifts that is instantly recognizable and still in fine form some 30 years after most of the night's songs were recorded. Judging by the crowd's constant positive reaction, Hodgson has many more years of concert success ahead of him.

Setlist:

Take the Long Way Home
School
In Jeopardy
Lovers in the Wind
Breakfast in America
Sister Moonshine
Hide in Your Shell
Only Because of You
Lord is it Mine
The Logical Song
Death and a Zoo
If Everyone was Listening
Had A Dream
Even in the Quietest Moments
A Soapbox Opera
Child of Vision
Dreamer
Fool’s Overture

Encore:
Give a Little Bit
It’s Raining Again