Hartford Rocked!

Part 1 - pre-show

Hi fellow Purple People Eaters:

Yesterday was just the greatest! I've been a Deep Purple since 1980 and last night was the first time I got to see them live. I've waited soo long for this night.

Last Wednesday night I decided to fly to Hartford from Dallas to see the band and attend the pre-show activities. It appeared that Hartford was going to be the Brixton of the US dates and I really wanted to be there. Misty e-mailed me and told me that some of the fans were meeting in the lobby of the Hartford Sheraton at 2:30. I arrived at 2:30 to meet Alex Gitlin and Marc, his friend from the Netherlands, in the lobby. Fifteen minutes later, Damien DeSimone, Brendan Johnston and his friends Steve and Pete showed up. Finally, Misty and Michael Friedman arrived from New Jersey. I spotted Misty right away, even before I saw her fringe jacket ;-) She looks like a Misty :-) Also, I noticed a trend was developing whenever I introducted myself. I'd start off by saying, "Hi, I'm Dana McDermott (blank stare) the ZosoBabe ("Oh, the ZosoBabe! Hi how are ya!") It was funny :-)) Anyhow, we were wondering where the band was staying, after all Hartford is kinda small. We decided it wasn't at the Sheraton so we wandered around the corner to a small, more upscale hotel. It was time for a beer or two, so we walked across the street to a bar and staked out the entrance to the hotel. Sure enough, Brendan's eagle eyes spotted Colin Hart shortly later. We had our hotel!! After a while, and no sign of the band, we decided to head over to the Hartford Brewery a little before 5.

The mid-size bar was divided into halves, with the Purple Party taking over one of them. Lots of people arrived over the next 2 hours (approx. 38), way too many to single out here. Needless to say, it was absolutely wonderful to meet and chat with my aol and amdp buddies whom I've chatted with over the past 18 months - I had a smile on my face the whole day. It's great to put a face with a signature/address to a post on here. And it was great to meet new friends as well. Lots of pictures were taken, my favorite being the one of Svante, Ed and Dave (3 of the 4 musketeers - we missed you Trond and wished you could have been there :-) It was close to 8PM and I needed to make the short drive to the theatre. I flew in from Dallas without a concert ticket and was getting a bit nervous. We settled the bill - the wait staff at the brewery got a little upset because we made reservations for 20 folks; sorry :-p - and left for the venue.

Part 2 - The show

I met a scalper on my way towards the theatre entrance. I got the ticket for face value - center section, about row 20, on the aisle - a good seat. Machinery were wrapping up their 20 minute set when I found my seat. Demographically, I'd say the audience was mostly male, in their mid-30s, wearing black and leather. I saw lots of 1985 t-shirts, as well. There were also some well dressed couples and a few grunge kids. All the kids I saw were boys around 10-12 years old. Sadly, I saw no little female headbangers - who's gonna carry the torch for me when I'm gone ;-(

Around 8:45, the house lights dimmed and we heard the familiar howl of Hush (that was RB on a full moon back in '68, right ;-) Jon starts off the song, pecking away on his organ, then the chugga-chugga rhythm kicks in. The band sound incredible, Ian's voice is perfect and the smile on my face can't possible grow any bigger. The amazing thing about this song is that Ian Gillan actually sings the song like it was recorded; he sings all the verses, which I have never heard him do before on any of my bootlegs :-) Wow! Ian says "Hello" and it's obvious he's hoarse. Oh no, Paris 1985 pops into my mind. No problem, though. The frog-in-his-throat didn't affect his singing at all. The setlist is the same as Toronto and Japan. I didn't write it down, but I loved Steve's soloing on Pictures of Home. I loved the way Jon and Steve traded licks on Black Night. No One Came was the highlight of the night for me. Everyone played it perfectly - it was so tight, funky, clean and clear - just superb!!!! (I'm running out of adjectives ;-) Watching and listening to Jon and Steve during Speed King was absolutely incredible. I never really cared much for BN and SK before, mostly because they seemed tired and worn out, but Steve has really revitalized them. Same with SotW, which was short and sweet. Jon's solo followed and was too short, way too short - next time we want 15 minutes from the guy :-) The new songs were great as well. The opening riff of Ted got a cheer from the crowd, I guess since the Hartford radio station was actually playing it. The Aviator was beautiful. Ian tells the audience to sit down and they follow orders (it was the ONLY song people sat down for). Ian and Steve sit on the edge of the stage and it's great. Someone in another post from a different show thought this slow song ruined the tempo and mood of the show, but that wasn't the case in Hartford. The next song was Rosa's Cantina and that got the audience off their hineys and bouncing in their rows. I think the biggest impression on me the whole night was how the audience was won over by the band on the less familiar tunes. It was obvious that many in the crowd didn't know Rosa's or No One Came or WABMC, but by the end of each song, they were cheering just as loud as us crazy fanatics. Were there any songs which were just OK? Well, for me Woman from Tokyo was OK, it's never been a favorite, but the crowd loved it. I've heard WABMC done been this tour; it seemed a little rushed, and I love that song sooo much. SIFLS may have been the biggest disappointment for me in the fact that it was just OK. It's my favorite tune on _l_ (most days) so maybe my expectations were too high. On the other hand, Rosa's which is one of my least favorites on _l_ was just great live - go figure! The encore songs were super (watching Ian Paice on Hey Cisco is unbelieveable), but sadly that meant the show was over (*sniff, sniff*) I've waited so long for this night and now it's over, but not exactly. :-)

Part 3 - The after show

Well, I didn't have a concert ticket beforehand, so I obviously didn't have a backstage pass, which many of my buddies from the Brewery received at the show. I hung around and met up with those that had passes. The security guys stated, many many times, no pass, no getting backstage. So, I did what any woman would do in this case, I walked over to Svante and Dave (who had all access laminates) and whined, in my best girly voice, "Dave, help! I wanna meet the band". Dave helps get me and the other passless fools backstage. (Muchas gracias, Davido - *big kiss*)

About 60 of us are lead into a room which holds around 50. Ed brings in a laptop and we check out some of the photos he's been clicking on a video camera during the night. 30 minutes later, Colin Hart wanders in and asks who are the aol/internet people. We introduce ourselves and chat with the Man thanking him for getting us backstage. Once again, it a case of "Oh, you're the ZosoBabe!" I just laugh and can believe that he recognizes my name. Thanks again, Colin, you're a sweetheart. He says this isn't the best night to meet the band since they have their families here as well as the record company. He says he'll do what he can.

15-20 minutes later, Steve Morse walks in to meet and greet everyone, signing anything which is thrust into his hands. I asked him if he has a computer and why isn't he online. His answer, yes, he has a computer, but he's too busy with day to day chores, and he's afraid he'll really like it online and doesn't have the time to waste. Someone said, "Well, Roger's online" And Steve said, "Yeah, but he has a wife" Gee, maybe Steve should visit Rent-a-Wife, oops Maid ;^) He also said we can thank him for getting Hush into the set list. He wanted to play it and has been including it into his solo each night, but Ian didn't want to sing it. Finally, he wore Ian down, and not only is it in the set list, we're are getting the full version as well. Thanks Steve. He's just the nicest guy with a great sense of humor. You can't say enough good things about the man.

Slowly, people begin to wander from the room into the hallway. Apparently, Jon and Bruce Payne were just here and have now left. Damn, I hate tomatoes, but I love the TOMATO. Well, shoot! I walk a little further down the hall, talking to my buddies, when Mr. Gillan walks into the hallway. I brought my copy of his autobiography to get it signed, but Ian looks and sounds tired so I decide not to bother him. I'm going to 3 more shows, I'll bother him at one of those, guaranteed ;-) Roger's in the hall now, chatting with people and signing his life away as well. I walk over to him introducing myself and he remember the ZosoBabe :-) Gee, it's not like I'm a Trond who posts everyday. I'm truly flattered. We chat about the AOL chats and how he can't leave us like he's threatening to do. We love him, we need him ;-) He says he enjoys it and I tell him it means a great deal to us. I think Roger and Steve are soul brothers. It would be impossible to find anyone to say a bad word about them. I notice a crowd around something and ask the person next to me what it is. Ian Paice is the answer ;-) Sure enough, Ian's signing stuff and chatting with folks. I tell him how wonderful tonight's show was after waiting 17 years to see the band while he signs my _l_ booklet. He says something sweet and leaves with a smile. What a gentleman. Well, it's late and time for the band to leave. Colin mushes them away and the fans continue to hang around backstage. We decide to get a group photo of the 20 or 30 of us still there. Security is now trying to get rid of us, so we pose for the photo, say our last goodbyes and promise to e-mail each other ;-) It's now around 1:30 AM as we walk to our cars.

To sum up the day (and this long post), I'd say that Saturday was the greatest concert "experience" of my life. Seeing Page and Plant last year was close to a religious experience, but this was much more. Meeting and talking with my friends for the first time, seeing the outstanding show, meeting the band was simply the best. I can't stop smiling while I'm typing this post and reliving the memories. And the best part about it, is that I will see 3 more shows before the tour is finished - YAHOOOOO

Thank you, Deep Purple. You're the greatest.

Dana McDermott, AKA the ZosoBabe

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