DEEP PURPLE AHOY ROTTERDAM 12-10-98
Deep Purple are alive and kicking again. Monday night the band played a brilliant concert. It seems the older they get, the better they play.
I arrived at 8:30, so i missed most of Saxon. They sounded cool to me. At 8:45 they ended their show. Now the wait began.
Around 9:15 the lights dimmed and people started chearing. In the dark you could see "the guys" entering the stage one by one. Some growling organ sounds by Jon and off we go; Ted The Mechanic.
I was surprised by the sound. It was cristal clear. You could even hear Ian's bassdrum. Mostly they use the first 2 or 3 songs to mess a bit with the sound, but that wasn't the case tonight. Only by the time they played Smoke.., the sound was getting messier. Steve's guitar was much too loud and Jon wasn't audible at all (exept during his solo spot).
The setlist was almost the same as all European concerts exept for Black Night beeing played instead of Seventh Heaven. The full setlist:
Short intro by Jon
Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic
Strange Kind of Woman
Bludsucker
Pictures of Home
Almost Human
Woman From Tokyo
Watching the Sky
Fingers to the Bone
Any Fule Kno That
Steve's solo
Smoke on the Water
Jon's solo
Lazy
Perfect Strangers
Speed King
-Jon/Steve duels
-Roger solo
-Paicey solo
-Gillan/Steve duels
Black Night
Highway Star
Overall, it was a good concert with Jon Lord beeing the best member of the night. He gave everything he had. His solo spot was very beatifull and emotional.
Roger was aslo playing very well. With his bandana he looked very relaxed. He did some backing vocals with Steve on Almost Human. During Speed King he did a short solo which was very technical.
Ian was dancing all over the place. The famous screams could be heard many times. The in between song nonsense was very cool and funny.
Paicey looked very relaxed and played like that too. His solo was short but terrific.
Last but not least there was Steve. He is respected by the group and the audience. Because of him the flame is burning again. His solo was very bluesy and much better than his solo on the _|_ tour. He even played Fur Elise.
The band was playing effortlessly and very loose, despite the fact that they played in the south of France the night before and had to be very tired.
Thanx for a great evening, lots of respect for you. Hope to hear you soon again.
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