Roger Hodgson ~ Friday 3rd August 2012 ~ River Rock Casino, Richmond, BC, Canada.
The River Rock is a really nice venue with not a bad seat in the house, seating about 980 people. The staff are very friendly and cheerfully show you to your seat. The only thing that I didn’t like was that the audience is allowed to bring their drinks into the show and while the show is on there is a constant stream of people leaving and returning to the auditorium with more drinks or after a washroom break, but I suppose that is one of the ways the casino makes their money. 
This evening the voice of Supertramp ~ Roger Hodgson plays solo with his new band on the Breakfast In America tour and the band takes to the stage first followed by the man himself to great applause and there is a lot of love inside this auditorium for Roger tonight!
Straight into “Take The Long Way Home” followed quickly by “Logical Song” and the audience are standing up on their feet already with sideman Aaron MacDonald a Canadian from Ontario impressing on both Harmonica and Saxaphone. As a couple arrive late and are taking their seats Roger chips in lightheartly with ‘Your late, you have missed the best songs”
Every song is a classic tonight for the audience and I watch the girl in the pink dress at the side of the stage who danced the whole night away and knew all the words to such songs as “Hide In Your Shell”. Roger talks to the audience and tells them that ‘ Music holds memories like nothing else and you have to hang onto your love especially in this world today’ This man is loved and gives out a lot of love himself and comes across as a geniune person. By “Breakfast In America” the audience are back on their feet again.
One song which I had not heard before and which appeared on his 2000 solo album release “Open The Door” a song called ” Death and the Zoo”. has great lyrics and was one of the highlights of the show for me as the song is not so well known.
The band are really cooking now and have a great groove almost slightly jazzy in places and the audience hits a high point as they delivers the classic “It’s Raining Again” & “Dreamer” and Roger and the boys leave the stage and come back for a roaring encore version of “Give A Little Bit”.
When you listen to the words of “Give A Little Bit” you see that Roger Hodgson is a man with a gentle soul and thinks about other people , the state of the planet and is a happy man within himself and everyone who was at the show went home happy too! Rock On Roger.
Website : www.rogerhodgson.com
Roger went to school with Richard Branson.
Supertramp was A&M Records biggest selling artists along with The Police.
Born in Portsmouth, England ~ Roger now lives in California. 
In 1987 Roger broke both of his wrists and was told he would not play music again.
All time favourite band : Norwegian band Secret Garden
His first recording session featured Reg Dwight (Elton John) on piano.
Thing he misses the most about England ~ the humour.
Frankie Neilson.
British Beat Merchant Blog 