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Geneva: Purple in utero
Firstly, I would like to add a few points to the previous review by Martin Damary. The concert was completely packed and the Arena holds around 9.500 when used with standing-room (parterre debout).
We were at the very front on Roger’s side of the stage. The band started around 9:30 and with the encores, the concert lasted two hours. Roger interacted well with his side of the crowd. Ian looked like he was having great fun dancing an Eastern dance during “Rapture of the Deep”. There was also a little stage in front of the main stage where Roger and Steve jumped onto and started head-banging in unison!
I would also like to add a few personal notes. 10 years ago, my wife (who at the time was pregnant with my son) and I went to see Purple at Montreux in 1996 during the Purpendicular tour. Now, 10 years later, my son had become a Purple fanatic after listening to dad’s “Made in Japan” CD. Or maybe it was the Purple in utero effect? Anyway, when Purple came to Geneva, it was on his insistence that we get tickets for the show. And it was he who insisted that we get to the venue early so that we could stand at the very front.
The concert was made extra special for him because Roger spotted this little kid jumping up and down, waving his arms to the music. After smiling at him several times, Roger tried to throw his signature plectrums to him. Of course, there were a number of adults around my son who tried to grab the plectrums. But fortunately, one kind woman told off a guy who got one, shouting in French, “Hey, he meant to give them to him!” and the guy gave the plectrum to my son. Nice!
But it wasn’t only Roger that made my son’s day. When Ian came to Roger’s side, Ian immediately saw my son and waved to him smiling.
Thank you, Deep Purple, for making the concert so special for us. I can tell you that there is definitely another generation of Purple fandom within this family! He’s already asking about when the next concert will be!
Oh, by the way, my son’s name is Ian and yes…, he is named after Gillan and Paicey.
Makoto Ikeda
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing