[ d e e p P u r . p l e ) The Highway Star

DEEP PURPLE, STILL THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD.

Hello fans everywhere,

I went with some friends to the Deep Purple concert "Concerto for Group & Orchestra" in Rotterdam. The concert we experienced was one of the best concerts I ever saw by Deep Purple (and I have seen a lot in recent years). It all began with Miller Anderson: Superb. Then there was our friend Ronnie James Dio with some good songs, especially "Sitting In A Dream" and "Love Is All". What a sound with the orchestra.

Then there was Deep Purple. The show could begin.

Jon Lord/Ian Gillan/Roger Glover/Ian Paice and last but not least Steve Morse were better than ever. The music and the sound were alright. At first they played several rock songs like: "Ted The Mechanic", "Fools" (I had almost forgotten this song), "When A Blind Man Cries" (with the orchestra - one of my favorites), "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming" (fine intro) and "Pictures Of Home".

After the introduction by Ian Gillan they played the "Concerto". Deep Purple and the Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra is a fantastic combination. It was fantastic, superb (IG), excellent. Deep Purple was great, but there was one man I want to name: Steve Morse (Blackmore couldn't do it better, says 'Blackmore Fan' Jetze Bekius). I only have one critical point: Why didn't they play the "Second Movement" with vocals from Ian Gillan? I was a little disappointed about this. Maybe some of the audience were too noisy during the more silent parts of the show. They didn't come for the music (that's what Deep Purple's all about) but for the party (let them go to for example Status Quo).

The end of the show was almost there: "Perfect Strangers" (a perfect live song) and "Smoke On The Water". The roof was almost blown off the Ahoy. And ... They returned for the final (Jon Lord promised us at the beginning: We will send you home deaf, so they did).

I forgot to mention the Back Street Girls. They were amazing.

We yelled for "Black Night" and conductor Ian Gillan let us sing together and finally there was "Highway Star". This was the end of a great evening. Hearing and seeing Deep Purple from 20.00 to almost 23.00 hour. I hope they come back soon to Holland, Belgium or Germany.

Jan Jetze Bekius


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