My First Rock Concert

Back when I was in my early early teens, the kind of music I listened to was mainly pop (Shock!! Horrors!!!) like Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, the Spice Girls (well mainly cos i thought they were hot then), and many more other bubblegum kinda pop-y artists. I still digged retro stuff, but that mainly consisted of stuff like Elvis, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Bee Gees of course. Bit by bit, I started realising and appreciating the music of my parents and starting frowning on the music of my generation. The great day arrived in 1999 when my Dad bought Deep Purple's Ultimate Gold Collection which was exclusively released in Malaysia that year in conjuction with their concert in Malaysia. I had already been blown away with Smoke on the Water (as simple as the intro riff is, it gives the illusion of complexed grandeur). The other track that caught me was Soldier of Fortune. It was melancholic and just made you want to get depressed. Deep Purple were always my favourites when it came to Rock Ballads. They were the perfect intiation into classic rock.

Life came full circle, when dad and one of my uncles agreed to get tickets to watch them. I still have my ticket stub back home in Malaysia under lock and key, and when I do return to it, I will upload it on the site. So it was me (age 14), my sis, mum, dad, uncle, and aunt all set to watch a bunch of old rockers jam at Shah Alam Stadium. Best part was, it was a school night, it was one of those rare moments when mum and dad were lenient about our sleeping time (Quote Jason Lee in Almost Famous, 'Rock and roll can save the world') Pretty sure me and my sis were the youngest, but am damn sure my parents weren't the oldest. I was preparing myself for dissapointment, as I was worried that with age, the vigour of their jamming would seem somewhat diminished. I have never been happier to be proven wrong.





Damn I still can't remember what they started with, but I think that it was Women from Tokyo which was followed by Black Knight. Ian Gilligan could still scream like hell, wailing for that sweet Child in Time (but of course cant be compared to their rendition in the Made in Japan album). In between they played some medleys, one of them included Soldier of Fortune, but it was just a passing rift for the man credited with that song was not in the stadium; Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple's black sheep guitarist and the man who came up with some of the greatest riffs of all time (inc Smoke on the Water). They ended with Burn (or Perfect Strangers) and they actually left the stadium in their band van. But crowd was not that easily fooled and they kept calling back for encores. Needless to say, they drove back in, popped back on stage and kicked all our asses with a freaking damn good rendition of Highway Star. The solo on that was a gut buster, a face melter, what ever you wanna call it, but they really did save the best for last. I think through out the whole night, my hair was standing up.

That was my first and the best concert I ever attended. It was sheer art in progress, poetry in motion. On that night, everything fell in place, I was reborn again. Memories from that night are all just shades of colours and faces, a poor substitute for what really took place. But the thing that never left me was how I felt that night. Tis is a beautiful thing isn't it? Keep on Rocking Guys



Track Listing on Ultimate Gold (Malaysia 1999)

Black night (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Single A side recorded during 1970.
Space truckin' (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on Machine Head 1972.
Smoke on the water (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on Machine Head 1972.
Soldier of fortune (Blackmore/Coverdale) Originally released on Stormbringer 1974.
Woman from Tokyo (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on Who Do We Think We Are 1973.
Child in time (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on In Rock 1971.
Speed king (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on In Rock 1970.
Strange kind of woman (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on Fireball 1971.
Hush (Joe South) Originally released on Shades of Deep Purple 1968.
When a blind man cries (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Single A side originally released in 1972.
Fireball (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Originally released on Fireball 1971.
Burn (Blackmore/Lord/Paice/Coverdale) Originally released on Burn 1974.
Stormbringer (Blackmore/Coverdale) Originally released on Stormbringer 1974.
Perfect strangers (Blackmore/Glover/Gillan) Live track.
Highway star (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Live track.
Smoke on the water (Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice) Live track.

The Essence of Good Music (in other words, Classic Rock)

This is a little intro my sis, Divya wrote. I know it took forever to get something going on this blog, but it has been a busy time for both of us, but without further ado, lets kickstart this thing

Rock exists in a multitude of dimensions, and it is evident that for each individual, the meaning of this music is undeniably different, based on experiences and age. Right now, I’ll have to let you know what it means to me. This particular genre of music has greatly influenced me for a very long time, ever since I was young. I am often inclination to stand up and fight for it, whenever someone has a word or two to put it down. I am blessed not to come against such ‘blasphemy’ for a long time, but it is sad to say that the origin of this genre is slowly dying out. What stands for rock these days is pitifully painful, and as long as you are able to head-bang and shout out verses and lyrics out in an animalistic manner, you are a rocker. Rubbish. To actually appreciate the lyrics, listen to it with your heart, and take in certain anomalies that sound wrong in a song- and let it make up the part of the song that you love most; is what makes up this genre to me, at least.

I’ll have to let you know what bands that I speak of – Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, U2, Supertramp, Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Doors and many other legends are all exemplary bands that have the classic attributes to what I speak of. They played and wrote music that stands the test of time, and that have a certain quality to it, that lets you know that it won’t fade away. I’ve also learned that in my advancing years, I can only write from my heart when I listen to such bands play. I become more into myself when I listen to Pink Floyd and U2 songs, just as I am listening to Pink Floyd’s ‘Us and Them’ right now. I’d have to owe the appreciation that I have of this beautiful experience to my dad, uncle, and of course, to my brother. I remember when I was young, not too long ago, as I would listen to the music of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, from behind the closed doors of my brother’s room. I always had that awe, wonder and a certain feeling of heightened awareness of the music that he loved. They were legends, something untouchable and utterly beautiful, that seemed to have existed since the dawn of man. Sacred and holy.



Apart from that, I always thought that it took someone older and matured, in other words; wise, to value those songs. There was always a border and a limit within me, and I
felt I wasn’t good enough for the grandiose of this music. Slowly as I grew, that boundary dissolved and disappeared, even without me knowing it, and I grew to love these bands immensely. It all started from Led Zeppelin and Stairway to Heaven, progressing to U2’s With or Without You, to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The best part is, I’m still learning of new classic bands. Just when you think you know them all, there’s more. And since I wasn’t born in that era, it has become like a valuable learning experience for me. Something irrefutably worthwhile to the growth of my soul.

If I seem like I’m preaching, it is only because this is the only way to express my thoughts on this particular area that is under scrutiny by me, right now. One of the hardest things that I’ve encountered is the feeling of sheer frustration and discontent of not having many peers of my own age to share the wonder and exuberance of such music with. It’s depressing at times. But of course, there are a handful of people that I do know, that also appreciate it. Those that were actually born during that era, you have no idea how lucky you are. I do know that what I speak of may seem slightly trivial and petty, after all its only music. But if you think real hard, music is part of the epitome of life, alongside culture and belief. So I really think that this is just a fraction of what I should be doing in this area.

Bands in that era, the 60’s and 70’s to be precise, wrote the best music. Real music, at its finest. They don’t make music like that these days, its all protocol and formatted nowadays, manufactured and ready to cater for the synonymous interests of today’s generation. Nothing extraordinary or simply different, everything sounds the same and has the same chords and vocals. They even tend to rip off song choruses, as heard in Gym Class Heroes ‘Cupid’s Chokehold’, with Supertramp’s Breakfast in America.



Maybe it was the ‘flower power’ generation, with its endless influences of drugs, alcohol, environmental issues and not to mention groupies. Mind you, this is an amateur writing. Not that there’s an ample lack of these influences in today’s day and age, but things then were more…authentic. Then again, imagine what the people of then must have thought about their era. To me, good music irrevocably consists of a memorable air about it, which immediately takes me to another place such like how Pink Floyd’s ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ makes me feel, as if Waters’ is playing atop a mountain, during the solo. It is indescribable. Once in a while I do have to say that a good piece is made today, but incontestable to the genuine feel of yesterday’s creations. The camaraderie of the band mates, their origins, and the emotional journey that they traveled together, are among the aspects that prove and build the essence of good music.