Purple is my Favorite Colour
Wow!! To start things off the evening was beautiful at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre in Denver. 75 degrees in August, a welcome relief for a traveller from toasty Phx, AZ!! The Hotel Van dropped me off at the front gates. (tacky, yet awesome) I was early ,7:10, to make sure I didn't miss Dream Theater like all the other poor music lovers did in the earlier reviews. As I stood in line to grab two of those extra tasty $5 beers, that great feeling of anticipation filled the air, I heard the music roar... Awesome Dream Theater!! Perfect timing!! NOT!! Much to my bitter dismay, it was ELP!!!! Apparently, Dream Theater played at 6:15 pm because of a noise ordinance in the semi-residental area... My tickets said show started at 7:30. Those close to me know how much that hurt!! Unfortunately, DT played their typically awesome show to 800 fans, while most of the hard working rock fans fought rush hour traffic. Their set was short compared to the shows I had the luxury of seeing last November in SFO and this May in Phx, but from the few fans who saw it...they were tight and the sound was great...
I sat there stunned for ELP's opening tune , a new one that lead into Karn Evil 9...then I slapped myself in the head and wouldn't let my anger to the venue ruin my show. So I didn't...
Hoedown started and Greg Lake's bass playing pulled me out of my funk. Then Keith sat down and played Piano Concerto #1, beautifully, and the crowd loved it. Keith really is a great entertainer/showman but he really showed his ivory talents on this piece. Next was the song Knife Edge. Greg played the 12 string on C'est La Vie and his voice sounded great, then halfway through the song Keith came out donning a beret and an accordian. Sweet!! Lucky Man was next and it too sounded great. Highlight of that song was toward the end when Keith plays the moog part and he crushed us with his bass foot pedals...it made the amphitheater quake, and my toes tingle. Last time I heard such thunder bass fill an outdoor venue was when Geezer Butler did it during a Black Sabbath Concert in Oakland Collesium...but that's beside the point!! The song that will send me scurrying to CD stores replenishing my ELP collection was Tarkus!! That was heavy...a 20 minute voyage that made me realise why ELP gets credit for being a prog rock pioneer. As their show wrapped up ,they started out playing the Crimson 21st Century Schizoid Man (hot!!) into Fanfare, Palmer's tasty drum solo and then into a song called Rondo in which Keith abused his organ. I mean his B-3 you filthy bastards!! That was fun to watch but not that great on the ears. All in all,the guys rocked, Palmer was perfect throughout the entire set, Lake sang, played excellent bass and also did that great lead during Tarkus(?). Keith was fun and great...his skill of switching to different keyboards was amazing to watch and those bass pedals... Here I go again!!
Now for my favorite colour... Those who haven't seen the recent incarnation of Deep Purple are really missing something...these guys rocked my world again. I was lucky enough to catch them in the round in Phx in Feb...but they just seem to be getting tighter and better!! Like Rush, I will see these guys every year, anytime, anywhere they are within a 700 mile radius. Now for the show... They started with Ted the Mechanic and the old fans got a quick and heavy dose of Purple with Morse!! Strange Kind of Woman followed and the familiar tune lit up the crowd. I mean literally. It's been quite a while since I smelled that "classic rock concert smell" if you know what I mean...which made Pictures of Home sound all that much better!! Of course that tasty little bass solo from Roger didn't hurt. Next was the new tune Almost Human, the live version truly rocks and the new tunes all sounded great. My Woman From Tokyo really sounded cool as Jon Lord almost put a honky-tonk flavor to it...and they played the long version!! Probably one of the hottest tunes of the night was Watching the Sky from the new album which will soon be a classic!! Any Fule Kno That sounded great live and I loved the part when Glover's bass kept the riff going as Morse and Lord dueled. I must admit that when I read the earlier reviews I was disappointed with the omission of Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, No One Came and Black Night, but the new songs where incredible and I am now glad I witnessed them!! Plus the new ones are more of SM's songs and they better reflect the chemistry of the new band. The Happy-Fun-We're Kicking Everyone's Ass Band!! Speaking of Steve, his solo was next. What can I say... It was awesome!! Much longer than before!! He did that pinky volume thing he does so well and then went into Cascades with the band backing up. All I can say is Richie who!!!!?? Smoke On the Water was next and I took my well deserved pee break, grabbed another cerveza and the Abandon tour program. Smoke sounded good and the crowd was going bananas. Then it was Jon Lord's time...his solo was tasty and refined, a direct contrast from the crazy, extroverted Emerson B-3 solo...then they broke into a great version of Lazy. Again Glover carried the load while JL and SM had fun. Perfect Strangers rocked the house and conjured up that sweet smell again. DP helped the mood with a great light show and the JL,SM and RG Wall O' Sound!! That's a great concert tune and riff...(thank you Richie!!) Next was the "Chinese/Irish Lullaby" Speed King that moved into a fun version of Peggy Sue. The interplay between big Ian and SM was awesome...as Glover held the tune down again!! That song was probably the hottest "jam" of the night with a quick but effective Ian Paice Drum Solo...in which DP said "Goodnight!!".
The capacity crowd in Denver wasn't to be denied. On our feet we got them back on stage where they pleased us with Highway Star. Glover and Morse did the "swing the guitars- 80's rock band" move and the crowd loved it!! (I loved it!!)
Deep Purple kicked our fannies, surprised some, put the young kids on their ears and made us veterans realize again why we have had so many worn out 8-tracks, cassettes, albums and CD's of this group!! Do yourself a favor and see this group whenever they are close...or in my case, far!! IG's voice and presence was great, JL sat back and made that church organ crunch and growl, IP was a machine with soul, RG kept everything together with a huge "isn't this awesome" shit eating grin on his face...and SM is a God!! WOW!!
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