I saw Deep Purple on this tour, Youdopia. It was the Perfect Strangers tour, in 1985. The classic, “Smoke on the Water” lineup of Deep Purple reunited for an album and a tour. Both were excellent.  Cheesy? A little, but much of the 80′s factor can be mitigated by the honest awesomeness of this band. What keeps the Hammond Organ from being a gag, is the mastery and badassedness with which it is played. Richie Blackmore’s sourpuss and Roger Glover’s Miami Vice look are excused when you hear them play live.

When my friends and I saw them in Worcester, in 1985, it was an event. I got very into Deep Purple leading up to the show. They were amazingly tight, fun, and fucking great. The talent is huge, the spectrum just isn’t that wide for classically tinged steppenwolfy cock rock. It’s all good. This video is from a Russian tube site, so let it buffer. Let me know what you think, but I think this music is the Coolest Shit Ever.

Led Zeppelin is a passion of mine, as I’m sure you know, Youdopia. I have been a fan for almost 30 years now. John Bonham is one of the main reasons Led Zeppelin has maintained such prominence in the pantheon, three decades after his demise. He is arguably the best rock drummer ever. That’s a subjective assertion, but when you watch the video, from “I’m In A Rock n Roll Band” (a British show on BBC), you will see several great rock drummers… and Tommy Lee… discussing Bonzo. Jimi Hendrix said his “feet were like castanets” because one foot did the work of two. Bonzo only used one bass drum (aside from a very short stint in the Summer of 1969). All those amazing triplets are done with one foot. Holy Shit.

If you haven’t already, download the 6/21/77 concert I posted here, and listen to the drumming of a true prodigy. I found a site that has posted mp3′s of Bonzo’s isolated drum tracks, from the In Through The Out Door sessions. You can hear him grunt and mutter, and even hear some of the bleed from his headphones, as he plays amazing drums with that amazing force and tone. Fool In The Rain is genius. His music is the Coolest Shit Ever.