ROCKING IN A PURPLE STORM

EXPERIENCING real rock legends Deep Purple in the flesh at the quiet Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on Sunday was divine. No matter what people say about these ageing rock stars, they still have much appeal.That's what concert presenter Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and organiser Fajar Baiduri Sdn Bhd believed and Deep Purple did live up to certain expectations. Watching Deep Purple for two hours, playing ``wholesome'' old stuff from the 1960s and 1970s and obscure new songs, was thoroughly entertaining.

But first, let's get one thing straight. Where did the RM200 tickets come from? Apparently, these were meant for corporate groups. So, why separate the RM50 and RM100 ticketholders when both groups had to stand? One can't quite fathom why the organisers had to have three types of tickets. After all, those with RM200 tickets were seated and the rest were standing the whole time, so why bother segregating them?

By then, our two homespun rockers, Naked Breed and Jason Lo, were already on hand to give a prelude before Deep Purple went on stage at 9pm.

Predictably, the crowd got revved up from the energy and storm left by Naked Breed and Lo. So, when the rock legends took over, everything seemed set for the evening.

No one was too old to party - fathers, mothers, grandfathers, corporate figures and all the regular Mat Rocks were there and dressed for the occasion.

Even young rockers wearing bandanas, wielding neon-coloured sticks and wrist bands had a whale of a time.

And, mind you, these youngsters who looked truly entertained were not even born when Deep Purple cut their debut album in 1968.

Those who bought the RM50/RM100 tickets were probably lamenting the fact that their view was blocked by the privileged ones ``seated'' in front; some of the RM200 ticketholders joined a few chairs to synchronise their steps as they danced on them. All this was done in full view of the other concertgoers who could only sigh and look at the big screen.

Despite the warnings flashed incessantly on the giant screen asking them not to stand on chairs and to remain seated, they refused.

To make it worse, there were a handful - quite intoxicated from the looks of it - who made a scene. However, like good Malaysians, no one kicked up a fuss, except for the no-nonsense Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel.

As for the big screen, if only it were a jumbo TV screen from which all spectators, no matter how far away, could still see what was happening on stage. What was annoying was that it was not strategically placed and was hung slightly lower than it should have been.

Still, most fans remained loyal to their spots, some happily squatting on the pavement while others cheered on.

Keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, lead guitarist Steve Morse and vocalist Ian Gillan got into the groove with the crowd from the first song.

One hit came after another and the crowd responded wildly by cheering, clapping and rocking away enthusiastically.

When the band presented Strange Kind of Woman, you knew that somehow, Deep Purple could do no wrong that evening. All hell broke loose - feet were stomping, heads were banging, hands were clapping, wolf whistles everywhere and some mouths were lip-sync-ing to the great rockers' vocals.

The sound system, which was perfectly tuned, helped to outline Deep Purple's appeal. There was no fancy laser display but still it was pretty cool.

Morse, Deep Purple's youngest member, was given the thumbs-up when he impressed many with his reinterpretations of the greatest guitar riffs in rock history - that of Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones - before he plunged into the first bar of Smoke on the Water.

The Malaysian crowd was far too responsive to bother about how inactive Ian Gillan was on stage. His too-casual outfit, a loose batik-print shirt with Bermuda pants, belied the fact that this was indeed a rock star. So were his restricted movements. But his vocals still packed power.

By the time he hit the notes of Woman from Tokyo, Speed King and Burn, Gillan was sweating profusely. Yet he showed no signs of slowing down. He only changed the mood slightly by doing the slow rock number, When a Blind Man Cries. By then, his voice had grown huskier and jazzier.

The star attraction that evening was Jon Lord, a great musician whose fingers move faster than a court stenographer's. His ability to improvise on all the songs was simply amazing.

White-haired and looking like a cool grandpa, he coaxed many wonderful sounds from the B3 Hammond, ranging from sweet, melancholic blues and rock to classic Purple tunes.

Morse and Glover were brilliant too, showing off their lightning-speed guitar work. Their long guitar solos were full of passionate energy.

Deep Purple's playlist boasted an interesting dose of familiar tunes. It was like taking a history lesson in rock music. Each song marks a special place in memory lane.

Gillan was astounded by the cheering and clapping from the crowd when he tackled Fireball, Into the Fire and the all-time favourite Smoke on the Water. He responded in between songs, saying ``Thank you'' and ``You are great!'' to the crowd.

The other anthems that evening that made the crowd roar were Perfect Strangers and Speed King.

In fact, Deep Purple was so influential that they could have thrown together anything that evening and the loyal fans would have been delighted. No doubt the turnout was strong but it wasn't overwhelming. Only die-hard fans of Deep Purple would likely make a trip all the way to KLIA at night.

If one bears in mind that the open-air car park concert, which had a standing capacity of 40,000 people, was only partially filled and we just had ``purple fever'' two years ago, one could consider the concert quite successful.

By the time the band members came back for the encore, Hush, the crowd was chanting, asking them to do more. Gillan insisted hardcore fans raise their hands if they wanted more - ``If you love Deep Purple, raise your hands!'' - as if the point hadn't been made, and he had to say it again.

No one's missing the point - Malaysians still love Deep Purple no matter how old they are!

NOTE: You are never too old to party!

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 22/3/2001