Deep Purple in Washington (11-25-96)

I live in Barcelona, a city that has not been included in the touring list this year. The band was there with Joe Satriani but before that, a gig was cancelled for The Battle rages On tour while Ritchie was still in the band. In fact, all the Spanish leg of the tour was cancelled, what lead to the usual thoughts about Ritchie not wanting to play again in Sapin since long time ago he had some problems there with the audience (this is a myth, I don't know if any of it it's true). Anyway, I was not able to travel to the nearest DP show in Spain, so sadly I missed the tour. I was furious!

Some months later I came to Washington in a busines trip and I was surprised to find out that DP were going to play here in a few weeks. Wow! I was lucky! So I looked in the maps for the place were the gig was going to be (I'm new in this city) and immediately I bought the ticket.

Eventually, the great day arrived. In the entrance, the guy looks at my ID astonished, not sure if it's fake or what. "It's from Spain", I say. He believes me. "Long way from home, man", he says. Anything to see the band!

I arrive 2 hours before the gig, so I get a first row position. The club (the 9:30) is not as big as the Sports Palace I saw DP in Spain. Great! I will be closer to them! The sound in small clubs is usually better than in the sports arena and the band cannot hide behind big PA systems: they only have their raw power to get to the audience. The opening band, Shine, does a good job and the audience is pleased. We are ready for the main act.

Twenty minutes later than scheduled, the band appears. From the first notes it's clear than they still can Rock. They start with two oldies to warm up. During the first songs Steve plays guitar quietly from the corner. Later, he will flash his solos like he's been in the band all his life. Black Night and Fireball sound great, but then the songs from Purpendicular are outrageous. Rosas's cantina and Ted the Mechanic blow the audience away. These songs played live are unbelievable. Definetively, they don't sound like classic Purple, but they are Good, Very Good. They add Cascade and Sometimes I feel Like Drinking (as Ian introduces the song before running backstage to get a shot of a liquid that looks like water but surely it is not that) and that raises the concert to heaven. Ian says "I need a beer after that" and disappears again. Steve plays a beautiful solo spot helped by all his rack of effects. very poetic moment. They let him do that twice during the show. He proves that now is part of the band, equal as all the others. Black Night, compared to the new songs, sounds like if it was only written yesterday.

Best of the gig: Steve and Jon getting crazy in a competition solo between guitar and organ. Both won :-) Another big moment of the night: Steve and Roger playing acoustics face to face, and later doing chorus together backing Ian. Quite unusual for DP. And later, Ian playing blues harp like in the old days. She should do thatmore often in the records.

Overall impression: great band, great musicians, great songs (both old and new), great feeling onstage. They like what they play, all of them, which is why they sound so big. Paice hasn't softened an inch in all this years; his rythms are solid as a rock, this guy is amazing. Roger gets the songs going: he's the backbone, the link between the rythm section and the melody, very strong player. Jon is amazing, as usual; his keys fill the songs like water running, sometimes flowing quietly, somtimes rushing like a fall. Gillan's voice is in quite good condition, which is a lot, after all this years of yelling; he's in shape to front the band a hundred years more. Steve, finally, is the ideal guitarrist to get the band to new sounds. Bolin couldn't do that without destroying the band. Steve can both conserve the DP sound and direct it to new horizons, which is exactly what the they needed. It's stupid to try to make a Machine Head every two years! I hope this line up can stay together for a long time. I'm sure they will, they ARE a band again, for the first time in years.

I had to leave after Smoke On the Water (the last Metro won't wait for me...damn!), so I guess I missed all the classic encores, but I wasn't disappointed at all. That gig didn't need Lazy or Child In time to be perfect. All you could say is that the sound was great, the band played perfect, you could see they were enjoying themselves, Steve fitted like a glove (not like a guest star) and the new songs were incredible. Period.

I was just in front of Roger's wall of Trace Elliotts all the gig, so I heard his bass "louder than everything else" and I loved it! I never realised how strong his bass playing can be live (usually hidden beside the guitar or the drums). All his new Vigier sound great, although I miss a little the Rickenbacker. The Purple one (with RG written on it) really has punch! Just before Smoke, Roger approached the audience to say hello. I reached my hand, and he shaked it joyfullly. Man, I was in heaven! After that he took his pick and gave it to me. I got his pick without even asking! I still can't believe it! Wow, what an end to a perfect night!! Being a bassist myself you can imagine how thrilled I am with this little gift. I will use it only to play Smoke on the Water!! Thanks Roger, and all the band for a great show. You still are a Rocking Machine on Stage. Keep on touring and doing new records, please. Not only for the old fans (anyway, I'm only 25!), but also for the young faces you could see all over the club. In the Metro, going home and reading the Program Book, I saw a mother with two teenager kids. They were talking about the gig. "Great!", I thought, "two generations enjoying the same band together". That's Deep Purple: always on the top! ...

[ reviews home ]