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

A Dane in Hamburg

I drove down to Hamburg with "Karsten's Deep Purple Bus Tours". It was great, me only 17 years, with all those 50 years old Deep Purple fans, who could still drink a lot of beer.

We arrived in Hamburg at 17:00, the show were planned to start at 20:00. So we had a little time in downtown Hamburg, and spent it looking for a McDonalds. We didnīt find any, and suddenly it was 19:30. In a rush we went to the CCH, where Deep Purple should play.

At 20:00 we sat and stared at the stage, we could actually go down and almost touch Steve Morseīs guitar. The time flew away, but Deep Purple didnīt come. At 21:00 with almost an hour of delay, we got the message, Deep Purple were late because of a car accident on the autobahn.

But then they showed up, with the orchestra. Jon Lord came in with Glover and Paice. Lord introduced the musicial pieces which he had written. The orchestra started, and then suddenly Ian Gillan came in. "Oh my god, heīs thin, oh my god itīs NOT his voice! Oh no itīs NOT Ian Gillan." We thought that he just wouldnīt show up because it was mostly Jon Lord's music. The thin guy was great, yeah, but at my first Deep Purple show ever, I just wanted to see Gillan. [Have you never heard of Ronnie James Dio??? Ed.]

But after three songs, Gillan did show up. And they played both Deep Purple classics, and the new "Purpendicular" stuff, but not much from "Abandon". Steve Morse was great, but not too loud, actually I think it would we better if they turned the volume knobs from 5 to 10, not only Morse, but all of them.

I canīt remember the set list, but I do remember "Smoke On The Water", "Wring That Neck", "When A Blind Man Cries", "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming", "Perfect Strangers", and a lot of Lord's stuff.

A really great concert. I have been to Michael Jackson, and a lot of local bands, to festivals and so on, but this was the best. I can not compare to any other Purple gigs, since this was my first (but won't be my last). One final question; How long will they last? 31 years. Amazing!

Simon Rabenhøj, Denmark


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