Newsgroups: alt.music.deep-purple
Subject: Hartford CT 11/23/96
From: gillansinn@aol.com
Date: 25 Nov 1996 05:41:56 GMT

     After what seemed like forever since buying the concert tickets, the Hartford concert finally happened! The entire day was amazing, and it went far better than I ever could have dreamed.

     Damien DeSimone, Pete Dickinson, and Steve Lombardo made our way into the city around 2:30. We hooked up with Alex, his friend, and Dana straight away at the Sheraton hotel. Soon after Michael and Jean arrived, and we ended up taking over part of the Sheraton lobby. Kinda strange after all as none of us were staying there! We decided to move along and ended up at a bar across the street from the Goodwin hotel. After having a round of drinks, we moved onto the Hartford Brewery, the arranged place of the pre-show party.

     In total around 40 people showed up. Considering I had told the Brewery to expect about 25, things went very well! My friends were all joking that I was like a kid on Christmas morning, running around from person to person, meeting people that I've been talking to for about two years! It was great meeting everyone, and everyone was totally cool.

     We made our way to the Meadows just as the opening band was finishing up. After picking up our passes (thanks to Colin, Angela, and Michael!) I raided the merchandise booth. Our seats were in the center section, about eight rows back.

     The show kicked off with a great version of Hush. I had my doubt when I heard this was to be the opening song, as in the past they seemed to mostly joke around with the song. Not tonight, Gillan hit everything perfect and Steve gave the song a kick like, well, like he did all the other songs! Fireball followed, it was like hearing two opening songs in a strange way!

     The set highlight were the songs that I actually doubted the most: Hush, The Aviator, and Rosas Cantina. The Aviator was totally amazing and Ian asked the crowd to sit down for it. When Rosa's followed, I thought it might be a dumb move because people would remain seated. Was I wrong! After the crowd heard the grove, everyone was on their feet. It amazed me how much the audience was into it. Everyone was moving to the song - everyone! Speed King and Highway Star were the other main highlights. And yes, Ian did fall off the stage after the show!

     After the show, some of us were able to go backstage. After waiting in a tiny room for about 20 minutes, Colin Hart came in to introduce himself. I've met Colin before, and he has always been a great guy. About 10 minutes later, Steve Morse arrived, and talked forever. We all drifted out into the hallway, and met the rest of the band. Jon left early on, but Roger, and both Ians were around for the rest of the night.

     Roger remembered me from Montreux, and both Ians were great to talk to. Ian Gillan was very soft spoken, but was happy and was glad to pose for pictures and do all the autographs. We thanked Colin and Angela, said bye to everyone, and the evening was sadly over.

     Looking back I can't get over what a great show it was, how cool the band was and how great it was meeting everyone. It was funny being known as Brendan, and just GillansInn to some! I hope to meet up with everyone we met again soon. Concert wise, I'll still be catching both New York shows, York PA, and Asbury Park NJ. To me though, Hartford was a once in a lifetime event that will never happen again.

Brendan Johnston

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"This kind of garbage isn't easy to sell."
                                        - Ian Gillan
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