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Ripening 2 reviews

Ripening 1

Berlin special

Bananas Live CD Presentation - Columbiahalle, Berlin 20.08.2003

by Michael Labitzke

read this in German

After I missed the 2003 summer tour, as all the dates collided with another well-known boy group's tour, I was surprised to read about the release gig in Berlin. I didn't count on a big chance of getting hold of tickets, but luckily this turned out to be no problem in the end. For the club shows of two other bands this summer (Stones, AC/DC) the possibility was almost null.

As a resident of Dresden, one is by now used to the fact that one needs to make quick trips to other towns, and the Autobahn route to Berlin is one of the favourites for me, who always only travels as a passenger. Having made many such trips and seen many good concerts in the recent years, one is always amused by many "funny" road signs in the Berlin/Brandenburg region, such as: "Carriageway in repair, for your convenience - 11km, until December 2005". Calculating with a generous allowance as to how long ago this sign has been put up, you still come to the rate of 21 meter per working day. Oh well, that's only possible with taxpayers' money...

The journey went surprisingly smooth, and Columbiahalle is easy to get to when one drives into Berlin from the direction of Dresden. We were in front of the venue around 6PM, and finding a parking space was no problem either. Some fans were already waiting outside the hall, among them Truppi (model of enviromental friendliness!!!!) [Apparently the author witnessed this fellow DP fan make an extra trip to the nearest bin 100 metres away to throw his rubbish, rather than throw it on the street - Ed.] We then did some sight-seeing, went to the former Checkpoint Charlie and then, to get us in the mood, had a good Turkish meal. However, this was the first time I drank Flensburger beer in Berlin, due to lack of alternative choice.

We were back at the venue around 8:30PM. I had expected a more crowded scene, but the atmosphere was relaxed, and "Bananas" was being played at a civilised volume through the PA . Upstairs was reserved for the press people, ie. we, the fans, had the whole floor area to ourselves. Following a brief announcement, the show kicked off with "Highway Star" - the ideal opening number indeed, and the vibes picked up immediately - followed by "Knocking At Your Back Door". A clean performance, with powerful Hammond, this was on my secret list of songs I'd love to hear live, as it was not played in 2002 at the Ferropolis gig. It is obvious that Don is intergrated into the band a lot more and his performance is far stronger now, in comparison to the last two shows that I have seen (Dresden 2001 and Ferropolis 2002.)

Then followed "Silver Tongue" from the new album, after which "Lazy" - with a short intro by Don. Before "Contact Lost", Ian told the audience how this track came into being (something to do with the Columbia disaster, but my English is - still - pretty useless, unfortunately.) The track blended into "Haunted". At the end of those two numbers, Ian gave Steve two little kisses (one for each song), for his wonderful and clean guitar play. On the whole Steve played his guitar in a very earthy and rocking way, even during one or the other of his "finger practices" using high tones. "Bananas" and "Well Dressed Guitar" (must be in every setlist) were followed by one of my favourites from the new album: "House of Pain" - with Ian's master singing in his high pitches. Don's keyboard/Hammond solo came after that, which was rather disappointing for me. For one thing, there's nothing new (Star Wars combined with the German national anthem), mixed with some classical melodies, but all played too fast and to my eye (and ear) too messy. As he moves from the keyboard to the hammond, there was a short pause, and with the second pause he launches into "Perfect Strangers", with the whole band joining in again. Here the rhythm section had obviously expected a longer intro and missed their timing. Then a short "Guitar Parade" by Steve, which, as usual, lead to "Smoke On The Water". With "Hush" the main part of the show was over.

The five musicians, however, did not let the audience wait for too long, and returned to the stage, welcomed by a thunderous applause from the auditorium. "I Got Your Number" and "Black Night" followed, the latter preceded by some more improvisation. I didn't know the piece [It was the first verse lyrics to Ian Gillan's "Gunga Din" sung in a totally different melody, with Steve providing some Scottish melody in the background - Akiko] and I'd never heard this particular transition into the song, but it sounded great. After barely 90 minutes, this memorable concert was - far too quickly - over.

The show was filmed by at least 5 cameras, and is supposed to be webcast on AOL in September. I think seeing your favourite band in a small club is the most amazing experience for a fan. This summer I was lucky enough to do so twice (the Stones was the other one), and at what other Purple gig could you have possibly heard 7 songs for the first time live (apart from your first Purple gig, obviously)?! The sound was well balanced, and one could hear every instrument clearly. Having read some reviews of the indoor shows in 2003, this was not necessarily what one would have expected in the area of sound mix. Furthermore, there was no problem with too much bass, which had bothered me at Ferropolis in 2001.

What was most striking, nevertheless, was that the guys were obviously enjoying their "work" - a good, relaxed atmosphere was evident on the stage, the classic numbers sounded fresh, and the new material fitted in seamlessly in with them. The new songs have a big potential as live numbers, and they sound like authentic Deep Purple. Hopefully this is just an initial ignition for the "new" line-up. For me the strength of the band lies partly in that, despite many changes in the line-up, the group has always retained its character. I hope it won't be another 6 years before the next album, and that the guys will make use of this new album and completely shuffle their setlist for the Bananas tour. Hi guys (or Mr. Gillan), there's more than just the Mark II era.

Unfortunately you couldn't buy the album on the evening, so we'll have to wait until Monday. I hope that the CD is not a copy-controlled one (as described on the Amazon order page), because if it is, I'll go back to my roots, back to the good old LP. You can still play records after two years, you know - but that's another topic.

Best Regards,
Michael Labitzke

Setlist:
Highway Star
Knocking At Your Back Door
Silver Tongue
Lazy
Contact Lost
Haunted
Bananas
Well Dressed Guitar
House Of Pain
Perfect Strangers
Smoke On The Water
Hush

I've Got Your Number
Black Night

English translation by Akiko Hada

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