Deep Purple
Live @ Teatro Smeraldo, Milano 15.07.2008

In Milan, in the central area, there are two scenarios: either you have the Ecopass and are forced to shell out to get it unless you own a new-generation green SUV; or you have the Backstage Pass, or rather a Guest Pass, a nice black adhesive disk about 10 centimeters in diameter with the words Deep Purple in elegant Made In Europe-style letters, and the concert date, which allows you, along with the complimentary ticket for clever folks like me and shooting stars, to sit in a VIP seat for FREE at the Teatro Smeraldo (which, in times of petroleum and economic crisis, etc., is not bad at all, sticking it to the Ecopass!!!), and most importantly, to enjoy one of the most beautiful evenings of your life, which means enjoying a concert knowing that afterward, you’ll get to meet the Dipparpol, as they are erroneously pronounced in Italy!

But let’s go in order.

Without dwelling on which series of fortunate circumstances pushed us to obtain the coveted object of desire described above or how we managed to get close to Ian Paice who allowed us to have it; without telling you about the pre-concert, which sandwich we ate, how many scalpers were selling and buying, what t-shirts were on sale at the illegal stands; without boring you with the typical images and sensations you breathe in at a concert before, during, and after, let’s get straight to the climax of the evening.

The Deep Purple, then! Even though they are all more or less in their sixties, except for Steve Morse, our guys manage to rock like never before. They don’t lose their edge, they have fun, laugh, and joke on stage, despite the Smeraldo stewards who don’t want photos taken, until Ian Gillan reprimands one illuminating a girl with her annoying blinding LED flashlight: Gillan tells her to stop, then shrugs toward the audience, as if to say: "Right or not?", obtaining general approval through a roar.

The concert was excellent. The setlist really thrilled me because it’s a great mix of old and new: Pictures of Home, Into The Fire, Strange Kind Of Woman, Demon’s Eye, defending the good name of the old school.

From the latest Rapture Of the Deep, besides the oriental-flavored title track, I found the choice to include Things I Never Said, the excellent unreleased track from the concert edition of the album in question, to be amazing, while Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a good track but perhaps I would have preferred to hear something more extravagant, like for example Back To Back.

From the album Bananas, only Contact Lost survives, which leads into the usual great solo by Steve Morse, with a classical finale flourish. Surprisingly, The Battle Rages On also reappears, and the usual magic of lights in Perfect Strangers after the solo keyboard part by Don Airey, among a thousand citations of more or less classical themes. A fiery finale marked by the timeless classics: Highway Star, driving in rhythm as always, Smoke On The Water, which cannot be missed, with the usual oleography: a good ten minutes in which the audience sings ecstatically and is involved by the histrionic Gillan. And then the encore: Hush, with a drum solo by Ian Paice, and Black Night, whose intro features the novelty of a bass solo by Roger Glover. To the rhythm section, I want to dedicate a few words: perhaps the most in-form part of the Deep Purple machine, since Ian Paice was an unstoppable train from start to finish, as was Roger Glover, who gave his best with the four strings. The biggest problems perhaps were Steve Morse’s, who threw in a few slip-ups here and there and at one point had some technical difficulties, as he couldn’t hear his guitar anymore. Despite this, he is always cheerful and smiling on stage, with his Native American look. Don Airey, without infamy and without praise, was already quite tipsy, while for Ian Gillan, well… it’s clear he’s no longer twenty, and naturally, he is stronger on the new pieces, while with the classics he contorts his face a bit too much when trying to wring out some remnants of the voice that used to be. But otherwise, he remains a great showman. Hearing him exclaim: "Unbelievable, amazing, superb you are fantastic!" is a joy for the heart.

And off we go. Up to the "hospitality area" of the Teatro Smeraldo, it’s boiling hot, the refreshments go down before we even have time to notice. "All up" doesn’t apply exactly to everyone: only us clever ones with the Guest Pass or the Backstage Pass (sorry dear Ecopass friends, better luck next time…haha!) are admitted. A severe and statuesque English matron checks that there are no frauds who sneaked in without being authorized: one almost starts crying on his knees, but she is uncompromising and kicks him out. Deep down, I chuckle, because for once I am not Mr. Nobody, and on my beer-bloated belly, there’s that little sticker I mentioned earlier… and suddenly Roger Glover appears! A golden fellow, relaxed, approachable… I even make a gaffe by saying: "Would you mind signing my bananas please?" He’s momentarily taken aback, but then sees my copy of the Bananas album and with a grin replies that in other contexts it would be an ambiguous question. Personal satisfaction for me is having him autograph my "dad’s" original In Rock record. Then comes Don Airey’s moment, a jokester and a bit out of his gourd, he doesn’t stop fooling around. He’s definitely drunk as a skunk, but he handles it. He sings drunkard songs, besides, during the Zurich date he fell a couple of times from the raised platform of his keyboards! And what about Steve Morse? Enthusiasm to spare, a great "guy", also approachable and friendly. He greets everyone euphorically with a "Hey guys, how are you doin'?" and before he can finish the sentence, he is mobbed. He is surprised by the Dixie Dregs CD presented for an autograph by shooting star, and is pleasantly enraptured.

Too bad Gillan and Paice don’t dream of showing up, the cleaning staff had to kindly tell me to get out of the way (I quote literally, I swear!). Is it because they’re both named Ian? Were they afraid we’d confuse them with each other? Who knows! They stood us up, but for two clever folks like us, an evening like this, especially with such an ending, was already divine!