A review of the Deep Purple show on August 7 at Hartford, CT.

Reached the venue a little before 8:00 pm, and went straight to the merchandise stalls. Having missed buying a DP T-shirt from the _|_ tour, I was determined to make up this time around. Bought an Abandon tour T-shirt (black with the CD cover motif in front, and tour dates at the back). Also bought a green T-shirt with DP logo in front, a DP cap and 'Moments of Abandon', the excellent tour book. Net damage to the purse - $87, but what the heck, in the 16 years I've been a fan, I've only now got to enjoy DP live.

Dream Theater started promptly at 8:00pm and played a brief 45 minute set. I own only one CD of theirs (which I bought for their cover version of Perfect Strangers), so I didn't really know any of the music. I was however, very impressed with their musicianship, especially guitarist John Petrucci.

Next on was ELP. Again, a band whose music is largely unfamiliar to me, but I really liked their 1 hour 15 minute set. Keith Emerson is a fantastic keyboard player with a giant stage persona. Carl Palmer was an octopus on his drum kit.

After a 20 minute break the lights dimmed again, and the DP members strode on stage. There was no leader tape this time - the guys just walked upto their instruments, the spotlight focussed on JL, who bullied his Hammond to crash out a few chords before the familiar notes of Hush started. They played a competent version, including a short and sweet solo from JL. The crowd, which sat through most of Dream Theater and ELP's sets was on their feet from the start for DP.

Some notes about the stage - RG was in front on the left of the stage, with SM in front on the right. IP and JL brought up the rear, with IP behind RG and JL on the same side of stage as SM. IG, of course, was on center stage.

My initial observations were that firstly the band didn't have much space on stage (which was more due to the way the equipment was placed than the size of the stage). As a consequence, IG, RG and SM were a lot less mobile than the last time I saw DP live at the same venue in 1996. RG was stationary most of the time, as was SM, with IG merely ambling along rather than dancing all over like he did on the _|_ tour. None of these "constraints" had any effect on the musicianship, though, which was impeccable. The sound was TERRIFIC where I was, with every instrument mixed just right. IP and RG had a monstrous bass juggernaut going.

Next on was Bludsucker, with good interplay between SM and JL. SM does not play anything like RB on this tune, but does a terrific job. IG was clearly in top form, and hit all the high notes flawlessly. I didn't care much for the version on Abandon, but after seeing this live, I'm sure to listen to it more closely now.

Strange Kind of Woman followed, and though I am not sure I like the older tunes being brought back into the set, the version was simply excellent, with tremendous solos by SM and great singing by IG. SM plays this tune in a much heavier vein than RB did, and played a really good extended solo. No interplay between guitar and vocals, though. It is now abundantly clear that SM is a star, and totally integrated with the band.

IG thanked "WCCC...CCCC...CCCC" for the next tune, for playing it on air when it was a new tune. "Every song was a new song sometime" was IG's observation. A monster version of "Ted the Mechanic" followed. I liked this version better than the one I saw at the same venue in 1996. Superb solo by SM.

Pictures of Home was next, and again, it rocked from the start. Great solos all around by SM, JL and RG, with some superb drumming by IP and IG singing wonderfully as he did all evening.

After PoH, SM did a short solo, which turned into the chugging riff of Almost Human. A lot of the crowd sat down at this point, and despite a fine solo by SM, this song didn't do as much for me as it does on the album.

AH was followed by a terrific version of Woman from Tokyo. Clearly IG's song, and he rose to the occasion, singing like a god. How he still manages the quiet part so well is a mystery to me, after all these years of "raping his tonsils" (to quote the Rolling Stones magazine).

Next was a classic. Watching the Sky. For me, *the* song of the evening. Absolutely brilliant. Again, I was only beginning to get used to the song on the album, but it has now become a favourite. I hope DP persist with this song in their future tours as well, because it is a real rouser!

It was now solo time. SM started off, with only JL staying back for a bit lending accompaniment before leaving the stage entirely to SM. A superb solo followed - it is a treat to watch Steve live - his playing is just so passionate. He must have played for about 5 minutes before crashing into the chords of Smoke on the Water. The crowd, needless to say, was on their feet, singing from the start. There was a very short sing-along towards the end, before the band brought the song to a close. I will never miss this song if it is left out of a set, but the band did a wonderful job with it.

It was now JL's turn for the solo. He started off on the electric piano, then switched to the Hammond. A nice solo lasting about 3 minutes, before Paicey joined in, and the familiar strains of Lazy emerged. They played a strong version, with good solos from both SM and JL.

The next song was introduced as the title track from an album called Perfect Strangers. The lights dimmed, and JL's Hammond sound slowly dominated the stage, before the entire band launched into the song. A strong version, though I liked the version on LATO '96 better.

IG introduced the next song as a lullaby he sings to his daughter every night, while JL tinkered with the piano. WHAM! The band launched into Speed King! Excellent interplay between SM and JL, before RG led IP into the drum solo. IMHO, IP should extend his drum solo - it was short and incredibly well done, but at the end of it I was hungering for much more. The man plays with such control, but has the speed of a demon when he wants to summon it. After IP's solo, IG and SM had their "talk-and-answer" session. IG was in good voice, and it was amazing that he still had the range after all these years of abuse to his vocal chords! :-)

Surprisingly, that was the end, as the band said their good-byes. Not that anyone was prepared to let them go, of course, and in a couple of minutes the band emerged to launch into Any Fule Kno That. I didn't like this song played live. It was clear that IG was having difficulty remembering the words, and the song was just not flowing when he sang it. IMO, they can drop AFKT and substitute it with Seventh Heaven.

IT was now truly time to close the show. IP started a beat that gradually increased in intensity, as SM made sounds of a revving engine on the guitar. RG's bass stepped in, and IP's classic roll heralded the start of Highway Star, another crowd favourite. A well played song, with SM's solo very close to the album version. IG's singing again impressed, in spite of his mumbling the words occasionally.

The end was sadly upon us, and I remember thinking how abbreviated the set had been. IG thanked Dream Theater and ELP, saying that it was a privilege sharing the same stage with them.

The lights came on and the crew appeared to dismantle the stage. I stuck around for about a half hour longer in hopes of being able to sneak in backstage again like in 1996, but this time there was no Dave Hodgkinson to turn to! :-) (BTW, my wife and me still remember Dave for being the terrific guy that he is!)

Well, it was back to the car, and a two hour ride back home with Deep Purple for company on car stereo.

Thank you Deep Purple, for putting on such a trememdous show and giving us some excellent music to cherish! :-)

Rock on,
Mahesh Srinivas

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