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

Selina's concert review

Just got back from the DeepPurple gig at Selina's in Sydney. Bloody fantastic!
Selina's is a small venue with standing room only. Gigs at places like this are generally more intimate and atmospheric than big stadium concerts and this was no exception.
The guys changed the set list around for this one. They added full versions of "No One Came", "Rosa's Cantina", "Seventh Heaven" and "Into the Fire". Gone from the set were "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming" and "Strange Kind of Woman". Jon and Steve also shortened their solo sets. The order that songs were played also changed. The result was a gig that lasted for around two and a half hours.
The vibe was amazing. The crowd and band were just feeding off each other.
A highlight was when big Ian left the stage and joined us at the front during "Smoke". He gave the mike to some girls to help sing the chorus. When it was time to get back on stage, he had to get an assist from a bouncer.
Ian also spent some time sitting down at the front of the stage chatting away and shaking hands with people. At one stage a bouncer was trying to take a camera away from some guys, Ian interjected and let the guy take photos.
Ian has also perfected his kookoburra imitation. He used it to great effect during his guitar/vocal duel with Steve. It was good to see that Steve was sampling the local brew, good old VB (Victoria Bitter). He had a grin on his face the whole night so he must have been enjoying it.
At the beginning of "Speed King" big Ian and Jon were mucking around and having a laugh. After a while it looked like they were going to launch into some old number like "Peggy Sue". Paicey must have seen it coming as he quickly jumped into "Speed King", almost catching Jon and Ian out.
Oh yeah, and there was no antique admiral's jacket.
Guys, thanks for putting on an extra and superb show! Hope you come back soon.

David Costello


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