Sleeveless in Gampel
(except Don who was wearing long sleeves)
First of all, Don Airey was not just Jon Lord's temporary replacement, he acted as a full band member. From his performances with Rainbow, Whitesnake, Gary Moore (does anybody remember the three Colosseum II albums?) etc I expected him to do a great job - but he did not only a great job, he was simply fantastic! After three days of rehearsals (as I read in another review) and some ten live performances he fit in the band as if he played with them for years. The other big surprise to me was Roger Glover who did some really fine soloing (not just the four bar solo of "No One Came" as usual) and certainly did one the best performances I've seen or heard from him.
The setlist appears to be about the same as at the Copenhagen show, except that Steve did his "Well-Dressed Guitar" (before "When A Blind Man Cries"). The other exception was a birthday surprise for Ian Gillan where four women with strange hats came on stage (as of my recordings it was between "Lazy" and "No One Came") and Steve did a short improvisation on "Happy Birthday".
Another highlight was the performance of "Mary Long" (I never heard them play it live). What really surprised me was that there were many guys around singing along with Ian ("How did you lose your virginity...")
In short, the concert was a gas. I'm looking forward to seeing them next time!
[ reviews | the highway star ]