MILANO, FILAFORUM – oct. 23^rd 2000

Usually I have to drive for a lot of km. to see Ronnie James Dio in concert (Switzerland, Germany, etc.), but today I just must reach Milano: 50 km. from my home!

The curiosity is very high in us, because of the presence of the orchestra; we’ll meet Giulio, the president of the “Deep Purple made in Italy” fan club, a dear friend who planned to join the band, after the show, in spite of the lack of the passes. We’ve tried to do everything to get one, in very many ways, but it was impossible. Sigh! Now we must only trust in our guardian angel…

As we enter the venue, we can see a lot of people filling all the places and it is a good sight: the stage is very large and I am looking forward to see (and listen) the orchestra. I’ve never seen a performance like this (group + orchestra) before now, but I am sure it works perfectly: I could read some reviews about the early shows of the Tour and they were so enthusiastic… After all, there is no doubt about the musician’s quality!

Some minutes before the beginning I say hello to Giulio and we agree about the strategy of the aftershow: if we cannot join the band, we’ll go to the Hilton Hotel (where the band should have gone to spend the night). Let’s hope!

But the lights are going out and the members of the orchestra are sitting down. Jon Lord appears and explains “a couple of things” about the concert and in fact it starts softly. G. Andersson comes and sings “Pictured within” in a very effective scene and sound, then Ronnie comes out and the emotion is rising in my heart. Yeah! I cannot stay quiet anymore! He sings “Sitting in a dream” and his voice is an explosion of feeling, as always, simply magic: my friends are hypnotized by that little big man and so is the rest of the crowd. During “Love is all” his voice is so powerful that covers the sound of the orchestra: there are no words, even for a faithful Diofan like me. Every time he can awake my good vibrations deep inside my soul and those are sensations too difficult to explain. He is fantastic and I guess all the people can realize it. Dio seems enjoy the enthusiasm and the warm of the people. After that song Ronnie introduces “Fever dreams” (a song from his last album, “Magica”), and finally he announces the famous “Rainbow in the dark”. Great! The sensation was that the other members enjoyed a lot to play with him. When Ronnie leaves the stage, I feel sad, because I would like to see him (and to hear him, naturally) again and again. But it’s up to Ian Gillan and all the fans are very hot now, cheering loud. He stumbles over the music – stand and starts to sing.

The complete list of the songs is the following:

PICTURED WITHIN’ – SITTING IN A DREAM – LOVE IS ALL – FEVER DREAMS – RAINBOW IN THE DARK – WRING THAT NECK – FOOLS – WHEN A BLIND MAN CRIES – TED THE MECHANIC – STEVE MORSE SOLO – PICTURES OF HOME – SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING – MOVEMENT I – MOVEMENT III – PERFECT STRANGERS – SMOKE ON THE WATER. Encores: BLACK NIGHT – HIGHWAY STAR.

Some few words about the concert: everything is “superb”. Ian Gillan is in a good shape, Roger Glover shows a big precision, as usual, and so did an inoxidable Ian Paice. About Ronnie, I could make a lot of considerations, for many hours, but an encyclopaedia would not be enough! The orchestra has been fantastic, powerful, and I think Ian was right when told the people that the orchestrals “are very special”. They travelled up and down across the Europe with two double-deck greyhound. Musically, they really gave a special touch to all the show. Finally (the last but not the least) I would like to underline the performance of Steve Morse. I think it’s not easy to find such a good musician with such a good taste and high skill. I had seen him twice, before, and I knew how he was. My friends were wondered about his technique and they were right: he is extraordinary, his solo is one of the best I’ve ever heard. The performance with the violins of the orchestra is one of the best things of the show: unbelievable!

The only big regret for me is that I cannot meet Ronnie, because I lose a lot of time after the concert and then, when I finally arrive at the Hilton Hotel, I can find my friends of the Deep Purple fan club in a great happiness, because they took many photos with their idols. Ian, Steve, Paice and Glover were very kind and stayed for some minutes with the fans for pics, signs, etc.. I am very happy for them. My friends are very excited and tell me that Ronnie had just passed by and entered the hotel. No, I cannot believe it. I’m feeling really down and disappointed, but it’s my own fault, because it took a lot of time to drive my car from the venue to the hotel and I didn’t know the right way. I almost cry, because I am sure that Ronnie would have been very pleased to meet me. He is a wonderful person, he would have liked to see a faithful fan waiting for him over there. Everybody in front of the hotel’s door was interested in Deep Purple and did not care for Dio (!!!), but I was there only for him! What a sorrow!… I could not sleep that night..!

In any case, it was a fantastic show and I think it’s not easy to see a concert like that, with a feeling and a sound so particular. When Ronnie appears on stage and starts to sing, everything becomes small and his magical voice is a sweet and wonderful lash of power: he is the only one. I’ll put the images of the show in my mind, with the other ones of the concerts I saw in my life, like an unforgettable movie (and I hope neverending!).

I am really thinking about a flight to New York, for the Dio’s concert of december 9^th!…. Long live rock and roll!

Marcello Catozzi