BURN at The Ritchie Blackmore Convention (The Limelight Club, Crewe , Sat 23rd October)
The following review is by Mike Garrett, of
the BLACK KNIGHT
fanzine.
Contact Mike: black-knight@tiscali.co.uk
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From the viewpoint of a fan attending the
Ritchie Blackmore Convention, it must be said that some fans had perhaps seen Burn
play before but the majority probably had not? What was certain, was that
convention organiser Jerry Bloom had seen them and had been impressed enough to
ask them to play – a great recommendation in itself! Thus all the fans awaited
the arrival of Burn on stage with a certain amount of high expectation.
Though we did not know at the beginning, the
set we were about to hear consisted of: Stormbringer, Strange Kind of Woman,
Woman from Tokyo, When a Blind Man Cries, Burn, Mistreated, Long Train Running
(incorporating Child in Time & Knocking at Your Back Door as
brief instrumental sequences), Space Trucking, Black Night, Highway
Star and Smoke on the Water.
As the band launched into Stormbringer,
the audience immediately realised by the power and discipline of the band’s
sound, that here was a group of musicians that should in no way be necessarily
regarded as a "support" act for the band Rainbow Rising that
was to follow. Both were equally worthy of being called a headline act, which
meant that the rock fans had got a great deal for the price of their tickets!
The first three songs Stormbringer,
Strange Kind of Woman, Woman from Tokyo, won the audience over; quite a few
dancing at the front and others singing or clapping in time with the music.
When the song When a Blind Man Cries was played, the audience sang along
and those on the dance floor gently swayed from side to side as well. As a
complete contrast, the band kicking into Burn brought a huge cheer from
the audience, many at the front raising both their hands to the air and
simultaneously shouting "Burn" at the appropriate moment.
The inclusion of Long Train Running (a
regular number in the band’s normal repertoire) was due to it being a favourite
of Jerry Bloom’s. It was modified though, by incorporating Child in Time
& Knocking at Your Back Door as brief instrumental sequences. It was
during this track and Space Trucking that followed; that the author of
this article took the opportunity to take quite a few photographs.
During Black Night, the audience was
still dancing and also chanted along at the appropriate moment: "Whoa- ho!
Ho! Ho!" Then came a great highlight of the set as Ross Elder produced a
good "Paice-like" drum beat before the main riff of Highway Star
kicked in. In my original gig notes I also wrote; "Rob Sas reproduced
Blackmore’s guitar solo with absolute note-for-note perfection" This for
me was the highlight of the set and the rendition of Smoke on the Water
which ended the performance – of course!
Despite the band not having a keyboard player
(the band being a regular three-piece outfit), this did not detract from my
enjoyment of this truly excellent performance. My final summing up of Burn
is as follows. "A very disciplined and well co-ordinated band; consistent
in their high quality of musical delivery". I look forward very much, to
seeing this band again in the future.
Mike
Garrett
(Ritchie Blackmore Fans in Lincolnshire – BLACK KNIGHT fanzine)