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."
Hope to see Supertramp again in Brazil. "Maybe in November", Rick said.
So long dear friends, Walter Russo
Photos
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97' Tour 
