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Two-fer-one in Melbourne
I managed to see both Melbourne concerts last weekend.
Firstly I didn’t like the warm up act Status Quo, I believe a Australian act would have been more appropriate such as Jimmy Barns, or Inxs. [So you obviously missed Sydney’s finest, Mandrake, who played before SQ… Rasmus]
They opened the set with Pictures of Home, and Don sounded great. He played the parts like they way Jon played them, his organ sound was just the same. I was very happy with seeing him in the band.
They then played Things I Never said which sounded great. It reminded me of a car racing type of song if it had the right lyrics. The down point was Before Time Began this sounded very depressing and bad, not a live song at all. Something like Gypsy’s Kiss or Under the Gun would have sounded much better or even Burn. Ian Gillan sang Hush from another line-up so why not do songs from the Glenn Hughes era? They are all Deep Purple songs in the end. Something like Getting Tighter or Drifter would have sounded great.
Ian Paice was in top from, his work too fast to follow for me. Ian Gillan was in fine voice, Steve was exciting and Roger provided and strong backbone. They were not playing like a bunch of guys in their late 50’s but much rather in their 30’s.
It was a great show but I believe the set list needs some improvement. Perfect Stranges is becoming a nostalgia song for the reunion in 84, and should be dropped. Bloodsucker, Speed King and Fireball, and When a Blind Man Cries never should have been left out.
On the second night they left out Before Time Began which was good and played Rapture Of the Deep which sounded much better.
George Fotis
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing