97' Tour  

Vienna

Walter's Road Report
    AMAZING!!! FANTASTIC!!!
    The legend definitely continues. Supertramp is built to last -- that's one thing we know.
    I can't find the right words to describe the concert. A real Supertramp concert! God, how can they get better day after day? The concert was perfect. From the beginning to the end!
    They started with some songs from "Some Things Never Change", "It's A Hard World", "You Win, I Lose", "Listen To Me Please", and "Live To Love You". It is hard to believe, but these songs are even better live. When Rick said: "You win, I lose...," the audience went crazy. In my opinion, "Listen To Me Please" was one of the best moments of the concert. Rick's voice is better than ever. It's incredible; his voice never fails.
    And then they played an old classic: "Ain't Nobody But Me." Following this song, they continued with "Sooner Or Later," "Free As A Bird" and the wonderful "From Now On," "Cannonball," "And The Light" and then another classic "Rudy". There were extraordinary visual effects and the traditional train.
    But then came the most fantastic song of the whole concert: "Another Man's Woman". Rick put his heart into it!!! He transformed an old and somewhat lesser known song and made it a concert highlight. FABULOUS!!! Following this performance, John (the traditional frontman) introduced the band members. While he was playing with the audience, his image appeared in the big screen behind the stage. In the end, the image said: "Well John, let's take the long way home." And that's what happened: they played "Take The Long Way Home" (Mark was great in the vocals and the "duel" between Rick's harmonica and John's sax was fantastic).
    Afterwards, another classic was performed: "Bloody Well Right." It was perfect, as usual. Then came the "The Logical Song" and "Goodbye Stranger". The attendance sang and jumped during both songs.
    And then the three encores: "School," "Don't You Lie To Me" and "Crime Of The Century". Could there have been a better "grand finale"? With this final song, the concert sadly came to an end.
    For a guy who saw them before in big concerts: Rio - 75,000 people and São Paulo - 120,000 people, this concert had an intimate characteristic. There were only 3,000 people.
    I realized that every cent I spent to fly from Brazil to Austria was very well spent. You may think: this Brazilian is a crazy guy!!! Yes, I'm crazy about Supertramp!!!
    Friends, they knew how to treat me. Everything about the concert was excellent: the production, the music and the songs. Rick, John, Bob, Mark, Jesse, Lee, Carl and Cliff are excellent musicians.
    Well after this magnificent concert, all I still have to say is that Supertramp is still shining, shining like brand new...
    So long, Walter Russo

Photos

During "Cannonball" John
stopped in front of Walter
just for this picture (05/26/97)
Rick playing "School"
(05/26/97)


Imst

Walter's Road Report
    What's better than one Supertramp concert? Right, TWO SUPERTRAMP CONCERTS!!!
    (...took the long way home...)
    Yes, I left Vienna Tuesday afternoon and took the long way to Imst (almost 8 hours by car). When I arrived there, Wednesday morning, I met John. He was beginning his bicycle ride through the city and, as usual, he wasn't recognized by the people. We talked a lot and he showed me the way to the place they'd be playing that night. He gave me another VIP pass, and then he told me some bad news: the concert that night would be shorter.
    Imst is a beautiful, small city in the Alps, and the place where Supertramp played -- The Talstation Imster Bergbahnen -- is one the most incredible places that I have ever been to. During the concert John told the crowd that Imst was the most beautiful place that Supertramp had ever played.
    So I went up to the hill and arrived at the "Open Air Tent". At 3 pm, the temperature was about 18 degrees Celsius, but when Supertramp arrived backstage, at 7:30 pm, it was near 8 degrees Celsius. When they saw me, John and Rick said "You're probably freezing!!!". So, John lent me his blue coat and Rick gave me his black jacket. It'll be a souvenir forever. The memories of a loyal fan...
    The concert began at 9:40 pm. Unfortunately, as I told you, it was a shorter concert, because of the other artists that had played before them (It was a musical festival). I can't tell you about the others (Edoardo Bennato, Danzer - Baër - Baum) because I was backstage during both concerts.
    Supertramp didn't play "Oh Darling", "Downstream", "Rudy", "Free As A Bird", "Live To Love You" and "Where There's A Will". Other changes at the concert included no movies and no projection effects. It was a very windy place, so projection screens could not be used.
    The concert was nevertheless fabulous. The temperature was a little over 6 degrees Celsius, but they knew how to warm up the audience. During the concert I noticed the crowd's faces (I was in the photographer's booth - in front of the stage). On such songs as "From Now On", "School", "Crime Of The Century", and "Another Man's Woman", I observed a deep passion and admiration in their faces. These were songs that were probably very important in their lives...
    Hits like "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Take The Long Way Home", "The Logical Song" and "Goodbye Stranger" made the crowd go mad. They expressed all the energy that they had been storing up during 9 years of Supertramp absence.
    And it's really not easy for an Austrian to express such happiness... The eight guys were perfect. I don't need to tell you about Rick, John and Bob's qualities. Mark, Cliff, Lee, Carl and Jesse were great too.
  • Mark sang and played the keyboards and guitars very well;
  • Lee is simply fantastic!!! His solos and duos with John were one of the best parts of the concert;
  • Cliff and Carl are perfect. Carl suffered an accident one day before the concert. He almost broke his fingers in a car door in Vienna. Even with an injured hand, Carl played the solos on "Ain't Nobody But Me" and "Goodbye Stranger" wonderfully. Rick congratulated him during the solos...
  • Jesse is a nice guy and he is a very good percussionist too. Backstage, Bob noted, "In a few years he'll be better than I am..."
    Well, a long time ago, a guy by the name of Sam (Stanley August Miesegaes) said: "Supertramp is the sublimation of my musical soul."
    And I agree with him.
    Hope to see Supertramp again in Brazil. "Maybe in November", Rick said.
    So long dear friends, Walter Russo

Photos

Rick playing "It's a Hard
World" (05/28/97)
John during "From Now On"
(05/28/97)


Austrian Tour Song List

    Vienna
    Libro Music Hall, Mai 26, 1997
    01. It's A Hard World
    02. You Win, I Lose
    03. Listen To Me Please
    04. Live To Love You
    05. Ain't Nobody But Me
    06. Sooner Or Later
    07. Free As A Bird
    08. From Now On
    09. Cannonball
    10. And The Light
    11. Rudy
    12. Another Man's Woman
    13. Take The Long Way Home
    14. Bloody Well Right
    15. The Logical Song
    16. Goodbye Stranger
    17. School
    18. Don't You Lie To Me
    19. Crime Of The Century
    Imst
    Talstation Imster Bergbahnen, Mai 28, 1997
    01. It's A Hard World
    02. Ain't Nobody But Me
    03. Listen To Me Please
    04. Sooner Or Later
    05. Cannonball
    06. From Now On
    07. Another Man's Woman
    08. Bloody Well Right
    09. And The Light
    10. Take The Long Way Home
    11. You Win, I Lose
    12. The Logical Song
    13. Goodbye Stranger
    14. School
    15. Don't You Lie To Me
    16. Crime Of The Century


  Home    88' Tour    97' Tour    Biography    Discography
  Wish List    Fan's Gallery    Roger Hodgson    Links