THURSDAY, JAN. 29

    DP in Hollywood is everything I thought it would be - powerful and memorable. After settling into our hotel (which is a separate story in itself), the first order of business was to check out the HOB club just a hop, skip and a jump away. The $7 million corrugated tin building nestled into the side of a hill is a maze with many doors and exits, not to mention the spectacle of the upstairs moving floor which comes together to form another bar. And it was nice to see those signs outside by the ticket windows: Deep Purple/Sold Out/All Dates/28 29 30 31. While walking in, there were several people/scalpers looking for tickets.
    Overall, I thought this show was seamless, just a great show from A to Z by all members in terms of their mood, their energy and most important, their music. The HOB has a reputation for having great sound and I must say, it is one of the best sounding clubs I've ever been in. Highlights for me were: Seventh Heaven had even more zizzle than when I heard it played at the Chicago gigs; Gillan was in excellent voice again and when he goes through the paces of his screaming part on Bloodsucker, playing the bongos and resting the mike stand up against the side, it's spine tingling; the camaraderie between Roger, Steve and Jon on the jam parts is always a joy to behold; and just the whole aura of Ian Paice sitting behind a drum kit mesmerizing you with his talent.
    Of course, it was finally nice to put some faces to the a.m.d.p. names I had only known by email. It was good to see at least t-shirts for sale (unlike the earlier HOB tour dates). This design was purple in colour with the Purpendicular logo on the front and a list of the HOB tour dates on the back.
    A super night, thanks again to a super band.

Cheers,
Glen Miller

[ reviews | the highway star ]