WEMBLEY ARENA REVIEW
Wembley Arena, LONDON
ENGLAND
14 October 1998
I've just come back from my first ever DEEP PURPLE gig and I just have to give my views on it. In a word SUPERB.
I have only been following this band for the last 6 months but in that time I have managed to listen to most of their albums so I am accustomed to all of the purple classics. So there I was last night outside the Arena with a great anticipation as to what I was about to experience. I didn't bother with the support band as I wanted the night to be solely a purple night. At around twenty to nine the boys appeared much to everyone's surprise as we were expecting them on stage at around nine o clock. They didn't hang around long before Ted The Mechanic was thrown upon us. And I do mean thrown as most of the crowd including myself weren't quite ready for it. Not that it was played badly, more the suddenness of it. One minute people were milling about trying to find their seats, the next minute you've got the lights going down and the band coming on. There should have been more of a build up to prepare us better. But that said the band were on stage and away we go.
The performance was absolutely fantastic. The sound was rich and loud with every instrument perfectly audible. Ian Gillan was on top form with no hint of strain throughout the whole gig. Jon lord was every bit the lord on the Hammond. Ian Paice was playing like a twenty year old not missing a single beat. Roger Glover showed us how the bass is meant to be played and Steve Morse, well what can I say, Superb, Amazing, Unbelievable, these words dont even come close to describing his talent. The man is purely the best guitarist ever to grace the music profession.
These guys may be getting on a bit but they play like a band who are just starting out, with bundles of energy and enthusiasm. I'm only twenty and I'm not sure if I could keep that kind of energy up the way they did.
I cant stress how much I enjoyed the show and the performance of the best musicians on the block. What I will Complain about however is that the show wasn't long enough. It seemed to end all to soon. There were so many tracks they didn't play and when they did there encore only two songs were played. But then again they always say in the music industry that you should leave the fans wanting more. They certainly did that. I could have watched them all night!!
I would like to end this by saying a BIG thank you to IAN, ROGER, JON, IAN and STEVE for giving me one of most memorable nights of my life. THANK YOU.
LONG LIVE DEEP PURPLE
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