Having seen DP one week ago in Cologne, the set list was nearly the same in Ravensburg last Saturday.

The encore was extended by a breathtaking version of Speed King including some songs from the sixties, a stunning guitar-keyboard duel and s short bass solo from Roger. Stuff for a live record!

Despite the fact that the temperature in the hall was sauna-like, the band was in a really good mood, playing extensive versions of their songs. Unforgettable evening!

View Helge Andreas Mayschack’s photo gallery from Ravensburg.

Firstly the venue, The excel is excellant!,great place for the motor show,so much roomand the temporary arena was great too,good time to go to the motorshow,late in the evening,no queues,got to do loads of things that you would normally have to wait ages to do,show was on until 8pm..

I saw little Ian wandering around having look at the shiney motors and luckily he was\’nt getting hassled,which must have been a relief for him..not a petrol head myself,but the Alfa Spider fair turned my head,if anyone is wondering what to get me for Xmas,one of them will do!!!
Now the main event.

The arena is in a great setting,planes landing where just feet above the stage,I wondered if our lads would drown out the sound of them,no contest..purps 1 planes nil..

Opening with fireball,they were bang on form from the start,the crowd were with them from the start,with no support band everyone was a purplehead and it did,nt have make a differance,last time I saw them I sat next to a Styx fan who moaned the whole way through!

It was fantastic to hear Wring that neck,sure made my night and another highlight was Perfect strangers,not one of my personal favourites,but tonight is was so powerful and right,I finally got it!..Sifls is a great live track and should stay…

My one critism is Steve could sorta do a differant solo now nad then,what he does is brilliant,but dos,nt vary much,but his playing especially during HS and BN was incredible,Don adding Maybe it\’s because I\’m a Londonder\” to his set and was in top form throughout,Gillan,Glover and Paicey were just there usual incredible selfs, they are a tighter and better oiled unit than alot of of those supercars on show there! and have lasted longer than most of them too!

all in all a great night..

my one worry is London transport,DLR was down into Central London and Something was on at the O2 arena too,there were more people in my tube carraige then live in my Village…god knows how they are going to cope with the Olympics!!!

A very different and refreshing set from the past few years. Started of with Fireball and finsihed with Black night with many favourites in between.

From where I was the sound was great and the boys looked like they were realling enjoying themselves. I even managed to take a few pic\’s. [May we see them? /Rasmus]

A really superb gig, thanks guys.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Deep Purple outside since Knebworth (23 years ago!) and it’s a perfect, warm evening, a nice big stage, beautiful lights stage lights gathering prominence as the daylight fades, and a perfectly balanced sound.

The arena is just a square of tarmac surrounded by some temporary-looking grandstand seating. The crowd must be several thousand — and surprisingly young, with people my age and older a minority. I arrived 15 minutes before doors opened, expecting to make it right to the front of the stage, only to find a mile-long queue already there. But the stage was so ridiculously high that being at the front was probably a disadvantage. So I picked a spot no more than 30 feet back where I had a perfect view and full benefit of the perfect sound. There were big screens at either side of the stage, showing close-ups of the band, but to be honest the cameras weren’t very good at showing the right bits so it was better to watch the stage.

There was no support band and Deep Purple came on at a couple of minutes past nine and played just under one hour forty minutes — not as long as I expected, but Gillan kept the chat to an absolute minimum so they packed in plenty of music. The set was pretty “safe”, but with enough rarities to keep me happy. But anyway, it’s not the songs but what they play between (and within) the songs that matters at a Deep Purple concert, and there was enough of that to raise this concert way above the greatest-hits arena package tours they have been stuck on for the last few years.

Ok, what they played…

The bass-drum roll of FIREBALL opened the show, so powerful that you feel it deep in your chest, the most perfect sound you will ever feel. Ian Paice is obviously the star of the song but the whole band is on top form and everybody gets his turn in the spotlight. The song segues seamlessly to INTO THE FIRE — the full version, not just the token riff they have been playing recently.

Ian Gillan is rationing the screams and there’s a noticeable drop in power on the highest notes but his tone and his delivery is beautiful .I know his detractors are going to be analysing the bootlegs to prove he’s off key, or missing the high notes, or whatever they claim, but you know what? I don’t give a damn. Even if all that is true, and even when he forgets the words, or laughs instead of reaching for a note, or pauses for a breath, he’s still the best live performer I’ve ever heard and there isn’t anybody in the whole world I would rather see on stage right now.

Into the Fire moves straight into STRANGE KIND OF WOMAN, a predictable crowd pleaser, and the whole band looks as happy as we are as they decide it’s time for the first bit of extra-curricular activity — the return of the good old vocal/guitar call and response. But this time it’s Gillan leading it, spouting long lines of nonsense lyrics which Steve “happiest man in the universe” Morse echoes perfectly on the guitar.

The title track of the last album, RAPTURE OF THE DEEP, is next, the Arabic-sounding introduction getting a big crowd response, disproving the theory that the fans are just there for the nostalgia.

MARY LONG (I’m getting the order wrong now, I think) has the whole audience singing along — most of them so young that they can’t possibly have been alive during Mary Whitehouse’s reign of terror!

After a short run through the beautiful instrumental CONTACT LOST, four of the band exit the stage to leave Steve “best guitarist in the known universe” Morse alone for a five-minute solo of great beauty and so inventive it stuns the crowd into open-mouthed silence. Silence broken by a huge roar as he picks out the opening notes of SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING, the rest of the band re-joining him for this, probably the best song in their entire catalogue.

Roger and Steve join in the chorus, leaning in to sing into Ian’s microphone. When, in the middle of the song, Ian apparently discovers a problem with one of the on-stage monitors and wanders off to have a listen to it, they gamely sing the next chorus into empty air until he remembers and runs back to stand between them again.

Another instrumental, a powerful version of THE WELL-DRESSED GUITAR, with Steve “too good to actually really exist” Morse playing the fugue with extra added harmonics, for which purpose I think he probably grew an extra finger especially.

THE BATTLE RAGES ON… when did I last hear this? 1993? It sounds phenomenal, monstrously heavy.

And a huge surprise: WRINGTHAT NECK! When did I EVER hear this live? Never! (Uh… Albert Hall, 1999, Ian Paice’s impromptu jazz orchestra, but that was something different.) It’s a comparatively short version compared with the infamous 25-minute live versions from the 70s, but it’s still a great showpiece instrumental and another really welcome surprise.

SPACE TRUCKIN’, perfectly constructed to give the whole band solo spots and still have good sing-along choruses for the crowd. It looks like Ian Paice is finally going to break into his first full drum solo of the night, but he reins it in and contents himself with just hitting everything in sight for the duration of the song. Never content to play a simple beat, the whole gig is one huge drum solo for Ian anyway.

“New boy” Don Airey (ye gods, has it really been six years?) gets his solo spot. He eschews the organ, instead running through a sequence of half-familiar tunes on the piano, eventually leading the crowd into a sing-along of “Maybe it’s because I’m Londoner”. (He’s not, you know, he’s from just down the road from me in Sunderland.) He finished with a gloriously discordant run through the possibilities of a modern synthesiser, including bass notes so deep that my legs shake and the WHOOSH of air coming out of the speakers makes my hair stand up at 30 feet away.

By some strange alchemical process the solo turns into the opening organ chords of PERFECT STRANGERS and the band appears out of nowhere to join in the highlight of the night. On record, this is probably the most perfect thing the band has ever done. In this live arrangement it takes on a majesty beyond anything else I’ve ever heard, and has some kind of primal energy that has the entire crowd literally jumping up and down in time with the riff. I have no words to describe this experience. It’s awesome.

It looks like Steve is thinking about another guitar solo but he changes his mind after a couple of blues licks and instead launches into The Most Recognisable Riff In The World ™. There is no emotion that can match that of being at a Deep Purple concert and singing Smoke on the Water. It is better than… everything.

There isn’t really much that can follow that, and, as expected, Ian begins the drum pattern that announces HIGHWAY STAR. But instead of starting the bass riff, Roger decides to make up a completely new tune. Steve joins him in the centre of the stage, they face each other, and you can literally see Roger teaching him the tune as they jam together. Behind them, Ian automatically changes the drum pattern to meet Roger’s new tempo, and they’re away, just playing for the fun of it without worrying about the curfew or anything. Until Roger shifts slowly back to the Highway Star riff and the whole band is there with him, as if by telepathy. This is what makes Deep Purple the undisputed best band in the world, and it doesn’t matter who is in the band at the time, it’s something about this unit that makes it greater than the sum of… well… anything really.

And Highway Star is really rather good, Steve Morse soloing like a maniac and Ian Gillan — yes, 63-year-old Ian Gillan, whose voice is claimed by some to be burned out — can still sing all the guitar parts. It’s astonishing. By now I would confidently expect them to turn round and walk across the surface of the Thames just behind the stage.

They are only off for a very short time before they are back for an encore: HUSH. The crowd love it. It’s 40 years old and it still sounds as fresh as a daisy, and the little 8-year-old girl who has been standing next to me all night (on a box!) knows every word. It’s beautiful. Don’s Hammond playing really shines, as it has throughout the show — it’s clearly HIS Hammond sound but it’s equally clearly a Deep Purple sound. Exactly as it should be.

And there’s a drum solo.

Oh my God, at last there’s a DRUM solo. Including obligatory one-handed drum roll. Perfect.

Last song, and Roger plays the intro… it sounds like it might be BLACK NIGHT… yes, there’s the riff… but just as the crowd gets into the familiar chant he waves them off and side-tracks into a bass solo full of power and distortion and intricate runs. The rest of the band leave the stage to him. You can keep your Chris Squires and Geddy Lees and your whoevers, THIS is the best bass guitar player in rock and roll.

And he winds his way circuitously back to Black Night and the band is miraculously there to back him — how do they do it?

The song is a nice, familiar bit of fun to close the show, with Gillan leading the crowd in a sing-along and Steve leading us in a guitar call-and-response.

And…

It’s over. On a superb high note, and while I would love another two hours of the same I know I’m too drained to appreciate it and the band have timed it perfectly.

This is Deep Purple as they should be. Everybody should see this.

Best concert I’ve ever seen.

Seriously, I’ve been to a lot of concerts in the last 12 months, more than ever before, in a lot of different styles, and heard some phenomenal things. I thought no gig would improve on Breathing Space in Hartlepool. I thought nothing could equal the incredible musicality of Ian Pace playing Messiaen in York. I thought nothing would top the emotional thrill of seeing Bryan Josh and Heather Findlay walking on to support Jethro Tull in Newcastle. But Deep Purple in London beats them all on every count. Deep Purple, freed of the arena package tours of the last few years and given room to breathe, are still the greatest rock band in the world, and this was, truthfully and seriously, the best concert I’ve ever seen.

My throat is hoarse from singing, my hands are bruised from clapping, my legs are barely able to move, and as I crunched my way out over the plastic bottles that littered the arena I could only think of seeing them again next year. This is the 31st time I’ve seen the band live and it feels as fresh as 1985 again.

They are still the best there is.

They may even be better.

Last night i went to a very wonderful Concert of DP at EXcel in London. The set list was nearly the same as the DP-Fan from Belgium has written. They started with Fireball and ended with Black night.

This concert was much better than the last one i saw in Germany / Mannheim. I cant agree that Don airy has only replaced Jon Lord. I’am alwys surprised how DP brought their, somtimes nearly 40 years old song, trough time
for example hush.

I wish all DP-Fans that Dp will still rock on.

P.S. hopefully they will release a new cd

Because the other performers at the festival did not interest us at all (Isabelle A, Bart Peeters, Eddy Grant,…) and the Purple show would only start at 23:00, we left sunny Bruges rather late, around 18:30. Due to the returning tourists heading inland from the coast it took us a while to arrive in Tienen.

By huge chance we found a great – free – parking space only 200 meter away from the market square where the festival took place. After changing our ridiculous big tickets (A4) for a wrist thingy, we took a stroll around the square, looking at the pubs (looking for Johan’s favourite brand of beer) and at the young crowd, most were younger than we are used to see at a Deep Purple gig.

With it’s own advantages: thanks to the great weather the view was nicer; although the forecast was not very good: showers were predicted, and this part of Belgium even had some flooding. We even did not pay any attention to which ever band that was playing on stage.

After a while we found us a café where they had a bigger choice than the ordinary pils beers, only to find out that we had to drink our Duvel and Trappist beer in a plastic cup. Disgusting!!! In Belgium every beer (we have over 750 sorts!) has it’s own glass.

The music they played was good: Deep Purple, Golden Earring, Rainbow, and the likes. But the volume was way too low, one had to make an effort to hear some music. So we took a hike to the pub next door. And that was more like it: a hard rock café (not the “real” one!) with beer served in a bottle, and loud music (Deep Purple, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Black Label Society, Whitesnake,…).

To understand each other, we even had to shout. However, when they played Slayer, Throwdown,… I felt too old (I just turned 50, normally I feel like a thirty-something): much too heavy for me and without “real” singing. We spend rather a long time in that pub, once in a while I had a soft drink, because I “drink, don’t drive”! (kind of).

Around 22:15 while Johan had yet another beer, I went back to the festival site; we almost always split up during concerts, to meet afterwards front stage. As always, I bought a t-shirt, this time it was a difficult choice: they all looked nice; the girl behind the counter helped me by choosing one . My wife would be very pleased: yet another Purple t-shirt to my already huge collection! I proudly was wearing my Deep Purple Hub t-shirt (I wanted to wear my Korean Deep Purple t-shirt, but I suspect that my wife washed it too hot – or could it be possible, being a head chef, that I have gained a little weight over the years?)

Although I was quite a distance away from stage (I guess 60 m. As a rule I am in the front rows), I found a good place in front of the TV camera to enjoy the show. Because of the crowd there was almost no room to move, to take pictures or to write. Normally when people see me taking pictures and making notes at a gig, they move over a bit, so I have ample room to do all this things. And yes, while taking notes and so, I still enjoy the concert a lot!
Unexpectedly, at 22:46 Deep Purple already was on stage! Quarter of an hour too soon, but we weren’t complaining, not at all.

The first 3 songs were, as usual,- all performed in one go (Fireball, Into the Fire, SKOW) and, as usual, played rather routinely.
During Ian’s introduction of the next song:

“It is also the title of our new record” someone shouted “Rapture of the Deep”. Ian replied with: “I did not know you were coming.”

By now I was sitting on the fence between the camera and behind me, so I easily could look over people’s head in front of me, however after a while my bum was hurting, as a consequence the rest of the night I was on and off the balustrade. “And now, without further ado I want to introduce Steve Morse”.

Who played a lovely intro to SIFLS. The elder man next to me got tired of sitting on the fence, jumped off, turned his back to the stage, smoked a cigarette and moved oh so subtle to the music. At one moment during the gig, Ian spoke some French words.

Unexpectedly… a big surprise (in opposite to my normal behaviour I had not read any reviews prior to this concert): they played Wring That Neck, and although I am not a huge fan of this song (too jazzy for me; I even disliked it when we were at the London Royal Albert Hall Concerto, 1999) it was great to hear it again. They used it as an intro to The Well Dressed Guitar. Even though most of the audience never heard it before, they liked a lot! “Yeah oh yeah.”

The Battle Rages On. I did not notice anything wrong with this one, but Ian said: “there is always someone who messed it up: Don Airey! I am sorry, I should not have said that.”

His solo was a goodie, a tad more different than his normal one. Perfect Strangers was as usual: grand. However, I still and always will miss the fantastic green laser show they did during the 80’s. Furthermore I will, until the end of time, be connecting this song with 1984 when I read the newspaper that Deep Purple would reform!

“I don’t know if you have noticed it, but there is a split in the sky. It will be gone in the morning.” Space Truckin’. During this one it started to drizzle lightly, I was getting worried because of the shower prediction. Space Truckin’ was a treat, but, as always, much too short. By this time the audience really was awakened, it also was more difficult to take pictures because now the fence was shaking due to the raving masse.

I have known them doing better intro’s to Highway Star. The last years Steve did a swell long intro to this one. So good I often re-listen it over and over again, when playing a bootleg in my car. Maybe he shortened it because this is a festival? Yesterday in Köln they did 1 more song (Mary Long), today there is no drum solo, nevertheless they only shortened the show about 8 minutes. Yep, I already have the bootleg!

A too short intro to the crowd pleaser Smoke on the Water. Without any of his known riff parade. I like the ‘awful noise’ Don nowadays makes when Ian’s sings the lines about ‘the gambling house, it died with an awful sound’. My neighbour thought they started Child in Time! Which reminds me of a colleague at work who claims to be a fan of Deep Purple, he especially likes Stairway to Heaven!!!!

At 23:57 the first part was over, quickly followed by Hush. Part of the intro played by Don Airey was a short “Happy Birthday”. Dunno why or for whom. Black Night was powerful and great, but without drum solo, pity people here could not see his famous one armed solo. At 00:11, It all was over much too soon.

I had the impression everybody was pleased to see and hear the legendary Deep Purple, I heard a lot of good comments. This is one positive part of doing festivals: they always gain new fans. I’ve seen them a few times performing at festivals, and almost every time people are in disbelieve that these old rockers are as good as they are.

And everybody was, on excellent form indeed: Big Ian singing like a rock star (although he can’t reach the high notes no more in Child in Time, but I don’t blame him for that (hey, remember In Concert 1970!) I would errrm…kill… to see and hear this song live again ), Steve being the smiling guitar god he is, Roger bassing and singing away, Don has proved since a long time that he is the worthy successor of Mr Lord and Little Ian drumming like only he can; I think if I would try mimicking him, I would be exhausted after only half a song, if only I have the faintest idea how to play drums.

Because otherwise we had to face the heavy traffic back home, we had another drink at that same hard rock café 😉 On the way my wife texted me Brugge had some serious thunder and lightning. Guess we were very lucky that evening only to have a tiny drizzle! Downside was I only had 3 hours to sleep before I had to get to work.

The next day I saw a positive review on Belgian TV news and the radio was positive as well. I already had a browse through the 862 pictures I took. After a first sift I still have 275. (in Liège 2007 I took 1664 pictures!)

OK,… the sky was black and lighning had been igniting roaring thunder. This must be a Deep Purple concert. After Eddy Grant who tried to do a rain dance, we had to wait for Deep Purple to break loose. Let me tell you that the other parts in the country got their share of pooring cats & dogs. Floodings & lightning struck hit the land but now for something competely different.

Tis line up is so no nonsence that’s it’s again brilliant. OK, perhaps they did not realize that they were playing in a Dutch speaking part of Belgium,… but who cares. They came on stage with a roaring version of Fireball, without the whoooosh and kept on rocking Into The Fire. The crowd in Belgium needs nothing more to sheer Ian towards a higher ground. And he gave all he got,… rednecking. Strange Kinda Woman was a bit over-acted but than he showed with Rapture of the Deep what he’s good at these days. Perfect like the rest of the band. Glover was having a ball.

I asked my son (16) if he could imagine his grandfather on stage, powerplaying like that. I think he felt like the title of his favorite song (Screaming, sometimes,… this time). And Ian,… ah,… he chased away the shadows. The old gods ware mild and whike Belgium was trembling under heavy thinder, sugar city was the eye of the storm. Paice still has the rythm & the musscles to be this bands backbone. Impressive athlete. And than came the Steve Morse solo. yesss.

I believe he found some now fans. Steve, you can wet your chest and stand tall next to the other great Purple Players. Toothpaste Steve respectfully altered the DP classics to his likings and his talent is obvious. And than they played “Sometimes I feel like screaming”. I thought,… my kid will roar now. But he did not move an inch,… his eyes were capturing every detail,… how extasis can calm the kid among a crowd of roaring Purple Fans. All respect for Morse. the kid said: “I did not realize he was that good.” Tommy (bless) & Ritchie are in good company. And The Battle raged on. Wow,… they even started to have fun on stage though Ian seems to have less interest in Glover, but hey,… after more than 35 years,… they need to say nothing to balance perfectly. It’s OK.

Now came the moment for Don with a kinda Lordish church music into Sarabandaisch boogy. Gosh,… hidden behind his consoles, performing great music, but when you get solo time,… impress with what you’re really good at. I wanted to hear Don,… and what I heard made me hungry to read what Lord is doing at the moment. It was a great performance,… but it seemed a solo to please the crowd. Message to Don: Don’t underestimate the Belgian crowd.

The was a time when Ian Gillan was not a member of the band, a time when Glover replaced Nick Simper, when Tommy replaced Ritchie and they all added something new on stage. I am hungry to hear more from you. Make us not forget Lord,… but make us remember you. But hey,.. the sixties space ship lift-off clock-ticking sound was fabulous. Go beyond the special effect and blast it into adrenaline.

Perfect Strangers,… ah,… finally. Purple reborn. Than Space Trucking (make this your song Don) with a damn good Ian Gillan as captain of the ship. he even sang tha high notes alone, no help from Roger. Morse and Glover build a huge wall of sound, better than the original. And Ian Paice got his moment of thunder. Me happy. Finally Ian introduced both Glover and Morse into a duet. Fine fleur of the Hard Rock scene having a ball, lthis is when I said,… damn,.. i must write something in the Highway Star. Breking the speeding sound. The night was not over yet.

Ans Morse gave us his version of Smoke on the Water. See Don,… this is how to do it. Wow,… I admid that for a second I forgot about,… what was the name,.. oh yea,.. Ritchie. (Respect.)

Than they left the scene. We knew that thay would be back because the night was black,… and we were hungry for more. Hush rumbled beatifully as tribute to the old Simper / Evans days,… but it sounded fresh as a cat fish out ot the water. It’s not their song, but hey,.. they were great playing South in the sixties,… and they made it their song. To blow my mind and I’m in so deep
That I can’t eat and I can’t sleep. Thats what being an artist is all about. Black Night closed the evening. Obvious.

One more pint of Belgian Beer.
CU next time guys.
What a great band.

Even your favourite records tend to disappear in the depths of your collection very now and then. I’ve recently rediscovered the excellent solo albums from Deep Purple family friend Sam Brown. These are albums packed with soulful, bluesy, well played, well arranged, well, simply great music from, in my opinion at least, one of the finest singers on the planet.

Since great music has to be looked for these days I decided to search the net to find out what Sam is uip to these days. It turns out she had some problems with her voice but that she is better now and she has fairly recently released a new album. “Of the moment”. A title apparently inspired by fans’ suggestions for a new title. The album is available from Sam’s online store. You can preview a couple of tracks from the album at her Myspace site.

Sam has also been the singer of the band Homespun.

Sure, it’s not hardrock but since some of you are even able to enjoy Blackmore’s Night with a straight face, I am sure your minds are open enough to take this in as well.

Oh, that’s enough YouTube links for now. Just search for Sam Brown, ignore the adult videos, and you’ll find plenty of good music from Sam.

In a report from a Blackmore’s Night video shoot we found the news that Ritchie Blackmore finally is getting married to his band mate and girlfriend since 15 years, Candice Night. The wedding will take place in October and will be held in a castle somewhere.

OK, the sky is black and lightning was igniting roaring thunder. This must be a Deep Purple concert. After Eddy Grant doing a Jimi Hendrix act during his voodoo rain dance, we had to wait for Deep Purple to bring down the house.

Let me tell you that the other parts in the country got their share of floodings & lightning strucks. But now for something completely different.

This line up is so no-nonsence that it’s balanced once again. OK, perhaps they did not realize that they were playing in a Dutch speaking part of Belgium, but who cares. They came on stage with a roaring version of Fireball, without the whoooosh and kept on rocking Into The Fire. Difficult to say if the lightings came from the sky of the stage. The crowd in Belgium needs nothing more to sheer Ian towards a higher ground. And he gave all he got, rednecking.

Strange Kind of Woman was a bit over-acted but then he showed with Rapture of the Deep what he’s good at these days. Perfect like the rest of the band. Glover was having a ball. I asked my son (16) if he could imagine his grandfather on stage, powerplaying like that. I think he felt like the title of his favorite song (Screaming, sometimes,… this time).

And Ian behind the drums… ah! He chased the shadows. The old gods were mild on us and while Belgium was trembling under heavy thunder, sugar city was the roaring eye of the storm.

Paice still has the rhythm and the muscles to be this band’s backbone. An impressive athlete. And than came the Steve Morse solo. Yes. I believe he found some new fans. Steve, you can wet your chest and stand tall next to the other great Purple Players. Toothpaste Steve respectfully altered the DP classics to his likings and his talent is obvious.

And than they played “Sometimes I feel like screaming”. I thought my kid would roar now. But he did not move an inch, his eyes were capturing every detail, how ecstacy can calm the kid among a crowd of roaring Purple Fans. All respect for Morse. The kid said: “I did not realize he was that good.” Tommy (God bless) and Ritchie are in good company.

And the battle raged on. Wow, they even started to show some fun on stage though Ian seems to have less interest in Glover, but hey, after more than 35 years they need to say nothing to balance perfectly. It’s OK.

Now came the moment for Don with a kinda Lordish church music into Sarabandish boogie. Gosh. Hidden behind his consoles, performing great music, but when you get solo time… impress with what you’re really good at. I wanted to hear Don, and what I heard made me hungry to read what Lord is doing at the moment.

It was a great performance, but it seemed a solo to please the crowd. A message to Don: Don’t underestimate your fans. There was a time when Ian Gillan was not a member of the band, a time when Glover replaced Nick Simper, when Tommy replaced Ritchie and they all added something new on stage. I am hungry to hear more from you. Make us not forget Lord, but make us remember you. But hey, the sixties space ship lift-off clock-ticking gig was fabulous.

Perfect Strangers… finally. Purple reborn. The days we realized that the story was not over yet. Next came Space Truckin’ with a damn good Ian Gillan as captain of the ship. He even sang the (just below) highest notes alone, no help from Roger. Morse and Glover built a huge wall of sound, if possible better than the original. And Ian Paice got his moment of thunder. Me happy.

Finally the drums introduced both Glover and Morse into a duet. Fine fleur of the Hard Rock scene having a ball, this is when I said, damn, I must write something in the Highway Star. Breaking the speeding sound. The night was not over yet.

And Morse gave us his version of Smoke on the Water. See Don, this is how to do it. Wow, I admit that for a second I forgot about… what was his name? Oh yeah, Ritchie. (Respect.)

Than they left the scene. We knew that thay would be back because the night was black, and we were hungry for more. Hush rumbled beautifully as tribute to the old Simper / Evans days. It sounded fresh as a cat fish out of the water. They were great playing South in the sixties, and they made it their song. To blow my mind and I’m in so deep. That I can’t eat and I can’t sleep. That’s what being an artist is all about. Black Night closed the evening. Obviously.

One more pint of Belgian Beer.
CU next time guys.
What a great band.