Newsgroups: alt.music.deep-purple
Subject: DP in Zwolle
From: samizdat@noord.bart.nl (Reinder Dijkhuis)
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 96 11:32:06 GMT

Saturday, September 21 was another great day for DP fans in the Netherlands. The first gig in a series of five, the band was in cracking form throughout, and especially Ian Gillan really made this a special gig. I can't praise him enough. What a guy. What a voice. How does he do it? In Rotterdam he was great but got rougher towards the end, in Smoegen, Sweden, he was clearly sparing himself (and with good reasons!) but in Zwolle, of all places, he took the recovery of his voice to new heights, having the flexibility of 1970 and the phrasing and interpretation, not to mention the stamina, of 1996. I won't go into the details of the setlist, because I didn't take notes, but I really oughtta mention that the long version of Speed King we were treated to this time around included a lullaby-type intro by Jon, and incorporated not just "Not Fade Away", "Battle of New Orleans" and "My Aunt Nelly", but also a long guitar-vocal interchange that never sounded anything like the old exchange with Ritchie. And all this time there was no stopping Ian Paice. On previous occasions, it always used to look as if Paicey wasn't entirely comfortable the way he moved. This time he looked as efficient as he sounded. Aviator was another highlight, and the one song where it looked like Steve had to work at playing it (jealous? Moi?). You could see from his fingerings and his face that it was tricky but it sounded perfect.

Here's a tip for future concert goers who find themselves in the same place as we were: at the front, slightly to the left. Put an earplug in your left ear but not your right one. That way you cut down excess high from Steve's monitor, resulting in a perfect, album-quality sound mix coming from backline and monitors. Well, at least it worked for me last Saturday:-) Remember though, I'll accept no responsibility for damage to your right ear if you leave it unplugged. I had no hearing problems the day after, but others in the company heard that lovely buzzing ring.

Prior to, and after, the concert, we met Fedor, Dave and some others whose names I can't remember right now - I can remember the faces though. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me. Fedor tried to get the people behind the bar to play "Slow Train" from Fireball'25 but no luck. On my way back I wondered which other a.m.d-p heads I'd like to meet face to face. I immediately thought of Louie, because I'd like to tell her face to face that Ian Gillan can still make aspiring vocalists slit their throats in despair.<g>

And finally, for all you kind folks in America, my heart goes out to you. Maybe you oughtta make a Deep Purple tour a political issue in the next election? It worked for the people in the Ukraine..... You are being deprived of a basic human right, and no mistake.

Reinder Dijkhuis

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