blackmore's rainbow tour

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Blackmore's night   &   ritchie blackmore's rainbow, ritchie blackmore's rainbow tour dates 2019 tickets available now .

Double cd/dvd out now! Memories In Rock 2 includes live tracks from the last Rainbow tour, a new studio recorded single "Waiting For A Sign" and back stage previously unseen footage!  Available on Itunes and Amazon! 

New releases by Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow for 2019! Available on Itunes, Spotify and Amazon! 

Interview with Ritchie Blackmore in Billboard magazine! Click here to read. More interviews with band members continue to be done daily. 

Behind the scenes video footage from the dvd Memories in Rock 2! 

Congratulations on Deep Purple's Ivor Award for International Achievement!

Look for the 3 song cd Rainbow Vorwarts (Forwards!) available only at the upcoming Rainbow concerts! 

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Rainbow - Tour Story

RAINBOW TOUR

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars RONNIE JAMES DIO - Vocals TONY CAREY- Keyboards COZY POWELL - Drums JIMMY BAIN - Bass

10.11.1975 Forum Montreal, PQ Canada 12.11.1975 Beacon Theater New York City, NY USA 13.11.1975 Palace Theater Waterbury, CT USA 14.11.1975 Calderone Concert Hall Hempstead, NY USA 15.11.1975 Tower Theater Upper Darby, PA USA 16.11.1975 Civic Theater Akron, OH USA 18.11.1975 Ford Auditorium Detroit, MI USA 19.11.1975 Uptown Theater Milwaukee, WI USA 20.11.1975 Ambassador Theater St Louis, MI USA 22.11.1975 Auditorium Theater Chicago, IL USA 26.11.1975 Warnors Theater Fresno, CA USA 28.11.1975 Berkeley Community Theater Berkeley, CA USA 29.11.1975 Civic Auditorium Santa Monica, CA USA Might also be December 13th ??.12.1975 Paramount Theater Portland, OR USA ??.12.1975 Paramount Theater Seattle, WA USA ??.12.1975 Queen Elizabeth Theater Vancouver, BC Canada ??.12.1975 Orpheum Theater Boston, MA USA ??.12.1975 Syria Mosque Pittsburgh, PA USA ??.12.1975 Agricultural Hall Allentown, PA USA ??.12.1975 Tampa, FL USA 06.06.1976 Stateline, ID USA 11.06.1976 Columbus, OH USA 13.06.1976 Fairgrounds Allentown, PA USA 14.06.1976 Le Theatre St Denis Montreal, PQ Canada 15.06.1976 Allen Theater, Cleveland OH USA 17.06.1976 Beacon Theater New York City, NY USA ??.06.1976 The Calderone Heampsted, NY USA ??.06.1976 Orpheum Theater Boston, MA USA 22.06.1976 Hara Arena Dayton, OH USA 24.06.1976 Uptown Theater Milwaukee, WI USA 25.06.1976 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL USA 26.06.1976 Indianapolis, IN USA 27.06.1976 Orpheum Theater Davenport, IA USA ??.06.1976 Allen Theater, Cleveland, OH USA 02.07.1976 Masonic Temple Rochester, NY USA 03.07.1976 Ashbury Park Casino Arena, NJ USA 04.07.1976 Outdoor venue USA 06.07.1976 Rochester, NY USA ??.07.1976 Starlight Bowl Amphitheatre, Burbank CA USA 10.07.1976 Music Hall Houston, TX USA 12.07.1976 St. Denis Theater Montreal, PQ Canada 15.07.1976 Jai Alai Fronton Miami, FL USA ??.07.1976 Jacksonville, FL USA 20.07.1976 St. Denis Theater Montreal, PQ Canada 26.07.1976 Civic Arena Pittsburgh, PA USA 27.07.1976 Market Square Arena Indianapolis, IN USA 03.08.1976 Starlight Amphitheater Burbank, CA USA 31.08.1976 Hippodrome Bristol UK 01.09.1976 De Montfort Hall Leicester UK 03.09.1976 Empire Theatre Liverpool UK 04.09.1976 Playhouse Edinburgh UK 05.09.1976 Free Trade Hall Manchester UK 07.09.1976 Hammersmith Odeon London UK 08.09.1976 Hammersmith Odeon London UK 10.09.1976 Cardiff Castle Cardiff UK cancelled 11.09.1976 Odeon Birmingham UK 12.09.1976 Gaumont Theatre Southampton UK 13.09.1976 Capitol Theatre Cardiff UK cancelled 13.09.1976 Speakeasy London UK (Blackmore jammed with The Fabulous Poodles) 14.09.1976 City Hall Newcastle UK 16.09.1976 Speakeasy London UK (Blackmore jammed with Lord Sutch) 17.09.1976 Lund Sweden cancelled 20.09.1976 Konserthus Stockholm Sweden 22.09.1976 Tivoli's Koncertsal Copenhagen Denmark 23.09.1976 Musikhalle Hamburg Germany 24.09.1976 Stadthalle Bremen Germany 25.09.1976 Sporthalle Cologne Germany On Stage recordings 27.09.1976 Philipshalle Dusseldorf Germany 28.09.1976 Messezentrum Halle A Nurnberg Germany 29.09.1976 Circus Krone Munich Germany On Stage recordings 01.10.1976 Rhein Main Halle Wiesbaden Germany 02.10.1976 Westfallenhalle Festival Dortmund Germany 03.10.1976 Geneva Switzerland 04.10.1976 Casino Bern Switzerland 05.10.1976 Volkshaus Zurich Switzerland 06.10.1976 Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt Germany ??.10.1976 Stadthalle Erlangen Germany 11.10.1976 Le Mans France ??.10.1976 Marseilles France 13.10.1976 Pavillion Paris France 15.10.1976 Rouen France 16.10.1976 Cirque Royal Brussels Belgium 18.10.1976 Congres Gebouw The Hague Netherlands 04.11.1976 Entertainment Centre Perth Australia 09.11.1976 Festival Hall Melbourne Australia 11.11.1976 Horden Pavillion Sydney NSW Australia 12.11.1976 Civic Theatre Newcastle NSW Australia 13.11.1976 Festival Hall Brisbane Australia 16.11.1976 Horden Pavillion Sydney Australia 18.11.1976 Festival Theatre Adelaide Australia 19.11.1976 Festival Theatre Adelaide Australia 20.11.1976 Festival Theatre Adelaide Australia afternoon show 20.11.1976 Festival Theatre Adelaide Australia night show 22.11.1976 Festival Hall Melbourne Australia 02.12.1976 Sports Centre Tokyo Japan 04.12.1976 Shi Kokaido Nagoya Japan 05.12.1976 Koseinenkin-Kaikan Osaka Japan On Stage recordings 06.12.1976 Budokan Tokyo Japan On Stage recordings 07.12.1976 Shi Kokaido Nagoya Japan 08.12.1976 Koseinenkin-Kaikan Osaka Japan 09.12.1976 Koseinenkin-Kaikan Osaka Japan On Stage recordings 10.12.1976 Kyotokaikan Kyoto Japan 13.12.1976 Kyuden-Kinen-Taiikukan Fukuoka Japan 14.12.1976 Ken Taiikukan Hiroshima Japan 16.12.1976 Budokan Tokyo Japan 1st show at 3.00pm 16.12.1976 Budokan Tokyo Japan 2nd show at night

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars RONNIE JAMES DIO - Vocals DAVID STONE - Keyboards COZY POWELL - Drums BOB DAISLEY - Bass

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars GRAHAM BONNET - Vocals DON AIREY - Keyboards COZY POWELL - Drums ROGER GLOVER - Bass

02.09.1979 Civic Center Lakeland, FL USA 04.09.1979 Boutwell Auditorium Birmingham, AL USA 08.09.1979 Memorial Auditorium Fayetteville, NC USA 09.09.1979 Memorial Auditorium Greenville, SC USA ??.09.1979 Civic Center Providence, RI USA 14.09.1979 Boston Garden Boston, MA USA 15.09.1979 Isle Forum Presque, ME USA 16.09.1979 Cumberland County Civic Center Portland, ME USA 18.09.1979 Coliseum New Haven, CT USA 19.09.1979 Civic Center Glen Falls, NY USA 20.09.1979 War Memorial Auditorium Rochester, NY USA 21.09.1979 Cobo Hall Detroit, MI USA 22.09.1979 Civic Center Lansing, MI USA 23.09.1979 Lakeview Arena Marquette, MI USA 26.09.1979 Memorial Arena Binghamton, NY USA 27.09.1979 Civic Center Glen Falls, NY USA 28.09.1979 Memorial Auditorium Utica, NY USA 29.09.1979 Spectrum Philadelphia, PA USA 30.09.1979 Civic Center Baltimore, MD USA 02.10.1979 Veterans Memorial Auditorium Columbus, OH USA 03.10.1979 Wendler Arena Saginaw, MI USA 04.10.1979 War Memorial Buffalo, NY USA 05.10.1979 Civic Arena Pittsburgh, PA USA 06.10.1979 Hara Arena Dayton, OH USA 07.10.1979 Richfield Coliseum Cleveland, OH USA 10.10.1979 Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI USA 11.10.1979 Memorial Arena Greenbay, WI USA 12.10.1979 Universal Amphitheatre Chicago, IL USA 13.10.1979 Civic Auditorium Ohama, NE USA 16.10.1979 Wings Stadium Kalamazoo, MI USA 18.10.1979 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis IN USA cancelled 19.10.1979 Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN USA 21.10.1979 Civic Center Huntington, WV USA 24.10.1979 State Fairgrounds Springfield, IL USA 26.10.1979 Met Center Minneapolis, MN USA 06.11.1979 Civic Auditorium Santa Cruz, CA USA 07.11.1979 Civic Auditorium Oakland, CA USA 09.11.1979 Swing Auditorium San Bernadino, CA USA 10.11.1979 Fox Theatre San Diego, CA USA 11.11.1979 Long Beach Arena Los Angeles, CA USA 13.11.1979 Selland Arena Fresno, CA USA 15.11.1979 War Memorial Auditorium Worchester, MA USA 16.11.1979 McNicols Arena Denver, CO USA ??.11.1979 Salt Palace Salt Lake City, UT USA ??.11.1979 Sports Arena, Toledo, OH USA 19.11.1979 Music Hall Royal Oak, MI USA 20.11.1979 Cobo Hall Detroit, MI USA 23.11.1979 Beacon Theatre New York City USA 30.11.1979 Calderone Theatre New York City USA 01.12.1979 Capitol Theater Passaic, NJ USA 02.12.1979 Fairgrounds Allentown, PA USA 04.12.1979 Stanley Theater Pittsburgh, PA USA 05.12.1979 Civic Center Portland, ME USA 06.12.1979 Manning Bowl Lynn, MA USA 07.12.1979 Ocean State Theatre Providence, RI USA 08.12.1979 War Memorial Arena Syracuse, NY USA 09.12.1979 Palace Theater Albany, NY USA 17.01.1980 Scandinavium Gothenburg Sweden 18.01.1980 Isstadion Stockholm Sweden 20.01.1980 Falconer Theatre Copenhagen Denmark 22.01.1980 Ellenreidehalle Hannover Germany 23.01.1980 Festhalle Frankfurt Germany 25.01.1980 Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken Germany 26.01.1980 Le Rhenus Hall Strassbourg France 27.01.1980 Palais Des Grottes Cambrai France 29.01.1980 Grugahalle Essen Germany 30.01.1980 Stadthalle Bremen Germany 01.02.1980 Forest National Brussels Belgium 02.02.1980 Ahoy Rotterdam Netherlands 03.02.1980 Roda Hal Kerkrade Netherlands 05.02.1980 Sporthalle Cologne Germany 06.02.1980 Hemmerleinhalle Nuremberg Germany cancelled 07.02.1980 Messehalle Stuttgart Germany 09.02.1980 Alexpo Hall Grenoble France 10.02.1980 Eulahalle Winterthur Switzerland 12.02.1980 Pavillion de Paris Paris France 14.02.1980 Münsterlandhalle Münster Germany 15.02.1980 Rhein-Neckarhalle Heidelberg Germany 16.02.1980 Olympiahalle Munich Germany 19.02.1980 City Hall Newcastle UK 20.02.1980 City Hall Newcastle UK 22.02.1980 Ingliston Exhibition Hall Edinburgh UK 23.02.1980 Bingley Hall Stafford UK 24.02.1980 Hippodrome Bristol UK cancelled 26.02.1980 Apollo Theatre Manchester UK 27.02.1980 Deeside Leisure Center Chester UK 29.02.1980 Wembley London UK 01.03.1980 Wembley London UK 03.03.1980 Granby Halls Leicester UK 04.03.1980 Brighton Centre Brighton UK 05.03.1980 Sophia Gardens Cardiff UK 06.03.1980 Apollo Theatre Manchester UK 08.03.1980 Rainbow Theatre London UK 08.05.1980 Budokan Tokyo Japan 09.05.1980 Budokan Tokyo Japan 12.05.1980 Budokan Tokyo Japan 13.05.1980 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 14.05.1980 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 15.05.1980 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 19.05.1980 Budokan Tokyo Japan 08.08.1980 Vejlby-Risskov-Hallen Aarhus Denmark 09.08.1980 Folkets Park Malmo Sweden 10.08.1980 Hallen Alborg Denmark 16.08.1980 Donninton England 1st Monsters Of Rock Festival; last concert w/Powell & Bonnet

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars JOE LYNN TURNER - Vocals DON AIREY - Keyboards BOBBI RONDINELLI - Drums ROGER GLOVER - Bass

20.02.1981 Peppermint Beach Club Virginia Beach, VA USA 21.02.1981 Empire Theatre Richmond, VA USA 22.02.1981 Louis Rock City Alexandria, VA USA ??.02.1981 Albany, NY USA 10.03.1981 Max Bell Arena Banff, Canada 14.03.1981 Concert Bowl Edmonton, Canada 16.03.1981 Pacific Coliseum Vancouver BC Canada 18.03.1981 Arena Seattle, WA USA 19.03.1981 Coliseum Portland, OR USA 21.03.1981 Cow Palace San Francisco, CA USA 22.03.1981 Forum Los Angeles, CA USA 23.03.1981 Sports Arena, San Diego, CA USA 24.03.1981 Coliseum Phoeniz, AZ USA 25.03.1981 Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino CA USA 26.03.1981 Selland Arena Fresno, CA USA 29.03.1981 Expo Hall Salt Lake City, UT USA 30.03.1981 Regis College Fieldhouse Denver, OH USA 02.04.1981 Convention Center San Antonio, TX USA 03.04.1981 Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX USA 04.04.1981 Fair Park Cliseum Beaumont, TX USA 05.04.1981 Sam Houston Coliseum Houston, TX USA 07.04.1981 Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, TX USA 08.04.1981 Brady Theater Tulsa, OK USA 09.04.1981 Lloyd Noble Arena Norman, OK USA 10.04.1981 Granite City St Louis, MO USA 11.04.1981 Dixon Myers Hall Memphis, TN USA 12.04.1981 Municipal Auditorium Arena Nashville, TN USA 15.04.1981 Civic Center St Paul Minneapolis, MN USA 16.04.1981 International Amphitheater Chicago, IL USA 17.04.1981 Cobo Hall Detroit, MI USA 18.04.1981 Convention Center Indianapolis, IN USA 19.04.1981 Gardens Memorial Auditorium Louisville, KY USA 21.04.1981 Palmer College Alumi Auditorium Davenport, IA USA 22.04.1981 Praire Capital Convention Center Springfield, IL USA 24.04.1981 Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI USA 25.04.1981 Auditorium Milwaukee, WI USA 26.04.1981 Sports Arena Toledo, OH USA 27.04.1981 Music Hall Cleveland, OH USA 28.04.1981 Wings Stadium Kalamazoo, MI USA 30.04.1981 Stanley Theater Pittsburgh, PA USA 02.05.1981 Nassau Coliseum Long Island, NY USA 03.05.1981 Palace Theater Waterbury, CT USA 06.05.1981 Orpheum Theather Boston, MA USA 07.05.1981 Orpheum Theather Boston, MA USA 08.05.1981 Capitol Theater Passaic, NJ USA 09.05.1981 Tower Theater Philadelphia, PA USA 10.05.1981 Tower Theater Philadelphia, PA USA 12.05.1981 Palace Theater Albany, NY USA 13.05.1981 Civic Center, Springfield, MA USA 03.06.1981 Scandinavium Gothenburg Sweden 04.06.1981 Isstadion Stockholm Sweden 05.06.1981 Brondbyhallen Copenhagen Denmark 07.06.1981 UKK Hall Helsinki Finland 10.06.1981 Grugahalle Essen Germany 11.06.1981 Palais d'Hiver Paris France 12.06.1981 Palais Sant Saveur Lille France 13.06.1981 Ahoy Rotterdam Netherlands 14.06.1981 Niedersachsenhalle Hannover Germany 16.06.1981 Diem Halle Würzburg Germany 17.06.1981 Kockelscheur Luxemburgh Luxemburgh 18.06.1981 Sporthalle Cologne Germany 19.06.1981 Forest Nationale Bruxelles Belgium 21.06.1981 Waldbuhne Berlin Germany 23.06.1981 Sindelfingen Messehalle Stuttgart Germany 25.06.1981 Ernst Merck Halle Hamburg Germany 26.06.1981 Fest Halle Frankfurt Germany 27.06.1981 Sedl Mayer Halle Munich Germany 29.06.1981 Rhein Neckar Halle Heidelberg Germany 30.06.1981 Palais De Beauleau Lausanne Switzerland 01.07.1981 Alpexpo Hall Grenoble France 03.07.1981 Plaza De Toros Barcelona Spain 04.07.1981 Roma Valero Madrid Spain 05.07.1981 Velodrome Hall San Sebastian Spain 07.07.1981 La Baugeoire Nantes France cancelled 08.07.1981 Parc d'Exposition Brest France cancelled 08.07.1981 Rainbow Theatre London UK 09.07.1981 Rainbow Theatre London UK 10.07.1981 Ingliston Showground Edinburgh UK 11.07.1981 Ingliston Showground Edinburgh UK 13.07.1981 Queens Hall Leeds UK 14.07.1981 Queens Hall Leeds UK 15.07.1981 Grandby Hall Leicester UK 16.07.1981 Grandby Hall Leicester UK 18.07.1981 Bingley Hall Stafford UK 19.07.1981 Bingley Hall Stafford UK 20.07.1981 Cornish Coliseum St. Austell UK 22.07.1981 Apollo Theater Manchester UK 23.07.1981 City Hall Newcastle UK 24.07.1981 City Hall Newcastle UK 26.07.1981 Hammersmith Odeon London UK 27.07.1981 Hammersmith Odeon London UK 18.08.1981 Kyuden Kinen Taiikukan Fukouka Japan 20.08.1981 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 21.08.1981 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 22.08.1981 Kyuden Kinen Taiikukan Fukouka Japan 23.08.1981 Shi Kokaido Nagoya Japan 24.08.1981 Kaikan Daiichi Hall Kyoto Japan 26.08.1981 Budokan Hall Tokyo Japan 27.08.1981 Budokan Hall Tokyo Japan 28.08.1981 Budokan Hall Tokyo Japan ??.08.1981 Honolulu Hawaii last concert with Don Airey

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars JOE LYNN TURNER - Vocals DAVID ROSENTHAL - Keyboards BOBBI RONDINELLI - Drums ROGER GLOVER - Bass

11.05.1982 IMA Auditorium Flint, MI USA 13.05.1982 Welsh Auditoreum Grand Rapids Lansing, MI USA 14.05.1982 Cobo Hall Detroit, MI USA 15.05.1982 Wings Stadium Kalamazoo, MI USA 16.05.1982 Coliseum Fort Wayne, IN USA 18.05.1982 Sports Arena Toledo, OH USA 20.05.1982 Gardens Cincinetti, OH USA 22.05.1982 Richfield Coliseum Cleveland, OH USA 23.05.1982 Convention Center Indianapolis, IN USA 25.05.1982 Holiday Star Theater Merrillville, IN USA 26.05.1982 Alumi Auditorium Davenport, IA USA 28.05.1982 Westfalenhalle Dortmund Germany cancelled 29.05.1982 Würzburg Festival Germany cancelled 29.05.1982 Iowa State Fairgrounds Des Moines, IA USA 02.06.1982 Met Center Minneapolis, MN USA 04.06.1982 Veterans Memorial Arena Greenbay, WI USA 05.06.1982 Alpine Valley Milwaukee, WI USA Rainbow left the stage after 30 mins 06.06.1982 St Louis, MO USA cancelled 07.06.1982 London Gardens London Canada 08.06.1982 Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Kitchener Canada cancelled 09.06.1982 Coliseum-Exhibition Place Toronto Canada cancelled 10.06.1982 Le Colisée Quebec City Canada 12.06.1982 Verdun Auditorium Montreal Canada 13.06.1982 Civic Center Glen Falls, NY USA 15.06.1982 Allentown Fairgrounds Outdoors Festival USA 16.06.1982 War Memorial Auditorium Rochester, NY USA 17.06.1982 Memorial Auditorium Utica, NY USA 18.06.1982 Coliseum New Haven, CT USA 19.06.1982 Madison Square Garden New York City NY USA 21.06.1982 City Island Harrisburg USA 22.06.1982 War Memorial Buffalo, NY USA 23.06.1982 Memorial Arena Binghamton, NY USA 25.06.1982 Civic Center Providence Rhode Island, PA USA 26.06.1982 Cape Cod Coliseum South Yarmouth, MA USA 27.06.1982 Spectrum Philadelphia, PA USA 09.07.1982 Forum Los Angeles, CA USA 10.07.1982 Swing Auditorium San Bernadino, CA USA 11.07.1982 Sports Arena San Diego CA USA 12.07.1982 Selland Arena Fresno, CA USA 14.07.1982 Civic Auditorium Bakersfield, CA USA 16.07.1982 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA USA 17.07.1982 Cow Palace San Francisoco, CA USA 18.07.1982 Centennial Coliseum Reno, NE USA 20.07.1982 Capitol Center Largo, MD USA 22.07.1982 Arena Seattle, WA USA 23.07.1982 Coliseum Portland, OR USA 24.07.1982 Coliseum Portland, OR USA 25.07.1982 Coliseum Spokane, WA USA 27.07.1982 Pacific Coliseum Vancouver BC Canada 31.07.1982 Convention Center Springfield, IL USA 07.08.1982 Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, TX USA 09.08.1982 Ector County Coliseum El Paso, TX USA 10.08.1982 Miland, TX USA 11.08.1982 Civic Center Amarillo, TX USA 13.08.1982 Busch Memorial Stadium St Louis, MO USA 15.08.1982 Arrowhead Stadium Kansas, MO USA ??.08.1982 Boulder, CO USA 17.08.1982 Sam Houston Coliseum Houston, TX USA 18.08.1982 Convention Centre San Antonio TX USA (filmed for official video release Live Between The Eyes) 20.08.1982 Wintergarden Ballroom Dallas TX USA ??.08.1982 Civic Center Lakeland, FL USA 23.08.1982 New York City, NY USA 12.10.1982 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 13.10.1982 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 14.10.1982 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 16.10.1982 Kaikan Daiichi Hall Kyoto Japan 17.10.1982 Sun Palace Fukouka Japan 18.10.1982 Shikokaido Hall Nagoya Japan 19.10.1982 Shikokaido Hall Nagoya Japan 21.10.1982 Budokan Tokyo Japan 22.10.1982 Budokan Tokyo Japan 29.10.1982 Drammenshallen Drammen Oslo Norway 30.10.1982 Vejlby Risskov Hallen Aarhus Denmark 02.11.1982 Jäähalli Icehall Oulu Finland 03.11.1982 Icehall Helsinki Finland 05.11.1982 Brondby Hallen Copenhagen Denmark 06.11.1982 Isstadion Stockholm Sweden 08.11.1982 Ernst Merck Halle Hamburg Germany 09.11.1982 Deutcschland Halle Berlin Germany 11.11.1982 Gruga Halle Essen Germany 12.11.1982 Neckar Halle Heidelberg Germany 13.11.1982 Neunkirchen Hemmerleinhalle Nuremberg Germany 15.11.1982 Walter Kobel Halle Russelheim Germany 16.11.1982 Ahoy Rotterdam Netherlands 18.11.1982 Stadthalle Freiburg Germany 19.11.1982 Rudi Sedl Mayer Halle Munich Germany 21.11.1982 Patinoire Des Vernets Geneva Switzerland 24.11.1982 Boblingen Stuttgart Germany 25.11.1982 Eilenriederhalle Hanover Germany 26.11.1982 Alsterdorfer Sporthalle Hamburg Germany 27.11.1982 Forest National Brussels Belgium 28.11.1982 Hippodrome Paris France 30.11.1982 Plaza Toros Monumental Barcelona Spain 01.12.1982 Pabellon De Deportes Madrid Spain

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars JOE LYNN TURNER - Vocals DAVID ROSENTHAL - Keyboards CHUCK BURGI - Drums ROGER GLOVER - Bass 06.09.1983 Royal Court Liverpool UK 07.09.1983 Royal Court Liverpool UK 08.09.1983 Ice Rink Whitley Bay UK 10.09.1983 Bingley Hall Stafford UK 11.09.1983 Hippodrome Bristol UK 12.09.1983 Royal Centre Nottingham UK 14.09.1983 St. David's Hall Cardiff UK 15.09.1983 St. David's Hall Cardiff UK 17.09.1983 Michael Sobel Centre London UK 18.09.1983 Michael Sobel Centre London UK 19.09.1983 Cornwall Coliseum St. Austell UK 22.09.1983 Playhouse Edinburgh UK 23.09.1983 Playhouse Edinburgh UK 29.09.1983 Odense Denmark cancelled 30.09.1983 Scandinavium Gothenburg Sweden 01.10.1983 Isstadion Stockholm Sweden 02.10.1983 Olympen Lund Sweden cancelled 03.10.1983 Helsink Finland cancelled 04.10.1983 Aarhus Denmark cancelled 05.10.1983 Falconer Theater Copenhagen Denmark 07.10.1983 Isshallen Helsinki Finland 28.10.1983 Centrum Worchester, MA USA 29.10.1983 Coliseum New Haven, CT USA 01.11.1983 Stanley Theater Pittsburgh, PA 02.11.1983 Spectrum Philadelphia PA USA 04.11.1983 War Memorial Auditorium Rochester, NY USA 05.11.1983 War Memorial Buffalo, NY USA 07.11.1983 Stabler Arena Bethlehem, PA USA 08.11.1983 Civic Center Baltimore, MD USA 09.11.1983 War Memorial Arena Syracuse, NY USA 11.11.1983 Civic Center Providence, RI USA 12.11.1983 Civic Center Poughkeepsie, NY USA 13.11.1983 Civic Center Glen Falls, NY USA 16.11.1983 Five Seasons Center Cedar rapids, IA USA 17.11.1983 Auditorium Sioux City, IA USA 18.11.1983 Coliseum Wichita, NS USA 20.11.1983 Coliseum Albuquerque, NM USA 21.11.1983 Coliseum Phoenix, AZ USA 23.11.1983 Sports Arena San Diego, CA USA 25.11.1983 Cow Palace San Francisco, CA USA 27.11.1983 Selland Arena Fresno, CA USA 29.11.1983 Orange Pavillion San Bernardino, CA USA 30.11.1983 Long Beach Arena Los Angeles, CA USA 01.12.1983 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA USA 02.12.1983 Lawlor Events Center Reno, NV USA 04.12.1983 McNicols Arena Denver, CO USA 11.03.1984 Castle Hall Osaka Japan 13.03.1984 Budokan Tokyo Japan 14.03.1984 Budokan Tokyo Japan (filmed for official video release)

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars DOUGIE WHITE - Vocals PAUL MORRIS - Keyboards CHUCK BURGI - Drums GREG SMITH - Bass CANDICE NIGHT - Back Vocals 30.09.1995 Culture House Helsinki Finland 02.10.1995 Circus Stockholm Sweden 03.10.1995 Centrum Scene Oslo Norway 06.10.1995 KB Hallen Copenhagen Denmark 08.10.1995 Music Hall Hannover Germany 09.10.1995 Philipshalle Dusseldorf Germany (filmed for Rockpalast WDR German TV) 10.10.1995 Huxley's Neue Welt Berlin Germany 12.10.1995 Schwarzwaldhalle Appenweier Germany 13.10.1995 Friedrich-Ebert Halle Ludwigshafen Germany 14.10.1995 Kongresszentrum Stuttgart Germany 16.10.1995 Stadthalle Osnabrück Germany 17.10.1995 Ahoy Sportpaleis Rotterdam Netherlands 18.10.1995 Alsterdorfer Sporthalle Hamburg Germany 20.10.1995 Stadthalle Erlangen Germany 21.10.1995 Terminal 1 Munich Germany 22.10.1995 Easy Auensee Leipzig Germany 24.10.1995 Stadthalle Offenbach Germany 25.10.1995 Freiheitshalle Hof Switzerland 26.10.1995 Volkshaus Zürich Switzerland 28.10.1995 City Square Milan Italy 30.10.1995 Le Transbordeur Lyon France 31.10.1995 Elysee Montmartre Paris France 01.11.1995 Forest National Brussels Belgium 03.11.1995 Hammersmith Apollo London UK 04.11.1995 Hammersmith Apollo London UK 11.11.1995 Yoyogi Olympic Pool Tokyo Japan 12.11.1995 Yoyogi Olympic Pool Tokyo Japan 14.11.1995 Kaikan daiichi Hall Kyoto Japan 16.11.1995 Furitu Gym Osaka Japan 17.11.1995 Sentury Hall Nagoya Japan 19.11.1995 Festival Hall Osaka Japan 20.11.1995 Kousei Nenkin Fukuoka Japan 22.11.1995 Bunka Yokohama Japan 23.11.1995 NK Hall Tokyo Bay Japan 27.06.1996 Teatro Monumental Santiago Chile 29.06.1996 Teatro Opera Buenos Aires Argentina 30.06.1996 Teatro Opera Buenos Aires Argentina 02.07.1996 Bar Opiniao Porto Alegre Brazil 04.07.1996 Aeroanta Curitiba Brazil 05.07.1996 Olympia Sao Paulo Brazil 06.07.1996 Olympia Sao Paulo Brazil 07.07.1996 Olympia Sao Paulo Brazil 21.07.1996 SWF-3 Festival Balingen Germany 24.07.1996 Sommerarena Vienna Austria 26.07.1996 Nibelungenhalle Passau Germany 28.07.1996 Gemeentehal Vosselaar Belgium 30.07.1996 Serenadenhof Nurnberg Germany 01.08.1996 Stadthalle Schmallenberg Germany 02.08.1996 Pier 2 Bremen Germany 03.08.1996 Eissporthalle Bad Wörishofen Germany 06.08.1996 Sentrum Oslo Norway 07.08.1996 Rondo Gothenburg Sweden 09.08.1996 Folkets Park Lidköping Sweden 10.08.1996 Skanderborg Festival Skanderborg Denmark 11.08.1996 Femoren Strandpark Copenhagen Denmark

RITCHIE BLACKMORE - Guitars DOUGIE WHITE - Vocals PAUL MORRIS - Keyboards JOHN MICELLI - Drums GREG SMITH - Bass CANDICE NIGHT - Back Vocals 20.02.1997 Old Bridge Birch Hill, NJ USA 21.02.1997 The Strand Providence, PA USA 22.02.1997 Jaxx Springfield, VA USA 26.02.1997 RPM Warehouse Toronto Canada 27.02.1997 The Machine Massilon, OH USA 28.02.1997 Alrosa Villa Columbus, OH USA 01.03.1997 Harpo's Concert Theater Detroit, MI USA 02.03.1997 Jack Hammers Schaumberg, IL USA 06.03.1997 Rave Milwaukee, WI USA 07.03.1997 Medina Entertainment Center Minneapolis, MN USA 08.03.1997 Ranch Bowl Entertainment Center Omaha, NE USA 09.03.1997 Beaumont Kansas City, MO USA 13.03.1997 Electric Ballroom Tempe, AZ USA 14.03.1997 Huntridge Theater Las Vegas, NV USA 16.03.1997 Galaxy Theater Santa Ana, CA USA 17.03.1997 Billboard Live W-Hollywood, CA USA 18.03.1997 Billboard Live W-Hollywood, CA USA 19.03.1997 Edge Palo Alto, CA USA 31.05.1997 Esjberg, Denmark

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Rainbow are a British hard rock band which was formed and led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (of Deep Purple) in 1975. The bands line up has been constantly changing ever since their formation however the band has still experienced significant success and is considered one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time. As a classic hard rock fan I was ecstatic to see Rainbow at one of their recent revival shows. An audience of mixed ages anticipated their arrival on stage; clearly including some long-time fans from the 70s and 80s alongside the younger crowd. The band (now compromised of Joe Lynn Turner, Bobby Rondinelli and Greg Smith) took the stage and went on to perform an eclectic mix of songs from Rainbow’s discography, including ‘Man on the Silver Mountain’, ‘Since You Been Gone’, ‘Temple of the King’, ‘Long Live Rock N Roll’, ‘Tarot Woman’ and ‘Still I’m Sad’. Perhaps it would have been expected that after so many years the band’s finesse (especially performing live) would have diminished, but this was not the case. The set was full of the Rainbow’s characteristic heavy guitars, aggressive vocals and distorted psychedelic rock riffs - with an impressive technicality for an older band. The crowd were thrilled with the extensive back catalogue set and took on the energy of the music in the standing area; emulating the atmosphere of concerts during the hard rock era of the 60s and 70s. Towards the end of the set Rainbow played some improvised material with classic guitar riffs, melodramatic vocals and cascading strings totally filling the venue. I left somewhat entranced by the music. It was a brilliant gig.

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Totally immersive rock is what to expect from watching Rainbow perform. The three or so minutes of their chart topper ‘I surrender’ have never gone past so quickly. With strong drum beats and the lead singer, Graham Bonnet, combining the right mix of wailing and tuneful crooning it made for a completely absorbing performance and is a highly recommendable introduction for beginning your love affair with Rainbow.

Rainbow is a band that is defined through their music and not so much through their members as, since their formation in 1975, they have had multiple line-up changes. For example, lead vocalists include Ronnie James Dio (1975-1979), Graham Bonnet and Doogie White (1994-1997). However, Ritchie Blackmore (guitarist) led the band through their changes and kept the tone and style of the music going. Unfortunately for us, 1997 was the last time that you could catch this band playing live but a tonne of their live performances and gigs are available to watch on YouTube.

Accolades achieved include their ranking of number 90 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and after watching the performance of their 1979 hit ‘Since you been gone’ this number seems woefully low. So get online and immerse yourself in the past concerts of the late 70s and watch the crazy, authentic rock of Rainbow. You will be transported back to an era when rock was thriving and Rainbow were doing everything they could to keep it that way!

This is not Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore!

This is something else. Dansband orchestra!!

Watch out for slow music.

His tour is over in Europe for mow. They were super on Sweden rock.

Dont miss out next time they show up.

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Here are the most recent UK tour dates we had listed for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Were you there?

• Fri 14 Jun ➙ Sat 15 Jun Rock The Coast Festival 2019 Scorpions, Europe, UFO, Tarja, Carcass…
• Wed 28 Jun Birmingham, Resorts World Arena Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Sweet Steve Priest
• Sun 25 Jun Glasgow, The OVO Hydro Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Mostly Autumn
• Thu 22 Jun Manchester, The AO Arena Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Serpentyne
• Sat 17 Jun London, The O2 Stone Free Festival 2017 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Sweet Steve Priest, Blue Oyster Cult, The Answer, GUN…
• Sat 25 Jun Birmingham, Resorts World Arena Ritchie Blackmore

Music and Concerts | A modern Renaissance: Blackmore’s Night brings…

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Music and concerts | thousands remain without power in lehigh valley on friday after storm, music and concerts | a modern renaissance: blackmore’s night brings medieval melodies to lehigh valley.

The group features vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Candice Night as well as legendary guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow). But don’t expect to hear screaming vocals or high-volume distorted electric guitar from this eclectic duo and their band. Instead, Blackmore’s Night live show is a passport to a time gone by; complete with merry camaraderie, medieval instruments like the hurdy-gurdy, shawms, and pennywhistles as well as renaissance garb.

The group is out on six-city tour, which includes a stop at The Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg at 8 p.m. Saturday.

I recently spoke with Candice Night about the band’s upcoming performance and more in this new interview.

It’s been nearly 30 years since you and Ritchie formed Blackmore’s Night. What inspired the project?

Candice Night: I had never heard of Renaissance music before I met Ritchie, yet I was always inspired by having one foot in a magical world, a world of fantasy. When I met him, he brought me to his dark English Tudor house in the woods of Connecticut with nothing but trees around for miles. He had a minstrels gallery; everything was very low lit with lots of tapestries on the walls and a huge fireplace. He would play nothing but purist Renaissance music on the sound system. And it was there, looking out the window as the snow fell and watching deer eat the grass off the front garden while this music played that it became the soundtrack to nature in my mind. It completed the picture — the perfect marriage of visual and audio.

Most know Ritchie as being the driving force behind bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow. Blackmore’s Night is certainly a big departure from that. How would you describe your sound?

I don’t know if I can do that justice. We’ve coined a few phrases like “Renaissance Folk Rock” or “Castle Rock” but it’s so much more than that. As with any art, you can’t put creativity in a box and label it. We just play melodic music that we enjoy. Music that takes you on an emotional journey. We do some songs based on the 12th-15th century and update them with new lyrical content and arrangements and instrumentation. We also do “tavern” — like everyone grab your beer mug and swing it, fun music where everyone sings along; cover songs; ballads and instrumentals. There’s even a few songs from Ritchie’s past bands. We change our setlist nightly and take requests from the audience. There’s something for everyone. If you like melodic music you’ll enjoy our band.

In your opinion what makes Renaissance music so timeless and special?

The strong melody line. We tend not to get involved with quieter lute music from those times, but more of the songs that can translate to being played on today’s instruments. We play some shawms and hurdy gurdies as well as the guitars, keyboards, bass and drums in our 7-piece band, but the songs come across more like something you might hear today due to our interpretation.

What can fans expect from your upcoming performance at the Sherman Theater?

It’s a family show so there will be people from all ages and all walks of life. We say our fans are independent thinkers looking for something different to enjoy and taking the path less traveled. Yet there are men who have followed Ritchie’s musical career for decades knowing that his name is synonymous with guitar brilliance. A lot of women come for the female singer aspect or lyrical storyteller part. Children enjoy the fact they can dress up like Robin Hood or fairies or queens and sing along to catchy choruses in some of the songs and dance along and older people enjoy the fact that the music is melodic. Our set lists change nightly and many fans dress up in garb to feel as if they are part of the show. It’s like a costume party coming to your town.

Your most recent album is 2021’s “Nature’s Light.” What can you tell me about it?

Our tough year was 2018. I lost my dad to cancer, Ritchie lost his brother to COPD, our cat of nineteen years died the day after we returned from tour and Ritchie’s closest friend from a band passed after a stroke. We were going through such emotional grief and upheaval. Then after we finished the album COVID hit. We couldn’t be around people at that time, yet we noticed so many singular people keeping distance by walking through the woods and along beaches. Getting back to the beauty that was in front of them all the time and healing their souls. We felt the world needed and was healing from “Natures Light.” The CD actually helped heal us from our personal pain in 2018 and for the rest of the fans around the world through COVID times.

It would be remiss of me to not ask about the Deep Purple song “Smoke on The Water,” which is probably the first song any new guitarist learns how to play. What was Ritchie’s inspiration for that riff and did he know how influential it was going to become to generations of future guitar players?

No he didn’t but as he says, “It pays the bills!” so no complaints there [laughs]. He has mentioned to me that at the time he wrote “Smoke on The Water” he was writing pretty complicated songs and then he listened to what was popular: The Kinks “You Really Got Me” or the [Rolling] Stones “Satisfaction” and listening to those riffs he realized that he needed to write something simple or something the postman could whistle. And man, did he ever! When he says he’s going to do something, he really commits to it!

Are there any new projects you’re currently working on?

We have a new Blackmore’s Night CD in the works and will finish that up later this year. Our third album, Fires At Midnight, has now been remixed and remastered with some songs having new parts added and will be released in the coming months. I also have my third solo CD coming out and we’re doing six tour dates this summer and probably more in the fall.

Is there a message you have for the fans of the area prior to your appearance at the Sherman Theater?

Just that we are so pleased to be coming back to see you all! We always have a great time at The Sherman Theater and we will make it a night to remember. “So raise your hats and your glasses too, and we will see you under a violet moon!” Normally the fans dressed in garb have special seating in the front rows, so come be a part of our world. See you then!

James Wood is a freelance writer. You can contact him at [email protected]

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RITCHIE BLACKMORE's RAINBOW Announces U.K. Tour

Following the triumphant sold-out show at the Birmingham Genting Arena earlier this year, Kennedy Street and Kilimanjaro have announced Ritchie Blackmore 's RAINBOW will be returning to tour the U.K. in June 2017. The very special opening night will see them headlining the second annual Stone Free Festival at The O2, London, which will be Blackmore 's first London show since 1995, with further dates in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Ritchie Blackmore 's RAINBOW live in the UK:

June 17 - London, UK - The O2 (Stone Free Festival) June 22 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena June 25 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro June 28 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena

Playing classics from both RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE 's anthemic catalogue, the legendary guitarist needs no introduction and is universally acknowledged as a singular and visionary talent, one who has helped shape and define the landscape of rock music and the evolution of the guitar at its core. With a background immersed in classical and R&B, he was a founding member and driving force of DEEP PURPLE , going on to form RAINBOW in 1973, who sold in excess of 28 million albums.

The RAINBOW tour promises to be an unmissable event, not only for DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW fans, but also those who want to soak up the electrifying genius of the legendary guitarist live and to revel in the unforgettable songs he crafted with two of music's most celebrated bands. Blackmore will also be joined by former stalwart Meister Bob on bass, BLACKMORE NIGHTS ' drummer David Keith , STRATOVARIUS 's keyboardist Jens Johansson and singer, Ronnie Romero from Santiago, Chile whom Blackmore describes as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio meets Freddie Mercury ."

Starting the U.K. tour at The O2 in London, Ritchie Blackmore 's RAINBOW will be the headline act for the 2017 Stone Free Festival .

Following the hugely successful and highly acclaimed inaugural Stone Free Festival in June this year — which featured electrifying performances from the likes of Alice Cooper , Rick Wakeman , THE DARKNESS , MARILLION and many more — the festival returns with even more stages next year, utilizing the full array of facilities at The O2 including the Brooklyn Bowl. It will again feature a full line-up of artists and events such as the Speakeasy Lounge and the vinyl fair, alongside special acoustic performances, cinema screenings and exclusive after parties.

Further details regarding the lineup of Stone Free Festival 2017 will be revealed in due course.

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Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow

TPi’s Ste Durham made the trip to Birmingham to experience a truly monumental performance, as guitar royalty Ritchie Blackmore played his first arena rock show in 20 years with a FOH sound made possible with the help of Soundcraft’s Vi Series.

After spending the best part of two decades away from the world of rock, playing everything from castles to Renaissance fairs with medieval folk seven-piece Blackmore’s Night, it isn’t surprising that revered axe man Ritchie Blackmore was reluctant to commit to a full European tour for his highly-anticipated return. Under the moniker of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, the artist pencilled in just three dates: two outings at Germany’s Monsters of Rock in Loreley and Bietigheim-Bissingen, respectively, and a solitary date at Birmingham’s Genting Arena, playing a range of songs from both the Rainbow and Deep Purple back catalogues.

The theme of the production design was simple, effective and nostalgic, paying homage to Rainbow tours gone by, while at the same time embracing the benefits of 21st Century technology. Audio, lighting and backline were all geared towards letting the music and musicians do their thing and, somewhat surprisingly in this day and age, video was nowhere to be seen – even the IMAG that is now almost compulsory at arena-sized shows was notably absent in Birmingham.

In place of the upstage video wall or cloth backdrop that I expected to see was a giant rainbow-shaped truss covered in Laser Imagineering SUNBEAM FC LED battens and Clay Paky Sharpys. Lighting Tech for both Blackmore’s Night and Rainbow, Andreas Bock, explained the logic behind the visual set up: “If you want to use back projection or video then you need to create a lot of special content, otherwise it gets boring.”

He continued: “This would mean a lot of work for just three shows. The decision was to do these to get a feeling of how it would be received by the fans. We don’t know if Ritchie wants to do more rock in the future, but if there is a possibility then I’m sure we will add video content. He uses back projection with Blackmore’s Night and really likes it.”

The whole production fits into four trailers, provided by Concert & Event Service and Trucking Service, with three for the main lighting and audio rigs, and one for the rainbow and backline. The rainbow itself is made up of four sections of semi-circular truss that is connected and flown using two hoists. The full arch contains 64 of the Laser Imagineering LED battens and 32 Sharpys.

“I created the rainbow together with our Lighting Designer Michael Bockmühl,” Bock explained. “It’s inspired by the old rainbow but has been designed using modern fixtures. We don’t want to make too much noise with the light and have it look cheap – it’s all about trying to capture that classic rock atmosphere.”

The rainbow itself is a full video show, controlled independently, channel-by-channel on an MA Lighting grandMA2. Although the 64 fixtures create far too big of a pixel pitch to achieve detailed video effects, considerable colour morphing and the appearance of movement could be achieved. One moment in the set, Catch The Rainbow , saw the rainbow grow from one side to the other during the course of the song, while other upbeat tracks such as show opener, Highway Star , necessitated a more action-packed display.

Bockmühl continued: “When we looked back at old shows it became obvious that we would use the rainbow. The old version was this massive thing made of wood, plastic and steel, today it’s truss and LED sticks. There was talk of having video inside the rainbow frame but it comes down to practicality and cost. In the first venue of the tour we would have struggled to hang anything more, so then you are talking about introducing video for only two shows.”

German-based supplier Lleyendecker provided the gear for the rainbow, while satis&fy took care of the main lighting rig. Bockmühl said: “The rest of the rig was dictated by the rainbow. We wanted to accentuate it and carry on that classic rock look they used to have with with a lot of PARcans while still making use of modern moving lights to create big, colourful wash and beam looks.”

The MA network at Genting Arena connected Bockmühl’s own MA Lighting grandMA1 with the grandMA2, which he steered remotely to make use of the console’s effects library. He continued: “I always have to have a bump page ready just in case Ritchie changes the set, but I’ve done Blackmore’s Night for 13 years now so I have a pretty good understanding with him.”

The huge arena rig from satis&fy consisted of 48 PAR64 6Bars, four PAR64 ACL 4Bars, 18 Robe Robin LED Wash 600’s, 20 Robe ColorWash 2500E ATs, 16 Robe BMFLs, 32 Robe Pointes, and 31 8-lite molefays, as well as Robert Juliat Aramis followspots and Avolites ART 2000 switchpacks and dimmer systems.

Bock concluded: “I’m really happy with how the show looks and it seems to have gone down well with the fans. The only problem is that you put so much work in and after three shows it’s gone! Hopefully we will have an opportunity to use it again some day in the future.”

Child In Time

Although Captured Live provided some backline for the short tour, all of Blackmore’s gear was his own, made up of guitars and amplifiers acquired and heavily modified over decades on the road. This formidable arsenal included heads and cabinets from Engl, Fender and Trace Elliot, and only a couple of his famous Fender Stratocasters. Backline Tech and long-time friend of Blackmore’s, Jim Manngård, explained: “The Blackmore’s Night stuff is very complicated instrumentally, using around 15 guitars, all in different tunings, and other instruments such a hurdy gurdy and a mandola. These gigs have been a walk in the park by comparison!”

Keyboard Tech Paavo Kurkela was charged with making sure synth virtuoso Jens Johansson’s substantial rig stayed under control – a job made particularly interesting by the use of vintage gear. The kit included a Hammond B-3 and a Leslie 122 in order to pay respect to the iconic Jon Lord tone. Although Kurkela and Johansson created the sound in a different way to Lord, the tech maintained that the B-3 sounded, “the way a B-3 should.”

He commented: “Jens and I took our time in trying to find a sweet spot in terms of the distortion sound. When you put the pedal to the metal there’s a nice crunch out of the B-3 but there’s nothing odd about the way we did it – it was very straightforward. We used two Shure SM57’s on top and an Electro-Voice RE20 on the bottom, which is a standard old school set up. The B-3 was rented from Captured Live in good shape, so all I had to do was wake up a few of the keys.”

Johansson’s other rig was more computer-based, with Windows software controlled by a Roland A-800 Pro. Kurkela continued: “This allows him all sorts of voices, from subtle sounds to the classic Jens Johansson solo tone, which we got using a Roland JV-1080 rack driven through a Morely distortion box. It’s not much different to how the guys did it in the ‘70s when you think about it: they had sound modules too, now they just run on Windows.”

Long Live Rock & Roll

As the three venues on this run varied greatly in terms of their size, coverage requirements and weight hanging restrictions, FOH Engineer Barry Broström was prompted to specify a versatile PA system from Germany’s satis&fy. The main hang at the Genting Arena consisted of 12 boxes of L-Acoustics K1 per side, with three KARA as underhang, 10 K2 for outfill and six more KARA for infill. The bass frequencies were provided by 32 L-Acoustics SB28’s.

Broström commented: “It quickly became apparent during the first two sets of rehearsals in the US that the majority of the mix was already taken care of by the band. They had the song arrangements and their personal backline sound down already, so a minimalist approach was needed from my end. Careful consideration was given to all aspects of the live sound production so that the equipment and mix didn’t get in the way of bringing the music to the audience in the way that Ritchie wanted. This made the selection of gear especially critical.”

To control the 32 channels he had at FOH, as well as the additional 10 channels of audience microphones and spares, Broström specified a Soundcraft Vi7000.

“With the Soundcraft Vi series I was especially able to focus on what was important, which was delivering an experience to the fans which brought them closer to the music they haven’t heard live in two decades,” said Broström.

He continued: “I could not have been happier with my choice of the Vi7000 for these shows. I am really pleased with the Soundcraft team for making these products available to those of us who still care about mixing live shows as an art form rather than a random exercise in tech geekery! There was never a time during rehearsals or the shows where I felt lost in the technology and, as you know, that is rare these days. As well as being a total pleasure to use, the desk sounds fantastic.”

There was a period during the initial planning stage where Broström considered going back to analogue for these shows, but once he considered the impracticalities of that idea, the Vi series quickly became a “no-brainer”.

He said: “To be honest the Vi series completely surpasses the analogue domain in every conceivable way; the ease of operation, the features, and above all the sound quality made the Vi series the perfect choice for these shows. I seem to fall somewhere into the age group where I am young enough to be ‘hip’ to digital, while being old enough to have been brought up in the analogue world. These consoles are the perfect marriage of the two.”

According to Broström, one of the desk’s main strengths is the Vistonics screens corresponding to each group of eight faders; a feature that both speeds up and simplifies on-the-spot adjustments. He explained: “Having the knobs right there on the screen means being able to access whatever you need without ever taking your attention off of the show, just like an analogue desk – but even better. This was also my first time using the Realtime Rack, and although I didn’t have the chance on just three shows to even scratch the surface of this, the ease of use and the capabilities were just stunning. The Vi series plus the Realtime Rack is certainly a winning combination.”

Broström asserted that the desk was integral to achieving the simplicity required for this gig. He mainly used one mix, adding ‘80s-style drum reverbs on the Perfect Strangers era songs, or vintage spooky sounding plate and spring vocal reverbs on the ‘70s Dio era songs where required, which allowed the musicians themselves to handle the mix with their instruments and dynamics.

The band used a combination of Shure PSM 1000 in-ears and L-Acoustics 115XT HiQ wedges for on-stage monitoring to back up KARA side fills. Monitor Engineer Lars Nawrot has been on the road with Blackmore for the past six years, and in that time has come to understand his expectations to the letter. For the three Rainbow dates, this meant keeping his eyes on the artist at all times in order to shift the mix on his Yamaha CL5 accordingly.

Nawrot explained: “Ritchie does not use a traditional monitor mix, so he has no floor wedges or IEMs, instead he relies on a combination of the side fill, drum fill, backline and the FOH mix coming off the back of the PA and reflecting off of the room. If Ritchie wants to hear a particular band member, he walks towards the instrument, so I have to stay switched on at all times. I think coming from the old school influences his monitor tastes in this way – he’s used to working like that. It took me a while to understand his stage mix but now it has become second nature.”

Although Nawrot’s RF workload on the night was relatively manageable with only four wireless and six in-ear channels to look after, the crew was initially concerned with how the LED rainbow would affect the kit on stage.

Broström said: “I have been told that the old rainbow sometimes used to make Richie’s guitar go crazy, and was even a showstopper on a few occasions. He was concerned this might happen again so we flew his guitar rig over to Germany, set up the rainbow and moved the rig and guitar around underneath it. Luckily the signal was clean wherever we moved the gear, so we reported back to Ritchie and were good to go.”

As well as making sure that Blackmore’s iconic riffs could be heard loud and clear in the arena, the audio team had to find the perfect microphone to match new lead singer Ronnie Romero’s colossal voice. “We tried a variety of capsules from Shure that satis&fy supplied, but none of them quite worked as they should with Ronnie,” remembered Broström. “We eventually realised that the wired KSM8’s being used by the backing vocalists were the best microphones on stage. As soon as we got a wireless KSM8 capsule for him we knew there was no going back.”

The sound in the arena was thunderous, and Romero’s vocals sounded as crisp and intelligible as promised. It must be said that, in the months preceding the shows, some of the Deep Purple / Rainbow faithful were initially sceptical of a new singer filling the shoes of such legendary frontmen as David Coverdale, Ian Gillan and Ronnie James Dio, but the young Chilean was a force of nature on the night in Birmingham.

For the rest of the band, Broström’s priority was to try and capture a vintage sound to compliment the songs themselves as well as the overall aesthetic.

He explained: “I put both overheads on a single stand for the drums, as it’s easier to delay the rest of the drum channels to the overheads if they are coming from a single point. I aim for a really natural drum sound, which means using as little gating as possible to let them breathe. Ritchie wanted the focus to be on the music; not a huge wall of backline and a massive drum kit. This was the general theme around the production – keep it simple and let the band do their thing.

“I was not interested in doing the over the top loud drum mix common in many of today’s live concerts, but rather honour the balances found on the original recordings, while finding a middle ground and taking advantage of the power and sonics of a modern PA system.” As well as Shure and Electro-Voice gear that was used on stage, Broström and the crew selected a range of Sennheiser, Neumann, Audix, and AKG microphones.

Assisting Broström with the audio rig were satis&fy Systems Techs Johan Schreuder and Rüdiger Nürnberg. Broström said: “Johan and Rüdiger really took great care to make sure that the system sounded great and the coverage was even throughout the venue, as well of taking care of me too!”

Since You’ve Been Gone

Whether Blackmore decides to continue blowing the dust off his electric guitars remains to be seen, but there was certainly a few thousand in the Genting Arena that night who will be praying to the gods of rock that he does. At the same time as satisfying those in the arena, the tour has also been a hit with the crew backstage. So would they return to the road together with Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, given the chance?

When I asked him, Broström smiled: “Despite this being a very short tour, the vibe came together instantly. It’s a lot of the core team from Blackmore’s Night but we all clicked from first night of rehearsals. It’s been great and the only shame is that we couldn’t put this show on for longer. In the future… you never know!”

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lunes, 7 de mayo de 2012

Rainbow tour 1975.

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