Deep Purple Concert
25 April 1999, Selina's - Coogee Bay Hotel, Sydney
Attendance > 2000 (looked like a full house)
Firstly, many thanks to DP for the extra concert in Sydney and the extra effort put in by all the band members, especially Ian G who kept belting out those registers and solos (not a bad effort considering the Sydney concert on 21 April, Newcastle on 24 April and then Selina's on 25 April !!).
Well, I did not think that DP could top the concert in Sydney on 21 April, but they did!! And for many reasons:
(a) the venue was much smaller and the atmosphere more personal - members interacting more with crowd
(b) the playing seemed tighter and more adventurous
(c) sound was much louder
(d) crowd reaction was tremendous - seemed to spur on DP.
DP started playing at around 8.00 pm (after another effort from the support act FOXC - getting better) and again did not finish until 2 hours later (including encore).
They started with "Ted the Mechanic" and then "Black Night".
The following set included (not in any order): "Pictures of Home", "Rosa's Cantina", "Fireball", "Watching the Sky", "Speed King", "Bloodsucker" (I think), "Woman from Tokyo", "Smoke on the Water", "Perfect Strangers", "Lazy", "No One Came" and wait for it... "INTO THE FIRE" (what a surprise and what a terrific heavy version of the old 60's song). The encore comprised "Seventh Heaven" (sounds heaps better live and heavy) and "Highway Star".
The highlights were: much better solo from Steve Morse leading into SOTW (ie compared with Wednesday night); brilliant solo from Steve during "Black Night"; intro to "Highway Star" (the growl from Steve's guitar was just amazing); some nice solos from Roger and Ian P (although should have been longer); Ian G getting down off the stage a couple of times and intercoursing with the audience; a couple of duels between Steve and Jon (egging each other on); and Ian G giving 110% again - great stuff.
There were some disappointments: Ian G doing another raspberry at the beginning of Fireball (I really miss the air conditioner!!); the mix was not the best (organ somewhat subdued and the PA not loud enough). However, the highlights above and the live energy of DP more than compensated for these disappointments.
What a fantastic concert - overall much better and certainly more memorable than Wed night in Sydney.
DP, thanks for the years, the memories, and particularly the effort put into each concert.
[ reviews | the highway star ]