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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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