Waiting forever in Singapore

At the outset I thought it's like having the good news and the bad news rolled into one. It was great to hear that DP would be coming by Singapore again after such a really long while (almost forever) - but at the same time I felt great regret that Jon Lord wouldn't be with the band this time. Nevermind, my friends and I went to the concert along with some 7.000 to 8.000 other fans, comprising mainly of old rockers now turned respectable.

Though the band's repertoire was similar to when I saw them in Kuala Lumpur in 1999 it was still refreshing to hear Woman From Tokyo launching the concert. Ian Gillan's vocals seemed to have been drowned in the opening number amongst the amps but the sound engineer quickly fixed this. Onwards there was just no turning back and Gillan reigned and ruled Fort Canning Hill for the night. The old hits came fast and furious one after another:

Mary Long, Ted The Mechanic, No One Came, Fools, Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, When A Blind Man Cries, Lazy, Speed King, etc - the bloody works, man.

Of course not forgetting good old Smoke On the Water and the encore of Hush, Black Night and a very, very satisfying Highway Star which almost incited the crowd to bring the whole of Fort Canning Hill down with them.

Though no one can really replace Jon Lord, I must say that Don Airy definitely did not disappoint either. Don's classical touch was apparant and he even did a local Malay tune which really wowed the fans. Great PR there! The band was tight as ever.

It is always good to see Steve Morse live in action crafting his magic on his guitar. What he brought along has now become very much part of the DP sound. He is a superb guitarist - one of the finest alive. He is also good to look at onstage, cutting a sexy profile. The guitar swap between Steve and Roger Glover came as a welcome surprise and was great fun to watch.

As usual Roger gave his all. Ian Paice's drumming masterly completed the perfect picture. It was one helluva concert! Worth every cent I saved for it. When I first heard the band 30 years ago, I said to myself: When I grow up, I want to be like them. Now at 45, I still want to be like them when I grow up.

Looking forward to their return. The question is when? Please don't take foreever again.

Han Chiaw Juan and Lamz, Kwan, Antz, Matt and Evelyn.

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