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DPAS
LIVE REVIEWS Deep
Purple Among the best seats I've ever had (4th row, centre right). No bouncers in evidence and the crowd seemed to anticipate a good night. Lights out, bang and they're off. My God it's loud down there! Fireball - great opener, then the usual pattern through to Lazy. Nice intro from Don and the first real chance to make his mark on a keyboard driven song. Not a lot of eye contact between him and Steve yet - is he still looking at the keys to make sure he hits the right notes? Anyway, Lazy comes off nicely - first hurdle cleared. Next hurdle (after Well Dressed Guitar) is When A Blind Man Cries. Excellent. For once I felt that both soloists caught the spirit of the song and the solos fitted perfectly. I've often thought that Steve has overplayed on this one but tonight he was holding and bending notes in a way that matched perfectly, not to ignore Don's intro and solo which just belonged there beautifully. Right, that's the token slow number for the night, let's get things moving again. A wonderful instrumental intro which kept me guessing, and suddenly it's Space Truckin. Great - fooled me all the way - fine version. And next, Don's solo. A short diversion. I decided to read the spoiler on the website and find out how Don and Jon would share, so I was ready for the changeover, which worked wonderfully. But I think the web has a lot to answer for. Because it was the opening night, this is the first time in years that I didn't know what the set was going to be in advance. The sense of anticipation was heightened for me as soon as they opened with Fireball and I knew it would be a different set to last tour. In future I'm going to choose not to read spoilers or look up set lists before I get to my first concert. I would have enjoyed the transition on the first night if it had been more of a surprise, but that was my choice and I'll stick to it. Jon's back. Big cheer, and a majestic Perfect Strangers. Speed King next. This can't be the set closer? It isn't! A lovely instrumental intro to another song and it's… Smoke On The Water. No riff-raff! Great! I think the 'other people's greatest hits' medley had served its time and I was glad to see it gone. Instead, another Deep Purple moment. Improvised? Quite possibly. Each of these instrumental intros differed each night (Space.., Smoke.. and Black Night) and I enjoyed them more for it. Don pops up next to Jon and we have a six piece line up (what is this one? Deep Purple Mark Seven-and-a-half? Mk 9? who cares - it's great to see them both up there enjoying it). And that's the end of the set, or it would be if they would leave the stage instead of standing there waving, shaking hands, handing out plectrums (plectra?) [plectri?!] and soaking up the well deserved applause and adulation. Back on to a lively version of Hush, Black Night, with a lovely instrumental intro, weaving the threads of the riff into the improv to see how quickly you can spot what it is and Highway Star hurtling to the finish line, to leave everyone exhausted and wanting more. Get me home - I need a shower and a cold drink! review: Brian Jackson I was delighted to get tickets for the 2nd row (just centre right in front of Steve Morse's pedals) for my 9 year old daughter to be able to enjoy her first gig in the company of the greatest live act bar none. I have been going to gigs since 1975 and would've given my right arm get tickets as close in my younger days. The Planets were pleasant on the eye again and their set was identical (as far as I can remember) to the February UK tour. A short break to build up some atmosphere and then WHAM! straight into Fireball with all guns blazing. Woman From Tokyo, Mary Long, Ted The Mechanic, & Lazy followed swiftly, and my daughter was standing on her seat rocking & finding out what decent live music is all about. By this stage Steve Morse had already passed her a personalised plectrum, while Ian Gillan pointed and smiled over to her constantly. What a great introduction to live music! Other highlights were Well Dressed Guitar, Speed King, When A Blind Man Cries & Highway Star. Also Lordy's appearance, and the band's genuine affection when greeting him onstage. Downside: I missed No One Came, Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, and Steve's "Riff Jukebox" solo prior to Smoke On The Water. I also felt that the setlist could and should have been more adventurous. Black Night is too plodding and dare I say "poppy" (yes, you may!) whereas it should be done with no holds barred total mayhem as in the encores circa Japan '72. I think it's time Perfect Strangers and Smoke On The Water were dropped in favour of Rat Bat Blue, Flight of the Rat, or maybe even Never Before. One of the best things about Steve Morse joining the band was the exploring of the back catalogue after many years of Ritchie's refusal to explore and vary the setlist. It was a breath of fresh air and such a thrill to experience some of my fave tracks suddenly brought to life live in '96, and I think that they now need to rethink the setlist to keep it fresh and innovative. It's great to see them still genuinely enjoying themselves, Gillan and Morse hardly stopped smiling all night and I must thank them for both shaking my daughter's hand (she was very impressed). Roll on tonight (Saturday) when I journey back to my spiritual home to do it all over again! Miss them at your peril! review: JEE21MTC I drove up to "The Smoke" from Bristol to see Purple for the first time since the 1999 Albert Hall Concerto. I'd been counting the days since the Bristol gig was postponed in March! The Planets seemed like a very tight and accomplished bunch of musicians and were politely received by a hall full of Deep Purple fans of all ages. Was that some of Purple's relatives being shown to seats midway back in the stalls? An explosive start fronted by Gillan and the Cheshire Cat Morse. It sometimes looks like Steve wants to get down with the audience and enjoy the show with the public as well as being up on stage! All through the gig the band looked happy and seemed to be on a roll from the recent German tour. The crowd was loud and incredibly appreciative ....the night had the feel of the great concerts that I attended in my teenage years. One of the loudest cheers came after Don's Star Wars lead-in. The lights dimmed, and as they came back on there was Jon Lord behind the Hammond, wearing a black T-shirt and sunglasses, looking for all the world like a hitman! As we cheered Ian Gillan went back to give Don a hug. Jon had to come back for us and the situation was well handled; Don came back to work with Jon on several numbers and then took full control again before Jon came back for the encore. review: Steve Evans
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