I went to see Deep Purple last night. Now that was an experience! I had given up on arena type shows a long time ago, because, well, they sucked. The sound was horrible, and I'd have to stand next to Jimmy Joe and Bobbi Sue and wilt in their enthusiasm for whoever their Rock hero was. I've been to some large festivals here in the Europe, and they've all been quite civilized, but I just didn't dig on big arena shows.

This time, I decided to make an exception. A friend of mine, is friends with Ian Gillan, and said she could get me a backstage pass if I would like one. Hell, yeah! Naturally, I took her up on her offer.

I went on Monday down to the ticket office to buy a ticket. The show had just sold out on Saturday. Fuck. What am I gonna do now? Ebay! I decided to check if maybe, just maybe, somebody had a ticket or two for sale on Ebay. The worst case would be that maybe I'd have to pay a little more than the face value, or maybe I'd have to buy two tickets, and try to sell one at the door. How did I get myself in a situation where I have a backstage pass but no real ticket? A quick look on Ebay, and sure enough there's one ticket available. With the Buy it now! option. And it's at a price of..hold on...I can't be reading that right. Does that really say for 10 EUR less than the ticket price? Hell, yeah! You can bet your bottom euro that I clicked on that Buy it now! button faster than the speed of light. I broke the laws of physics with that purchase, baby. Not only that, he lives just a couple of miles away and he'd bring the ticket to me! Man it just doesn't get any better than this. And then the Swedish Bikini Team showed up! Okay not really, but that would have been good. We arranged a meeting point, and money and ticket changed hands.

I got to Ravensburg a little early on Saturday before the show to meet up with some friends who were also going to the show. Quite a few beers and a steak later, we made our way to the concert. In short, I was just thrilled to death with this show. The sound was fantastic and not horrificly loud. I remember seeing Judas Priest on the Defenders of the Faith tour when I was fourteen and my ears were ringing for days after that. I'm kind of weird about my ears and loud noises--my ears are my livelihood, after all--so I was really pleased that I didn't have to have earplugs for the show. That's right, I had Deep Purple unprotected. The arena was laid out so that the stage was on the long side instead of the short side, so everybody had a great view. The beer was normally priced (3 EUR), and the concert-goers were all civilized. I guess it helps that they were all old farts like me. Our rowdy days are behind us. The concert itself was outstanding. I've been a Steve Morse fan for a long, long, time (ever since I saw the Steve Morse Band open up for Rush in Richmond, Virginia in 1985), and it was just great to see Steve Morse again. I've been a Deep Purple fan since Perfect Strangers, and the chance to see Deep Purple was really something I'm glad I didn't pass up. The show was really, well, a great Rock show. Lots of solos, lots of lights, lots of great Rock songs. There's a reason Deep Purple is Deep Purple, and Deep Purple is monstrous. This is the way it's supposed to be. Loud, but not too loud :-), big, bad, and beautiful.

After the show, I head backstage for the meet and greet. This wasn't backstage, where you go into the dressing room and partake in the catering--this was just the meet and greet after the show. I talked briefly with the band, had some pictures, and that's that.

Now, here's where having a friend of Ian's as my friend came in handy. She know which hotel the band was staying at. So off to the hotel, and who do we bump into at the bar? Ian Paice. Finally, I get to talk to the drummer. Sure, I'm a bass player, but I always find myself wanting to talk to the other half of my brain. It's the drummers that make me sound good, and it's the drummers that call me because they know I make them sound good. It's a symbiosis, and it's really nice to talk shop with people like Ian, who are, well, giants. He's a very big fish in the biggest pond, and I'm just a medium sized fish in a small, but very beautiful, pond. He was really polite, and we talked for a while before he headed up to his room.

Thank you, Deep Purple! You've given me hope that maybe Rock and Roll really isn't going to die.