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The rockers are back
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Get set for an encore performance in the city by Deep Purple on Sunday
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PHOTO: AP
ROCKING ON Deep Purple's fans cut across generations.
One of the signature bands of British hard rock, Deep Purple, performs for the second time in the city on Sunday, December 17. The last time the band performed here was in April 2001 and the event this time is part of its world tour to promote its 18th album, Rapture Of The Deep, released last year.
True, the band might not be a symbol of youth anymore and doesn't have Ritchie Blackmore, but Ian Gillan (vocals), Steve Morse (guitar), Roger Glover (bass), Don Airey (keyboard) and Ian Paice (drums) still attract quite a huge fan following. In fact the band was pleasantly surprised by the 40,000-odd crowd that turned up in 2001.
As back then, the band is expected to give fans a good dose of all-time favourites such as "Smoke On The Water", "Hush", "Highway Star" and "Woman From Tokyo" besides promoting Rapture Of The Deep, which has been acclaimed by both critics and fans.
The christening
Deep Purple was formed in 1968 and the name was coined by Ritchie Blackmore, who took it from a song composed by Peter De Rose. In October 1968, it made it big in the U.S. but not in its native U.K., with a cover of Joe South's "Hush" in its debut album Shades of Deep Purple. They continued to tour and in 1972 came the inspiration for "Smoke On The Water". It was due to be recorded at a casino in Montreux using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, but a supposedly accidental fire during a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention gig burned down the casino and the album was later recorded at the nearby Grand Hotel. This is where the song is said to have originated.
The band broke up in 1976 when David Coverdale, later of Whitesnake, was the vocals, only to regroup the same year with the original line-up. But later Blackmore left and the era with Steve Morse began.
In July 2005 the band played at the Live 8 concert in Park Place (Ontario) and in October, released Rapture of the Deep, its most progressive and adventurous work till date. It peaked on Billboard's Top Independent Album chart at position 43 and was also a chart success across Europe. Though the album is mellower and lacks the fire of previous Purple work, it has tremendous vibrancy.
Tracks to watch out for in the concert will be "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", which has a catchy drum rhythm at the start while "Junkyard Blues" has a funk vibe. For fans in the city, the concert in 2001 might have been a treat but it was much bigger for local band Thermal And A Quarter (TAAQ) which opened the concert. "It was our biggest gig till then. We played for about 40,000 people, I think. We had never played a gig as big and for so long, about 45 minutes. We were asked to play covers but we played own compositions. It was a risk but it took just two songs and the crowd got the vibe. We had a blast. The Deep Purple roadies and engineers enjoyed it and told us to continue," says Bruce Lee Mani, TAAQ vocalist and guitarist.
The concert will be held at Cathedral School Grounds, Richmond Road.
Tickets, priced at Rs. 1,200, are available at Planet M outlets.
You can buy online at www.dnalive.indiatimes.com or call 25705858.
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Deep Purple is being brought down again by DNA and T. Venkat Vardhan, MD, DNA is on a high. "The band was keen to return to India. Also the decision was based on requests by fans. Yes, it has been a dull year. But Black Eyed Peas cancelled due to the Mumbai blasts and Robbie Williams cancelled his Asia tour."
He goes on to add that non-availability of Palace Grounds will not deter more acts coming to Bangalore in the future. "We are the ones who opened Bangalore Palace as a venue. Now we have a bottleneck and we have to find a way to work around it. The venue is not an issue, it's only the parking."
According to him, the stage set-up at Cathedral School will be as big as the one at Palace Ground. Some 15,000 people are expected to attend the concert. Parking is being arranged in all the nearby schools so that people can just walk to the concert in a few minutes.
A.S.
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