Hot in the Zoo
For someone who has been a huge DP fan for 21 years, I am almost embarrassed to admit that last night was the first time I managed to see them live.
As during the previous nights, the cocky "Pseudo-Republican" opened the show and full power bashed through his standard set. Musically, Ted was flawless. However, theathrically, both his and especially Lynyrd Skynyrd's show were still so much redneck-ish! Ted's southern-flag shirt, Indian outfit, shoes that went out of fashion in 1989, cocky and unnecessarily mouth-yapping, and finally: shooting a fake guitar with an arrow.... Come on! It is definitely the time to either update your act, Ted, or just shut up, and do the only thing you do good: play plain r'n'r.
Lynyrd Skynyrd on the other hand were even funnier looking in terms of their true mix of 70s-cowboy-white-trash-redneck-hillbilly-outfits... with two exceptions: some of their songs are still just truly timeless classics, and secondly, this guitarist from Blackfoot (his name slips my mind now) is just amazing, more because of his appearance than anything else... While everyone else in the band was fairly static, the 'Blackfoot' really put on a show on his own... jumping around... playing vintage guitars, and dressed really funky!
But I came to see Deep Purple. So, right before they got on stage I elbowed my way to the first row, about 6-10 feet away from the mic, thus leaving a flood of wrinkled redneck faces behind me... and thanks God, this was a general seating show... so we were all spared the experience of sexually frustrated, bald, fat, ugly security staff reaching the peak of their professional career by enforcing the seating, arresting those who do not obey, clearing the aisles by waving relentlessly with Megalite flashlight... and always spoiling every reserved seating show... [We've all met these guys!! Rasmus]
And there it was... after 21 years of collecting every single piece of music they ever recorded, following every step of their career, and hoping to sometimes see them live... ... the first few notes to "Woman From Tokyo" finally rang out of Steve's guitar.... Gillan has given up on his long dyed hair, and is now sporting a type of a flertish Bill Clinton look with short grayish hair strips and puffier cheeks....
The setlist did not deviate much from the rest of the tour. Gillan's voice sounded good, but at some instances the man looked very exhausted... Towards the end of the last song "Hush", I honestly thought Gillan was about to pass out. Of course, the weather was merciless, with the temperatures so high that my wrist watch completely drowned in my own sweat dripping down my left arm and eventually quit working during the concert! It was terribly hot! During any song or musical break he could take, Gillan ran backstage to catch his breath. Maybe he was just buzzed a bit too, but I could not tell for sure.
Steve was just amazing.... he looked as if someone had permanently engraved a smile into his face... Throughout the show the guy just never quit smiling and passing a good mood to the rest of the band and the whole audience... Maybe I was too close to the stage, but I believe Steve was little low in the mix. It was still nice to see him with the band and listen to his clean playing (I was getting a bit tired of those Blackmoresque noise solos on "Come Hell...", "Nobody's Perfect", and "Knebworth" live albums)... Steve was just trying to be a member of the band, but with character (positive that is), tone, and appearance...
Glover, Lord, and Paice were as usual... Actually I got a bit of a kick out of Paicey when he came out behind the drums... with his petite body and skinny legs, but a very loose belly, he seemed as if he had just swallowed a ten pound water mellon...
Lord was mainly hidden behind the wall of amps and pianos, looking serious, maybe too serious... Glover appeared to be in the best physical shape (not counting Steve), as if he just came back from a jogging run...
In short, I finally caught them in the act... It took me a while, but it was worth it...Blackmore? Actually, after seeing the Skynyrds, maybe the Purple could use a rhythm guitarist too....
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