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Rapturous Magic in Katowice
The performance was spotless. It was loud. The band is in a class of its own.
The Purps started about 9 p.m. But before Them we could hear the polish band SBB. With all the respect to Jozef Skrzek and the rest of musicians their performance wasn’t what I expected.. The sound was poor. Skrzek’s voice wasn’t clearly audible. The highlight was when Apostolis Anthimos changed the guitar to the drums in Walkin’ Around The Stormy Bay. It was nice to see the two drummers jamming together Last year in Plock it was far more better. That was the end.
The best was about to happen in fifteen minutes time. At 9 p.m. the lights went out. On the video screens some familiar guys were coming out from the big case.
They opened with a classic one. Pictures of Home. The audience gone completely mad what gave the positive vibes to the band. All the classic tracks were performed glamorously. Living Wreck was so passionately played. It was a real surprise to my father. I could see him spellbound when he heard the first note of it. Highway Star with a new intro shows that within DP there is always a place for changes even in the obscure stuff. Mary Long my beloved from WDWTWA was divine. What else can I write about such classics as SMOTW or Perfect Strangers? Maybe it would be enough if I write that they are refreshed and sound very well in comparison with the stuff from the new album.
Finally we move to the ROTD tracks. They sounded AWESOME. I love the new album and I wanted to hear as many as possible from it. Playing Things I Never Said during European tour is a fantastic idea. Many fans weren’t familiar with the song so now they may get a bit closer to it. It is a typical melodic DP which we all like. All the tracks were far more heavier than on the album and performed with such intensity that I felt like flying musical high. Wrong Man sounded like a thunder. The title track with Before Time Began are a good couple. They bring about this spiritual message. The songs are bound up by this spiritualism that is tremendously expressed by the mixture of music and words. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye was just terrific. We could hear a couple of the greatest riffs in rock history.
We have Ted The Mechanic back in the set list. Both with Wrong Man they create unity.
Boys ended up with Hush and Black Night. Superb, but I’d rather have heard Speed King instead of Hush.
Now the musicians. I’m not a musician so I’m not supposed to tell anything about the music itself. Their performance was very good. It really appealed to me. A tear appeared in my eye when Ian dedicated Contact Lost to the victims of the collapsed trade hall in Katowice. The worst disaster in recent Polish history. Don played a bit of Polish national anthem and he brought the audience to sing along. He got an enormous response. I love Paicey and seeing him in such a good shape made me extremely happy. Roger was all the time smiling and playing well. He’s my favorite bass player. The development of rhythm section owes him very much.
Nice to see your Rickenbacker coming out for Smoke, Rog!!! Steve’s playing was tremendous. His a fantastic guitar player. I feel he could blow away many other guitarists. Don found himself really well in Lord’s place and he played with his own identity. And finally Ian Gillan. Fantastic form, great voice. Number one rock singer. Maybe of all times? Who knows?
What struck me as odd were the people talking: “It wasn’t a good concert. We didn’t hear Child in time, Into the fire etc. Paicey’s solo was to short” and many more silly commentaries. Such things were said by people who didn’t come to contemplate music but to see the show. So I told them that if they want to see the show they should go and worship The Rolling Stones or some heavy metal clones. And in the reply to Paicey’s solo and Ian’s voice I exclaimed that when those “fans” reach sixty they won’t be able to walk properly not to mention singing.
The bunch of musicians, our band, are truly artists. There is no mark of empty stardom in their behaving on stage. The way they play takes me into a sphere where I’ve never been to. When I hear the guys I always discover something new. That music enriches my spirit and I feel closely connected to it.
Spooked was almost full. The audience was incredible. The band was warmly welcomed, as they are always in Poland, it reflected in the smiling faces of the Purps. I ‘ve never seen such happiness coming out from playing music. I feel that this is the best reward for being almost forty years on stage.
All in all, the gig was the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. It was one big musical orgasm. See You next time. Hopefully in a while.
Marcin Rybacki
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing