Date: Tue, 12 Apr 94 22:37:09 -0400 From: JONES@VSDEC.NL.NUWC.NAVY.MIL (William Jones) Subject: Re: Old timer DP reviewsjust saw the month-old post asking for the old timers to recollect the classic DP concerts, so I dug out my ticket stubs and tried to jog the memories. here goes:
1st time - June 1, 1973 at New Haven Veterans Memorial Colosseum.
Opening acts were NRBQ and Billy Preston (all this for $3.50 - typical U.S. show now costs $35.00). I was a bit overwhelmed as it was my first concert, the seats should have come equipped with binoculars I was so far away, and I was just an acne-faced teenager. Paicey was my fave at the time, so the long drum solo was the highlight for me. Don't remember many details, but it was a two hour or so show. Also must have been one of the last with the MK II lineup - anyone know exactly when they broke up MK II? [29. June 1973, in Osaka. - Trond]
2nd time - August 26, 1974 at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.
Opening acts were Elf and Aerosmith! Biggest fad at this time was that everyone brought watermelons spiked with vodka to the show! By the time Purple hit the stage (when darkness fell), everywhere you walked, you were stepping on squished watermelon! First tune was "Burn", and that's about all I remember from this one!
3rd time - January 26, 1976 at Springfield Civic Center in Massachusetts.
I was really looking forward to this one as I was a major Hughes and Bolin fan at this point. Problem was, I had a date who complained through the whole show and absolutely ruined it! "Why do they have to play so loud?" "I thought you said he was a good singer - all he does is scream!" I know I made the best of it, but how can I give details? With all the second-hand smoke hanging in the air, the ear-splitting volume, it all seems somewhat fuzzy...
If you're looking for details like song lists, what they wore, etc. - forget it! All I can say is that they were never disappointing and I'm glad I went.
P.S. I also saw the 1984 Perfect Strangers tour, but it wasn't the same - maybe my advanced age had something to do with it ;-)