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Purple fan

Registered: 10-2003
Posts: 3513
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DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


Contributed by: Taryn Cantor

Photo by: michael.currin.co.za

When was the last time you went to a rock concert and the number of
people with grey hair (or dyed grey hair) made up the majority? When
last did you see groups of 60+-year-old women wearing shorter skirts,
tighter shirts and higher heels than you? I could almost hear their
children (or grandchildren) saying to them: “Where do you think you’re
going dressed like that?!”

Ah, yes... Old-school rockers reliving their youth and probably
looking the same as they did in the '60s and '70s, apart from a few
wrinkles. Ponytails and leather jackets in hand, the concert is the
epitome of nostalgia for this seasoned crowd.

Wishbone Ash, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple are about to perform to a
sold out Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg. It is at this point when a
friend’s reply to an email reverberates in my head. On asking him
whether he was going to the Masters of Rock concert, his response was
less than euphemistic: "I’m tired of irrelevant washed up artists
coming to SA." This is the cynical voice of a fed up music lover
frustrated with South Africa having become a port for a backlog of
artists who were popular a decade or more ago. Are we so deprived that
we get excited about any band coming to South Africa, because we don’t
get the big ones of our time but the big ones past their sell by
dates?

Surely these three rock groups are a little different, considering
they were creators and innovators of the genre, and are still churning
out CDs and making fans out of the younger generations.

Or is he right? Do these acts still have what it takes? Can they still
perform as well as they did in the time of sex, drugs and rock 'n
roll? I begin to have visions of men with long white beards, propping
themselves up with their guitars and trying to relive their heyday on
stage.

White beards are right, but I have the rest of it wrong.

Wishbone Ash, one of Britain’s leading hard rock groups in the early
'70s, are the first to perform and they play those electric guitars
better and harder than I’ve seen any current band play. The band are
recognised as one of the first to use the now common approach of twin
lead guitars. Both guitarists at the time were voted as "Two Of The
Ten Most Important Guitarists In Rock History" (Traffic magazine
1989). This most certainly rings true in their performance, although
after much controversy and band member turnaround over the years,
guitarist Andy Powell is the only original remaining member. Even so,
their act is unexpectedly impressive.

The next band up is Uriah Heep, whose name, I must confess, I had
heard for the first time last year from my father after he’d listened
to the latest Muse album. Indeed, Uriah Heep most certainly do
conjure up sounds I’d heard from Muse, who played in Johannesburg just
two years prior. This is when I most want to pose the question to my
friend: "How irrelevant can these bands be if they’re still
influencing rock bands over 30 years later?"

The men appear on stage through lights, smoke and epic sonic sound
waves, antithetical to that of the "very ‘umble", to quote the Charles
Dickens’ character Uriah Heep, from where the band got their name.
Only when the camera closes in on them on the big screens, can you see
that the once long golden locks are in fact grey, but surprisingly, no
fewer locks than they had in the late '60s, according to pictures.
These "real musicians", to quote the evening's host Barney Simon,
could put any new rock or metal band to shame. Any doubts one might
have had about these granddads can officially be laid to rest.

The band members of Uriah Heep seen on stage at Friday's concert (bar
the drummer) have been together since 1986, joined then by vocalist
Bernie Shaw, who looks phenomenally and surprisingly "cool" in his
leather pants equipped with knife-holder (for his microphone), zip-up
shirt and zebra-print cowboy boots. His charisma is enthralling, to
the point that even though I'm only a recent fan, I want his
autograph.

The performance is exhilarating and energetic. The crowd don’t stop
participating and screaming for them. At one point during a song
called 'Sunrise', driven by thunderous church-like organs, Shaw can
easily be mistaken for a preacher of rock and the entire Dome full of
people his devoted followers. When the band play their 1977 no.1 hit
'Free Me', the entire crowd erupt with the lyrics. Shaw’s voice
resounds almost operatically at times, and you can see and feel the
intensity in every note in his voice, every muscle in his body and
every bead of sweat on his face.

Mick Box, the original guitarist since 1969, employs all the antics
one would expect of a vintage rock band, including one-handed guitar
playing, teeth guitar playing, above the head guitar playing and even
gyrating and thrusting with the guitar between his legs. Younger
generations might call it clichéd while other bands try to emulate
them, but they still remain the originals and still do it better than
anyone else.

As their set comes to a close, this experienced band who have played
countless concerts, are still humbled and bewildered by the reaction
from the crowd, as they skip off stage, arms around each other, true
brothers for over 40 years.

Now I'm on a high and ready to see what our headliners, Deep Purple,
supposed legends, have in store. This is what the crowd have been
waiting for; the climax of the concert, even more impressive than the
last band, right? Wrong.

It all starts off well. The band members fit the identikit of "cool"
'70s rockers. Perhaps even cooler is the bassist, Roger Glover, with
his red bandana and flowing hair, resembling a cross between Willie
Nelson and Hulk Hogan.

Then, Ian Gillan, the lead singer, steps onto stage. It's as if
someone’s dad has stumbled out by mistake. He looks misplaced amongst
the manes, with his red collared shirt, black jeans, white sneakers
and Captain Kirk haircut. He seems lost, or like he’s forgotten
something. Indeed he has - his Ray-ban sunglasses, which he fetches
from behind the keyboardist about six times during the performance.
He's apparently unable to decide if he looks better with them on or
off, constantly adjusting them from his face to on top of his head,
like a nervous twitch.

Even more bizarre is the fact that the voice emanating from his mouth
is bewilderingly powerful and without disappointment. It seems to
belong to a different body – although, unfortunately, he looks more
comfortable playing the tambourine than holding a microphone.

Thankfully, the rest of the band members more than make up for
Gillan’s awkwardness. Particularly the keyboardist who looks like a
Mozart-esque mad scientist behind his six or more stacked keyboards,
with a miniature Ozzy Osbourne bobble head bouncing to the stories he
tells with his fingers, running over the keys so fast that you’d find
it hard to believe he's actually playing. He breaks into a piano
medley spanning from recognisable classical pieces, to nursery rhymes,
experimental electro '80s music, sci-fi sounds, and eventually, our
South African national anthem. As is to be expected, the crowd go
wild, young and old alike.

If there's ever an event that can bridge the gap between young and
old, parents and children, this is it. These artists are living proof
that perhaps real rock music is the fruit of the serum of youth.

The question is, will today’s rock artists be remembered for half as
long as those of yesteryear, who, more than four decades later, are
still making music which is recognised by both young and old, as
evidenced by the turnout.

So, are these artists "irrelevant, washed up"? I guess that depends on
how you define "irrelevant". If relevance pertains to artists of the
generation that birthed the original "Masters of Rock", a foundation
of influence for future generations who would continue the genre, then
they certainly can't be classified as irrelevant. If you define
relevance as something that is merely current and part of popular
culture, and deny the historical influence behind that, then indeed,
go ahead and label them "irrelevant". I bet I can find stadiums full
of both nostalgic and current fans that would say otherwise.

http://www.entertainmentafrica.co.za/index.php?section=article_id|32773||command|article||subcommand|news||release_type_id|4
6/6/2010, 16:49 Link to this post Send Email to danielb   Send PM to danielb
 
sail away Profile
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Banned user

Registered: 09-2007
Posts: 1741
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


Apparently they had sold out houses in SA, relevant or not..
This relevance debate is raging on here too. emoticon

The review will suit S5 and his devotees just fine by the way.
6/6/2010, 18:43 Link to this post Send Email to sail away   Send PM to sail away
 
Witchy Nightmare Profile
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Purple fan

Registered: 03-2005
Posts: 3396
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


Interesting review, and credible somehow as it mentions both positive and negative aspects about DP's show. No thoughtless devotism, no bashing. Surprising that Don Airey gets featured so detailed (even though it seems that the reviewer doesn't know his name) as usually about 90% of DP reviews are about Gillan and Morse. I assume that this has been written by someone who doesn't follow DP's steps too closely, and I always find it interesting to get such a view from "outside" the usual fan base. Perhaps Don Airey is more important for DP than all those Gillan / Morse focussed debates seem to suggest.
7/6/2010, 14:27 Link to this post Send Email to Witchy Nightmare   Send PM to Witchy Nightmare
 
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Registered: 09-2007
Posts: 1741
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


Ian Gillan does look "lost" on stage these days, his movements are going downhill and maybe they should consider making 2010 the last year on the road.
On the other hand,the band seems to be forever loved out there in the big world.
7/6/2010, 16:13 Link to this post Send Email to sail away   Send PM to sail away
 
SixtyNine Profile
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Purple fan

Registered: 10-2005
Posts: 1731
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


The thing is that the same audience would cherish any other classic rock act, such as Uriah Heep or Wishbone Ash. So I guess they're not really there for Deep Purple as much as they are there for other bands. The conclusion is that most of the people out there wouldn't even notice if DP weren't playing anymore. As long as they can hear some familiar guitar riff, it's fine.
8/6/2010, 17:43 Link to this post Send Email to SixtyNine   Send PM to SixtyNine
 
danielb Profile
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Purple fan

Registered: 10-2003
Posts: 3513
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


Good quality clips from Ljubljana:

Lazy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0R5yEU0McQ&feature=channel

Space Truckin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX3oEBOsiqs&feature=channel
10/6/2010, 1:24 Link to this post Send Email to danielb   Send PM to danielb
 
Eirik Solum Profile
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Purple fan

Registered: 09-2004
Posts: 2477
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


From these clips Gillans sounds in fine form, but, yes, looking a bit old and somewhat akward on stage. But in good spirits.

More concerned about Paice's energy level. Hope he and they all sounds great when I see them in a month. Over all the band sounds good...:-)
14/6/2010, 14:39 Link to this post Send Email to Eirik Solum   Send PM to Eirik Solum
 
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Registered: 09-2007
Posts: 1741
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Re: DP/Heep/WA Johannesburg review


Sarpsborg.. Eirik? What kind of venue is that? Not very far from karlstad or strömstad.
14/6/2010, 17:51 Link to this post Send Email to sail away   Send PM to sail away
 


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