We have a winner!
OK, OK, it's a couple of months late and my only excuse is a lack of tuits and complete disorganisation. In spite of lots of pushing from certain other sections of the HS editorial team (they know who they are). Out of the hundreds of entrants, a surprisingly high number got the right answers (off the top of my head, 3, Chas Hodges and Glenn Hughes, not necessarily in that order!) and David Monroe was pulled out of the hat. Well, a virtual hat. I flung some numbers at the editorial team and they voted. Hey, at least we have a system! I did warn you about the crazed bonobo monkeys.
By the time I'd got round to doing the draw, by an amazing coincidence, Purple were going to be touring near David's home town so by the kindness of "Da Management" he got to see his heroes in action and meet them too.
Above all, we have to thank the awesome, amazing, kind bass man himself Patrice Vigier. Please sign up for his newswire!
June 19, 2002 - S HiFi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA, USA
This was a very special night indeed. Just a few short weeks ago, I was informed that I had won the HighwayStar.Com contest for the Vigier bass guitar, and thanks to the generous efforts of Dave Hodgkinson, I also got two tickets and backstage passes for this concert. I had been a Purple fan and a bass player for 24 years, and I was finally about to see them live for the very first time! It was truly a dream come true.
That's not to say there weren't some setbacks, however. First, the Will-Call and guest list ticket windows opened up about 1 hour and 45 minutes past schedule, and for reasons only explainable by blatant and undisguised sadism, the lines were moved from one set of windows to another set of identical windows at the very last moment. Then, my name wasn't on the printed list at the window, so I had to wait several more minutes until clearance was given.
We had incredible seats – I think I've never had better – about 15 rows from the stage, and dead center. I thought back to a few years ago, when a friend of mine had attended a Dio concert in Boston, and said that it was painfully loud, and took him days to recover from it. In the several moments before the show kicked off, I sat and pondered what it would be like to spend my remaining years stone deaf.
Within moments, gloomy organ music and dry ice started wafting up from the stage, and the five members of Dio emerged. They tore into “Killing the Dragon”, a tune which is pretty much what you would expect from Dio. It was LOUD, but not uncomfortably so. The bass drum smacks against my chest like a ball-peen hammer.
The band is very tight. Doug Aldrich is an excellent guitar player, very much in keeping with Dio's style. The surprising thing about Dio is how HAPPY he looks! For a guy who writes so much about darkness, dragons, and demonology, he's a very engaging, personable guy on stage. I believe he made direct eye contact with about 100 different people during the set. And, his voice is as powerful as it has ever been, even better than on his new album.
Dio's set is packed with great songs, and his blending of songs, such as “Egypt” with “Children of the Sea”, and “Man on the Silver Mountain” with “Long Live Rock'n'Roll” is fantastic. The only real low point of the show is his new song, “Rock'n'Roll” (not to be confused with “Long Live…”), which is a lumbering mess. No matter, though – Dio's set was fun, often thrilling, and very satisfying.
When Dio leaves the stage, the roadies come out and start tearing down the equipment. Deep Purple's stacks come rolling out on carts, and as I'm starting to realize the full extent of Dio's effect upon my hearing, I remember something about Purple's reputation – “This band's been called the loudest band in the world!!!”
When Deep Purple take the stage, they rip into “Fireball” – I can't believe my ears. The sound is PERFECT. Every component is balanced, and nothing's lost in the mix. Whereas Dio's keyboard player was almost completely buried by the wash of electric guitar, Don Airey is right there in 3D. Every note of Roger Glover's elastic bass is bell-clear, and Steve Morse is, well, Steve Morse!
What can I say about Steve Morse? I got into Rainbow (the Blackmore/Dio variety) before I got into Purple, and the overriding attraction to Purple for me was always Ritchie Blackmore. At one time, I would have scoffed at the notion of Purple touring in the 90's and beyond without Blackmore. Well, I changed my mind in a big way at this concert. Morse is, if anything, a better guitar player than Ritchie is. His technique is flawless, and his sound is incredibly ferocious. I expected Purple with a fusion guitarist to be jazzy, but Morse just burns it up and away like he invented heavy metal. He's also happy, gregarious, and entertaining in his interaction with the rest of the band, especially Roger. This band acts like the very example of mutual affection and respect. Ian Gillan kept thanking the audience for “good vibes”, but I think the transfer was the other way around. The obvious enthusiasm these men have for their music made this performance great.
There's a lot said about Ian Gillan having problems with his voice, but he was in good form this night. His baritone range is not challenged in any way, it's very strong and powerful. His very high end strong as well. At times, I thought that he might be struggling somewhere in between, but the fact is, I really couldn't pinpoint any place where he “lost it.” The latest Gillan live performances I had heard before this were from the video of “Come Hell or High Water”, and his voice tonight was considerably better. Another thing just occurred to me – there were no ballads in this performance, unless you want to call “Perfect Strangers” a ballad. Every number was high-energy hard rock, and Big Ian led the way through each and every one.
Roger Glover's bass playing was brilliant. He took two solo spots during the course of the evening, first during “Fireball”, and the second during “Speed King.” His solos are impressive technical displays, not just an unaccompanied walking bass line. He deftly folds chords into his intricate arpeggios, and his bass sings, it doesn't just thump. His general accompaniment to the band is no less compelling.
Ian Paice also performed excellently. He makes Purple's music percolate with infectious rhythm. During Dio's set, I was mostly just standing there bobbing my head, self-conscious and a little unsure of how to behave as a 38-year old geezer at a rock concert. By the time DP broke into “Hush”, I was happily dancing away like a caged go-go-girl on “Ready Steady Go”, and I blame it all on Little Ian.
I was surprised at how well Don Airey fits in. He's done a very good job of assimilating Jon Lord's style. I've heard other Purple fans describe Airey as “restrained” in comparison to Lord. If so, Lord must have been a real wild man, because I didn't find Airey restrained at all.
Purple's performance is quite different from their classic years in several ways. One is volume – DP can hardly be called “the loudest band in the world” these days. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Purple's mix was far superior to Dio's, and I don't fancy having that “underwater” sensation I got from Dio's volume again anytime soon. Also, the songs are not as elongated as the once were. Everybody takes solos, but nobody's stretching out the songs for 30 minutes like they were in the early 70's. Also, there's not the competitive vibe that I've always associated with historic Purple. Everybody's really having fun together, which I understand wasn't the case during much of the Blackmore years.
I can't emphasize this enough – if you haven't seen Purple lately, or have never seen them before, go and see them on this tour. You will not be disappointed. If you think they'd be old and boring, you're dead wrong. These guys have a world of skill and professionalism all their own. Thirty-odd years of tours and albums have given them chops that you can't get any other way, and that includes the “new” guys. The contrast with the other two bands was striking. Dio was good, the Scorpions (what little I heard of them) were okay, but Deep Purple is a horse of another colour entirely. They make hard rock sound fresh and glorious and new. It's not the DP of “Made In Japan,” but that's OK. It's different. And it's good.
After the show, there's the backstage experience. This also becomes another exercise in sadism by the HiFi Buys Amphitheater staff. After Purple's set, we're told to go stand at a particular gate, and we'll be allowed backstage eventually. The crowd builds up, and after about 30 people are crowded around the gate, I realize how unrealistic my expectations were for this experience. Considering the size of the crowd, I'll be lucky to meet any of these guys. After about 20 minutes, the security team directs us to another gate, and after several more minutes, we're allowed to gather in a small lot outside of the backstage facility. There we wait. And wait. And wait…
The first to emerge is Steve Morse. A crowd immediately forms around him. I managed to speak to him very briefly. I complimented him on his playing with Purple. He says that Purple is “a strange gig.” His explanation of this remark is oblique. It seems that after all his years with DP, there's still some distance there.
Several minutes later, I recognized Don Airey, standing a few feet away in a Hawaiian shirt and beach hat, with a glass of red wine in his hand. I introduced myself, and I told him that I've always enjoyed his playing, but never more than tonight. He's very humble, and actually somewhat frustrated by some technical difficulties that he experienced during the set. He thinks that he blew his solo during “Perfect Strangers”. I tell him that I noticed no problem at all, everything seemed to go perfectly. He leaves after a few moments.
Roger Glover appeared about 20 minutes later. I introduced myself as the winner of the Vigier bass contest, and I told him that I think he's the best rock bass player to ever draw breath. He laughs at this, and I go on to offer syncophantic praise to his work on the DP remasters. He tells me that if I keep going on, he's going to have to start being humble!
Here's some good advice if you ever find yourself speaking to Roger Glover, or probably any other English gentleman rock musician – don't interrupt him! When you ask Roger a question, he's going to give you a very detailed answer with a lot of anecdotes and observations, and he tends to take pauses. Of course, every time he took a pause, I jumped in with another question, usually at the very same second that he was resuming his discourse. Now, he doesn't get put out by this, in fact he does not seem to notice it at all, but I felt like a complete babbling idiot for doing it
I asked him about the rumours that he will be working on reissues of Burn and other latter-day Purple albums, and he's very interested but non-committal. He says that he really doesn't want to tackle these projects alone, because he didn't play on the albums, and in fact relations between himself and Purple during those years were not very good. On the other hand, he described to me how he recently heard Burn on the radio, and he thought to himself, “That's a really good song, but the mix is terrible!” He says he'd gladly take on the project if he can get the involvement of Jon, Ian Paice, or Ritchie.
Another guest had joined in the conversation at this point, and he asked Roger about the possibility of DP doing any songs from the David Coverdale era. Roger's reply is an emphatic NO, because, among other reasons, Ian Gillan won't sing them. He responds to further prodding, saying, yes, Ian is capable of singing them; yes, Ian could interpret them in his own way; but no, he will not be doing them, ever. He makes the observation that Gillan is not a highly technical singer, he's a personality, and part of his personality is that he will do exactly what he wants.
Roger's also asked about his new solo album, which will be released later this year, apparently. One of the guests asks him if it's going to feature a lot of bass playing. Roger says no, it's going to be a songwriter's album, not a bass player's album.
After several more minutes, Roger excuses himself and exits backstage. I decided to leave at this point, because the backstage visit has drawn on for over an hour, and I really doubt I'm going to see Ian Paice or Ian Gillan anytime soon. Before I leave, I see a rather poignant scene. Jimmy Bain, the bassist for Dio, steps outside, and one of the guests says loudly, “Hey, there's Dio's bass player.” He asks him if Dio's still around, and Jimmy seems irritated, and snaps back, “Who's that?” In retrospect, I wish that I had spoken to him a little bit, because it's really sad to think that after about 30 years playing excellent bass with many major acts, Jimmy is only known as “Dio's bass player.” So, if you happen to see this tour anytime soon, be sure to remember Jimmy's name, and let him know how well he performs. He's far too good to be faceless.
About two weeks after this concert took place, the Vigier Bass arrived. It's an Excess II, and it's a transparent red colour, the same as the one that Roger used the night of the concert.
The Excess II is incredibly light and easy to handle. The action is slick and very comfortable. Seconds after opening the box, I'm dancing around the house ripping off arpeggios. However, the real surprises come when I plug it in. This is the first bass I've ever played with active electronics. It's like having a powerful pre-amp built into the bass. My other bass is a Fender Jazz Bass with passive electronics – the Excess II just blows it away, in every conceivable way. The output is so powerful it makes my house shake, even at a modest volume. The power of this bass takes a lot of getting used to – it's really designed for huge amplification.
The neck seems unusually wide, and this is a very good thing. It makes it easier to exercise good technique. My right hand feels comfortable playing in either pickup position, or at the base of the neck.. This is very important to me, as many other basses I've played in the past seem to be much less versatile. My technique has traditionally been just fingerstyle, but since meeting the Excess II, I've been working the pick back into my routine for the first time in about 18 years.
It's hard to describe the sound of the Excess II without lapsing into cliches, so I'll just put it very simply – For the last few years, I've relied on a multi-effects pedal to bolster the sound of my basses with flange, chorus, EQ, etc. I've not had to use them with the Excess II. The natural sound of this instrument is so rich that it makes most effects superfluous and annoying. I may be shopping for better amplification to complement this extraordinary bass, but I won't be needing any phony electronic distortions to make it sing.
In conclusion, I would like to graciously thank Dave Hodgkinson, Patrice Vigier, Roger Glover and Deep Purple, and everyone at thehighwaystar.com for sponsoring this contest. It's been one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. I can't emphasize that enough. Whenever I pick up my Vigier bass, I'll remember how very lucky I was to receive this incredible gift from a band that I've admired and whose career I've followed for many years.