By Rosine Alleva & José Oliveira – Rock At Night EU Editors
COCK ROBIN – MURRAY HEAD – SUPERTRAMP’S ROGER HODGSON
Triple concert for a nostalgic and hot summer night. Peter KINGSBERY, seemed to be playing “at home” He’s actually sharing his live between his native America and Alsace where he lives right now.
Two local musicians : Didier Sturb the drummer and Stéphane Bonnaci, the guitarist, are now part of this new COCK ROBIN line-up.
Beginning with a few titles from his new album “Homo Alien”, which will be released begin 2020, the public was receptive but was waiting for the hits that made the band famous. It’s exactly what happened with “Just Around the Corner” first notes.
This was true at the first “Just Around the Corner” chords. The musicians form an efficient sound and resolutely modern sound coating.
The magnificent voice of Coralie Vuillemin fulfills totally the one of Anna LaCazio, Cock Robin’s first partner of the aventure!
The current was going well, the audience was swaying on the guitar riffs.The crowd was feverish.
Particularly popular in France, COCK ROBIN appeared in Europe in the early 80s, through two highly successful titles “The Promise You Made” and “When Your Heart Is Weak”. And it is precisely with his two titles that the group has concluded his set.
Let’s say it immediately, it was the big winner of the evening! Already at the Press Conference , MURRAY, was very talkative and politically connected.
Does he feel more French or English? “I do not have a nationality. I have the left leg in England, the right leg in France and the balls in the Channel !!! It’s often very uncomfortable “(laughs)
Boris Johnson and Brexit: “You can’t imagine how difficult it is. I have nothing to say to these people. You, the French, have always had this spirit of revolt. Not the English. But we keep hope. The clock went so violently to the right. Maybe at some point he will come back to the left or even to the center. For the moment, we do not know it »
Engaged songs: “Before, in Bob Dylan’s time, they carried weight. Today it’s useless. We must find another way to shout”
The Live: “For record companies, it would be necessary that the concerts are the exact retranscription of the songs in studio. This prevents magic. It’s like learning to jump chips; they are put in a box with a lid, they bump but after three weeks, they learn to jump always in the same way to stop hurting themselves”
His tubes: “I only have two. So if I only play that, my concert will only last ten minutes! SAY IT IS NOT SO was a political song. They took it as the slow of the year because it lasts longer than the others. Extra to flirt. People still come today to tell me that they conceived their child while listening to it… ”
Woodstock 50: “Oh! It’s good not to forget this momentum of protest but the spontaneity will not be the same! The future belongs now to the continents, to China, to America, to India, to the great masses. They are the ones who will dictate our future. It is quite clear that we are small and that they hope to break Europe. At the same time we are confronted with a sort of immobility from the journalists and we wonder why this silent attitude. Besides, nobody listens to them”
The generational shock: “My generation has always cherished its children. This has given children who do not want to leave their home. I do not have much in common with my parents, nor with my children. Young people become more cynical, sooner
Smartphones: “The people who spend their concert filming the artist, it’s unbearable. This prevents energy, sharing between the artist and the public. So, I ask everyone to turn on the phones in flashlight mode, like lighters. After five minutes, they have no battery “(laughs)
On stage, MURRAY HEAD was in great shape, at all levels – voice, humor, physic. Singing in front of 10,000 people gave him an immeasurable joy. Between each song, he dialogued with the public and his political conscience is never far away. MURRAY HEAD pointed at contemporary populist excesses but stubbornly refuses to give in to discouragement. He is a great optimist.
His set was a great success. He even took the luxury of walking in the middle of the audience, while performing his mega hit “NIGHT IN BANGKOK”. The conquered public greeted the jubilant set, coherent with his image! Super performance!
SUPERTRAMP was a sound, an attitude, almost 100% hits with two leaders (Roger Davies and Roger HODGSON) singers, guitarists, composers and charismatic pianists.
After travelling the planet in the 70s, the two musicians decided to split and everyone went on the road, interpreting his own songs, even if some legal mishaps had to be settled.
Forty years later, Roger HODGSON started the “Breakfast In America 40th Anniversary Tour” and Colmar was one of the stops in the main European cities.
He entered the scene almost on the sly. Looking at an overflowing “shell”, very astonished that the miracle is still working after all these years! “These songs all have a story, but some could have been written today. And you are always there. Thank you! ”
The visual on stage did not have the pomp of the great time SUPERTRAMP but California was indeed present, thanks to some palm trees placed near the piano. Nothing is better than when you expect exactly what happens. A show that immediately puts the good mood and invites the 10,000 souls present, to dance under the mirror ball Roger HODGSON.
On this beautiful summer night, the hits were scrolling at high speed…Old and new generations sharing such a good time and keeping Supertramp’s flame burning.
“Take The Long Way Home” and “School” open the ball/the show. That rotation continues through “Breakfast in America” and “Hide In Your Shell”. From piano to guitar, Roger also knew how to set back to let his musicians breathe. Especially the new recruit, DINO SOLDO, a brass virtuoso, who previously played in LEONARD COHEN’s last world tour.
“The Logical Song”, “Dreamer” and “Give A Little Bit” set the house on fire! The crowd turned into a choir.
José- “ I understand better why I embarked myself in the role of “Manager” with TIME TO TRAMP. One of the best SUPERTRAMP Tribute bands, who after playing in the beautiful Casino Estoril in Portugal, is preparing to return for two concerts in Spain, planned soon”
If there is anything to say about that evening, it’s that SUPERTRAMP’s music will always be with us!!!
Thanks again to everyone from the Festival: Christophe Crupi, Claude Lebourgeois, Stéphanie Juen and the rest of the team. See you all next year!!
PHOTO GALLERY
I was born in Portugal and lived the Sixties exploring the great UK Rock magazines: "The New Musical Express" and "Melody Maker". Ray Charles and Pat Boone were my father’s fav. I became “The Great Pretender”. Cliff Richard was our Elvis Presley. As a beach boy, with my first guitar, I met a beautiful French girl on the beach! It was the Summer of 69!! We got married and rock music was our dowry. In France, I became a Wine Genetic Research Scientist. One of my works contributed to the decoding of the genome of the vine! As a rock journalist, I’ve worked twenty years for the Portuguese and Brazilian Rock Press. I ‘ve interviewed so many great artists. Then, one day I met FRANK ZAPPA! I got into trouble for introducing my wife to "Uncle Meat"!
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