Messehalle, Erfurt, Germany, Oct. 10, 1998
This was the 3rd time I've seen the band during the ABandOnTour after Neumarkt 6/98 + Bayreuth 9/98 but it was a special event because I introduced (successfully) my 14 year old son Benjamin to the live DP. Being an outsider among his classmates just because he is also listeing to "boring old stuff" I was only too happy to see him scream + smile...
The band was in really good shape and, as always since Ritchie left, had great fun on stage. Only IG seemed to have little problems at the end of the show during Speed King but that's only natural and for me he was/is just great.
OK, here goes the setlist:
Ted the Mechanic
Strange Kind of Woman
Bloodsucker
Pictures of Home
Almost Human
Woman from Tokyo
Watching the Sky
Fingers to the Bone
Any Fule Kno That
SM solo
Smoke on the Water
JL solo
Lazy
Perfect Strangers
Speed King incl. IP solo
Encores
7th heaven
Highway Star
It is very nice to see the guys in short intervals on tour, one may recognise how they slightly change the set and stretch the numbers. OK, they might play 3 hours and still are a few faves left... And of course, being a DP fan for some 20 years or so, I still wait for Hard Loving Man, Living Wreck, Fools, No No No, Place in Line, Rat Bat Blue, Painted Horse, Strangeways, Spanish Archer, Mitzi Dupree...to name a few.
Having been at many DP shows both in western + eastern Germany I think the East is much more enthusiastic. DP got a great welcome tonight right from the start + especially SKOW + WFT made my neckhairs stand up due to the applause when the riff cleaned up everything. These guys blow away any signs of midlife crisis or fear of getting old, just watch them... If there's one thing left I wanna see IG under the piano again...
Last not least for all the TMIB hardliners (I've been one, too): after his departure DP is no longer an oldie/retro-thing playing one setlist for ages. They're fresh, ballkicking, heavy and offer amazing new material!
Love + best wishes to IG, RG, JL, SM + IP. The atomic toy has to go on!!
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