Deep Purple Live in St. Pölten, Austria 09.07.1999 - The Absence of Pink

The weather was crap, as last year in Vienna, but the Domplatz in the centre of St. Pölten was crowded to see a fantastic DP performance for free. The yearly Hauptstadtfest has always a big act coming over and previous headliners include David Bowie and Status Quo. The five "boys" are in great shape at the moment and the sound was just right. For almost two hours we were treated to a good blend of old and new material, with an overall "heavy but swinging" approach that make tunes such as "Ted the Mechanic" sound so great. Steve had quite a few solo spots, including a medley of rock classics (starting with "Whole Lotta Love" continuing with "Purple Haze" and "La Grange") showing the importance of "Smoke..." as a rock anthem. A lengthy "Speed King" included a short drum solo as well as a rendition of "At the Hop". I didn't "miss" any particular song, since the setlist has been changed so often since RB left the band, and I'm sure we will see many more different songs appearing on the setlist in the future. Great! I hope I catch the band in Porto the end of the month.
    Big Ian had nothing pink on this time during the show, but he showed up at the hotel dressed in something that looked like a skirt...

Setlist
Boys Are Back In Town/Pictures of Home
Ted
Strange Kind of Woman
Bludsucker
69
Woman From Tokyo
Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
Watching the Sky
Space Truckin'/ Morse Solo/ I'm Not Your Lover ending
Lazy
Steve's Rock Classics Medley/ Smoke On The Water/ Lord Solo
Perfect Strangers
Speed King (introduced as "an Austrian ballad with some oriental overtones")
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Black Night
Highway Star