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German reviews 2002
 

Great musical feast for friends

Starting off with The Planets, if you like a mix of Andre Rieu Rondo Veneziano and a touch of Tull, this is your band, sorry.

Dio once again gives proof of being one of the great shouters in heavy rock, he is great and he handles all kinds of heavy vocals. Scorpions' Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker joined Dio for some notes, this was a surprise for the crowd, as Hannover or more precisely Sarstedt is only a hour away from Braunschweig.

This was my eight Deep Purple show in as many years and I was surprised of the musical surprises they still offer. Speed King and Smoke On The Water were hidden in superb intros and came surprisingly over the audience. Space Truckin' was great with its interesting rhythm and Ian's aggressive sharp singing. He is still in good voice and reaches his 'In Rock' power, especially in the higher notes in perfect manner.

Steve Morse was brilliant and does interesting phrases on his guitar, and has a good stage charisma. Ian Paice surprised with a solid drum solo accompanied by good lights. Wizzard Don Airey amused the crowd with a Star Wars and Mussorgsky infused keyboard solo. Roger did a magnificient bass solo.

So everything was fine for me, even if I missed Jon Lord and Ian Gillan's longhaired headbanging - but this is silly nostalgic. So this was a not a Deep Purple greatest smash hits evening, but some may still have wanted more rock'n'roll. It was an evening with great musicians showing their wide range of ability and that makes me sure to meet the guys again next time.

Thomas Arnold

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