Deep Purple: Still living up to legendary ways
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It's tough to be a music reporter sometimes. Despite the perks, like free concert tickets, you've also got to meet the boybands, or else, to take the challenge of reviewing shows of rock groups that reigned supreme when you weren't even born.
To tell you the truth, I haven't fully recovered from the recent concert of Rick Wakeman, whose music is so progressive that I don't really get what it is all about.
And now comes Deep Purple.
Yes, I know Smoke On The Water and its distinguished guitar riffs, but that's about it.
Deep Purple had always been something of a relic for me, part of the timeline in world music history, a chapter in the rockopedia.
But after watching them perform at Jakarta Convention Center last Tuesday, all I can say is, you rock, grandpa!
I found myself cheering and applauding with the rest of 6,500 audience in a concert that brought back the glory days of rock 'n' roll of the 1970s.
The concert was their first one here since Dec. 4, 1975, and in between they have had 10 different line-ups (there was a canceled performance here last year).
"It's just thrilling, and very encouraging. A new spirit for us," vocalist Ian Gillan said at the media conference a day before the concert.
Gillan, now 57, was accompanied by drummer Ian Paice, bassist Roger Glover, guitarist Steve Morse and keyboard player Don Airey, the latest formation that is called Mark 10.
Despite their down-to-earth and friendly attitude, it was clear that the inevitable questions about the band's legendary formation, also known as Mark 2, bored, if not irritated, them.
Mark 2, back in the early 1970s, consisted of Gillan, Paice, Glover, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and keyboardist Jon Lord.
"We've been through disturbing changes that rock the boat. But today's formation is very brotherly, more of a family thing," Gillan said.
Blackmore, Gillan added, perhaps a bit disingenuously, left the band over 10 years ago and he did not even remember what the reason was.
"Jon has been in and out, and become more and more disenchanted in touring. He just want to stay home and write music," he said.
"A new album? Well, we're in no rush for a new record. But Jon will most likely not be involved in our next album."
The band said they knew they were getting up in years, but also felt that they did not have to prove anything today.
"In order to stick together, we need a catalyst. And that is the audience." Paice added.
In front of their audience on concert night, they proved that they are still amazing for any age, even if it takes crowd support to get them going.
Opening the show with Woman From Tokyo, Gillan showed that the years have not altered the distinctive falsetto that is powerful and can reach the high notes.
Running around and exploring the stage was certainly something that he was not up to, but, instead, Gillan took percussion, played harmonica or shot his bandmates and the audience with a handycam.
Flawlessly, Gillan sang 17 songs, from Child In Time, Lazy, When A Blind Man Cries, No One Came, to 1972's Smoke On The Water, the song with the riff that inspired millions of adolescent boy pick up an electric guitar.
Every song was preceded by a story behind the making of it.
The band also played a new song, an instrumental piece called The Well-Dressed Guitar.
"Maybe, maybe, it will be in the next album," Gillan said.
The rest of the band was amazing, too. Paice, now 54, really kicked ass with his drums. Glover, 57, with his trademark bandana, calmly snagged the bass strings.
The new kids on the block can also match their seniors, especially Morse, who, in his late 30s, is the youngest member of the band.
He was a star of the show without overshadowing his mates.
Airey, during one of his solo parts, managed to play some pieces of the national anthem Indonesia Raya.
The audience, meanwhile, was clearly composed of a dedicated fan base.
Some of them had even watched the 1975 concert, like drummer Jelly Tobing from Bharata band.
"Well, (the concert) is not bad. But certainly, the soul of the band lay in the hands of Blackmore and Lord," he said.
Some of the fans went crazy from the excitement at the sight of their idols, playing air guitars and dancing as though in a trance (plus there was the inevitable drunk guy puking after getting carried away).
"Super! You're a fantastic audience! We love you very much," Gillan said repeatedly.
"The next song is a number that we recorded 100 years ago."
Hush was played, followed by Fire Ball, before the spectacular event closed with Highway Star.
According to many rock historians, the birth of Heavy Metal can be traced to 1970 and two British bands: Black Sabbath, with Paranoid, and Deep Purple with their fifth album In Rock.
From what I saw and heard at the concert, even without Blackmore and Lord, I tend to agree.