Posted by Linda Stalker-Millar 07 June 2010
Live Concert Reviews
The Cape Town leg of the “Masters of Rock” tour, featuring top British Rock veterans Deep Purple, Uriah Heep & Wishbone Ash, was held on Tuesday, the 1st of June 2010 at the Grand Arena at Grand West Casino.
The show started at 7pm sharp, with Wishbone Ash being the opening act. The venue was still filling up & long queues of people were waiting to be served liquid refreshments at the bars just outside. There was a tangible air of excitement throughout, which intensified as the evening progressed....
Although Deep Purple & Uriah Heep had previously graced Cape Town with their Hard Rocking presence in 1995, it was the first time for Progressive Rock band, Wishbone Ash.
This was a dream come true for many of their long standing fans & by the end of the night they’d earned newfound respect from many of the younger audience too. One young man in particular enthused about how brilliant they are, saying “The singer’s (Andy Powell’s) lead guitar tone should be made into a form of pornography”. With a sharp, clean & polished sound, they proceeded to thrill fans with many a favourite song.
Grand West had apparently not foreseen such a massive turnout of beer guzzling Rocker’s, as the bars battled to keep up with the surge of thirsty folk, running out of beer & plastic cups…not for too long though, as replacement supplies were promptly rushed in before it became a critical shortage!
Uriah Heep were up next to basically steal the show ahead of Deep Purple. After 40 years they still retain a keen edge & distinctive sound. Uriah Heep put on a totally energetic performance, had a magnificent stage presence & a fantastic repall with the audience. Their enthusiasm was blatant & it was clear to see they were thoroughly enjoying themselves on stage. Even vocalist, Bernie Shaw exuberantly proclaimed they were having so mush fun that they didn’t want to leave! Later, humorously quoted by Mick Box that “it’s been 40 years of sex, drugs & Rock ‘n Roll & we’re still alive” had the crowd laughing along in appreciation. Although songs such as “The Wizard” & “Rainbow Demon” were sorely missed, they more than made up for it with almost every other classic. People were smiling broadly, dancing & singing along passionately to songs like “Sunrise”, “Look at Yourself”, “Gypsy” & “July Morning” amongst many others. After saying goodnight they returned, beers in hand, for an encore of another few songs, in true South African spirit, wearing massive mask like glasses resembling the South African flag.
Deep Purple headlined the show & the bar closed promptly once they began performing. There were many diehard fans there mainly to see them & they were not at all disappointed for the variety Deep Purple delivered in their show, from classics to new to instrumental solos & back to classics. At 65, Ian Gillan’s prowess & vocal range are still as strong as ever, albeit some think he’s somewhat jaded. Steve Morse played a wicked guitar the entire night – his passion for guitar shines through & his pretty much constant smile gives it all away. It was great to hear some of the newer, lesser known material, which had a good solid hard edge to it & kicked ass! Don Airey played a mean keyboard solo that had people raving about it after the show. “Perfect Strangers”, “Fireball” & “Black Night” went down a real treat, amongst other favourites. When “Smoke on the Water” was played, it was as though a lot of people had been waiting in anticipation to hear that, including an 11 year old boy near the front, who was just so stoked about it, one couldn’t help but notice his delight.
Feelings on the Deep Purple set were very mixed. Although many fans thought they were the best, on the opposite end of the scale, numerous fans felt very disappointed. Deep Purple didn’t quite live up to their expectations. A lot of people felt the bands audience interaction wasn’t so great. Ian Gillan appeared to them as nonchalant & not entirely interested, giving them an impression of half heartedness. There was a rather long section of instrumental in the middle of their show & it seemed at the time that a lot of people possibly thought the show was about to end or it perhaps wasn’t what they’d expected – it was observed that people were leaving & although the standing area near the front remained tightly packed, I heard after the show that large amounts of people were streaming out. Deep Purple did, however, receive a very strong call for more & also returned to play an encore of a few more songs before retiring for the night to further desperate screams for more.
One of the most important things missing was the absence of any form of merchandise to mark this memorable event…. & Ian Gillan’s long hair! General consensus on favourite band of the night was most certainly Uriah Heep, although for many it was Deep Purple & a large amount of people were inclined toward Wishbone Ash. All in all it was a fabulous show, the audience spanning generations - almost every Rocker in town, young & old alike, came out to partake in some rock revelry along with these legends, the Masters of Rock.
Live Review and photos by Linda Stalker-Millar, exclusively for VOICEOFROCK.COM.
More photos available in the VOR Gallery.
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