dpas live review

Nick SImper & Nasty Habits • Reigen, Vienna, 14th March 2009

Nick Simper  live in Vienna, March 14th 2009Nasty Habits played for just over forty minutes - mostly original material with a couple of covers (You Really Got Me and Easy Livin'). After a break and an intro tape (I know, they're not tapes anymore) of the song Deep Purple, Nick joined them on stage and they played for another eighty minutes or so.

This is what they played in that second set:
And The Address / The Painter / Mandrake Root / Emmaretta (ending with a bass solo and drum solo) / Chasing Shadows / Lalena / Wring That Neck (including an organ solo) / Why Didn't Rosemary / Roadhouse Blues (The Doors) / Kentucky Woman Encores: Hush / Gimme Some Lovin' (The Spencer Davis Group)

The tracks I enjoyed the most on the night were probably The Painter, Chasing Shadows and Why Didn't Rosemary, but it was great to hear so many Deep Purple Mk1 songs played live. They included the Doors' number, as Nick put it, because, "I love it and I think it's great. I've never been able to play it with any other band so I'm going to play it with these guys and I hope you like it."

Nasty Habits gave it their best and Nick was smiling so much throughout the show, it was like watching Steve Morse on stage (and you know how much he smiles!) - Nick really enjoyed himself. And was that a few notes of Black Night (or Summertime) that I heard in the bass solo? (It was.) It is the nearest that most of us will get to seeing a 1969 Deep Purple gig and, without the efforts of Peter Brkusic and the rest of Nasty Habits, it wouldn't have happened.

Nick Simper  live in Vienna, March 14th 2009Just before Lalena, they dedicated the song to one of the fans who had travelled from Poland... and to "Nigel aus England." The whole show was filmed (and the one they played in Graz) and should be released at some point. Interviews were also done with Nick by the guys from the Polish fan club.

There were some heavy-duty Nick Simper and Deep Purple fans in the audience. One guy there had with him an American copy of the Hush single with the sleeve signed by all of the original line-up back in the day - including a 'Best wishes Jon' and a 'Richard' (not Ritchie!).

The Reigen (an underground venue) was laid out for table seating and seemed quite full (as much as I could tell from my place at the front) with between 200 and 300 people paying 20 euros each. Most people stayed seated, with a handful stood near the stage. Many fans just walked towards the stage, took a few photos and then returned to their seats. Quite a few of us stood in front of the stage for the encores.

They are hoping to be able to perform together again, probably in Germany.

review and set list: Nigel Young.
photos: Christian Schoen