ROBERT PLANT WAKES UP RAVINIA – DEEP PURPLE SETS IT ON FIRE!

June 16, Highland Park, IL, Rock icon Robert Plant with the Band of Joy took the stage in front of the full capacity audience. While I was making my way to the pavilion I saw attendees and some familiar faces getting situated on the lawn and some at the pavilion. While lawn offers an advantage of bringing a picnic basket, pavilion makes up with an acoustic and visual experience unparalleled to lawn.

The opening act JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, in my opinion a misfire and not quite the right fit to open for a rock performance to follow. Robert Plant finally took the stage stylishly decked out with his audience raving with excitement. The band opened with “Gallows Pole” to heat things up. The audience was likewise treated to such hits as “Angel’s Dance,” “Black Dog,” “Monkey,” “White Train,” “Satan,” “Your Kingdom Must Come Down” and Black Country Woman.” At the halfway mark of the performance just as the Plant transitioned to his next song “House of Cards,” a cool summer’s breeze blew through his hair making for an amazing sight. Overall it was a solid, although a bit too mellow performance for a "Greatest Metal Vocalist of All-Time.” Some audience expectation of hearing more rock and less folk might have been set high. Although Plant did manage to generate excitement with his crowd rising “Misty Mountain Hop,” the performance did not fully rise to the level of what he is best known for – rock!

June 18, Highland Park, IL, This past Saturday night marked Deep Purple’s first Ravinia performance. The concert was attended by young and old equally excited to see one of the greatest bands perform. The threat of rain did not deter eager audience from packing the lawn and those trying to get a closer visual - pavilion. It was a pleasant surprise to see Boston warm up the crowd. By the time the main act took the stage the crown was sufficiently excited to greet its rock stars.

Deep Purple named after original guitarists grandmother’s favorite song sold over 100 million albums. With Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock. The struggling band caught a break with their at the time radical decision to collaborate with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The band put on the edge of exhilaration two-hour show with Ian Gillan owning the stage with his remarkably strong vocal ability. They did not disappoint by performing most of their hits “Hush,” “Woman from Tokyo,” “When a Blind Man Cries,” “Lazy,” and “Smoke on the Water,” to name a few. The audience was further treated to intense solos by Morse, Glover, Paice and Airey and even at some point an orchestra conductor jammed on the violin. When the band began to play “Smoke on the Water,” the crowd rose to their feet and some even rushed the stage amidst all the excitement. Deep Purple gave the kind of a show that all in attendance would not soon forget.

For future concert information at Ravinia contact 847.266.5100.

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Leonard Mogul
Kontinent Media Group