Tokyo comments
Some comments to the two Tokyo shows passed between two members of the Japanese Deep Purple Family Mailing List.
M = Hiroki Matsuzaki (founder and administrator of the DPF mailing list)
K = Jun'ichi Koike
K: A great long show, went on for almost 3 hours (inc. a 15-minute break.)
M: Ian Gillans came onstage, solemnly, in a white outfit. His hair was all grey and we all said to ourselves "that...is...Ian Gillan, isn't it??"
K: I know many people have heard the "Concerto" for the first time here. How did you find it?
M: I found the "Second Movement" a bit too quiet and sleepy, but I like the "First Movement" and the "Third Movement", both of which I find have nice tension.
K: Do you think the hightlight was Ronnie's "Rainbow In The Dark"?
M: We noticed there were quite a few unoccupied seats on the second night, but the audience reaction was better than on the first night. During "Love Is All" Ronnie even got off the stage and walked around among the audience, shaking hands with them.
K: I wish he'd done that on the first night too...
M: Ronnie sang five songs including "Smoke On The Water" at the end. I saw him live for the first time, but he was just fantastic.
K: He forgot the words to "Smoke On The Water" at one point, didn't he?
M: But his parts were where the audience went most wild, apart from the chorus where everyone sang along. Actually, the audience didn't stand up until "Smoke On The Water", although the atmosphere was pretty good before that too.
M: I personally found it hard to remain in my seat during "Pictures Of Home". On the second night, I just couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. And I saw a few others also standing up. Yes, they played "Fools" on the second night as well.
M: Before the show began, I saw a Westerner walk past me, and it was Paul Gilbert! He went inside the hall with his sister, as a member of the audience. Most people didn't seem to notice him. Kumiko, my wife, managed to get his autograph, and I asked him for one as well after the show, but with a pencil on the back of a photo, it didn't come out very well, and Paul said "gomen-ne" (sorry) to me in Japanese...
M: Steve plays several quotes before "Smoke On The Water". On the first night, he only played the riff from "Heartbreaker", but on the second night, he did almost the entire guitar solo from "Stairway To Heaven" (the audience went wild!), as well as "You Really Got Me", where Ian Gillan joined in and sang one chorus, and "To Be With You" - because Paul Gilbert was there, I'm sure.
M: I found Steve's guitar solos better on the second night. He's such a wonderful guitarist. Well, Deep Purple has created their own history, and it was great to be able to see them, a fantastic concert. I'm looking forward to the Sapporo show.
Edited & translated by
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