Back to...
German reviews 2002
 

Keyboards Don' in DP style

Finally, after two years, I got to see Deep Purple live again. We drove all the way to Germany to see them again. The Tanzbrunnen is a really cool place for a concert like this. The weather was good, and all the people were in a great mood.

First up were The Planets, a very young band that play classical music combined with rock. It sounded pretty cool, and the audience liked it.

Next in line was the living legend Dio. He had a great mood, and his band was on. They played a combination of his old and new albums, Rainbow, and even played Children Of The Sea from his Black Sabbath period. During Man On The Silver Mountain they added a part of Long Live Rock'n'Roll. Dio let the crowd sing: "long live rock and roll!" over and over again, and then he smiled and said: "No! Long live... Cologne!" which was received with huge applause. Very cool set, great sound, although I think the various solos (drum/guitar) did not fit in really well here. Seeing Dio live again was great

Finally, when Deep Purple hit the stage, they opened with Fireball! A rocking version, but the bass from Roger was lost during the first part, so half of his solo could not be heard. But the sound guys fixed it, and then the whole band sounded amazing.

After playing a cool version of Woman From Tokyo, Ian Gillan joked about the next song, and said: "this next song isn't really about Ted... and he also wasn't even a mechanic..." The crowd cheered, and we all thought they would start Ted The Mechanic, but instead, they all laughed and started to play Mary Long! Great version guys."This iz.... Ted the Mechanic" Ian said, and then they played the song.

A moving version of When A Blind Man Cries was played. Don's keyboards sounded cool. I think Don is doing a great job in replacing Jon. It's not the same, but he is doing his own thing in Deep Purple's style, and that's something I really respect.Great work Don!

The Well-Dressed Guitar made us jump up and down, and it was cool. The next song, I never would have expected to be in the set again: Space Truckin', followed by Lazy. Two great songs, and I had to think of the first time I heard Made In Japan, and finally hear them playing this again... cool!

During the set, Ian sang a bit of an Elvis tune, which was funny. Knocking At Your Back Door was played with much passion, and then came Speed King. The guitar/organ battle was cool to watch, the bass solo was as good as always, and Ian Paice - wow, what a drummer. I play the drums myself and I am also left-handed - and I really respect Ian Paice. They went back into Speed King again after 10 minutes or so, and then Smoke On The Water started. the crowd went wild. Hush, Black Night and Highway Star were the best encores I could wish for.

I had a great night. Deep Purple seemed to really like the audience. During the set, Ian Gillan got pissed off because of some security guys who were standing annoyed in front of the band. He asked them to step aside, and they did. A Deep Purple's show is something amazing, a cool thing. Even when you know the setlist before the gig, it's always a surprise to see what the guys will do with it.

As always, the merchandise was way too expensive, so all I got is a tour book. It's a shame that the fans get ripped of because of the high prices of t-shirts and DVDs... But I had a great night and Deep Purple is still amazing.

Thanks for the great show, good luck recording the new album, and untill next time.

The set:

Fireball
Woman From Toyko
Mary Long
Ted The Mechanic
When A Blind Man Cries
The Well-Dressed Guitar
Space Truckin'
Lazy
Perfect Strangers
Knocking At Your Back Door
Speed King
Smoke On The Water

Encores:
Hush
Black Night
Highway Star

Yuri Beckers, 24 years old

Back to reviews