Bruce Dickinson, an Orchestra, and Deep Purple: a Concert Experience Like No Other! (2023)

“Jon Lord – Concerto for Group and Orchestra“
Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) and the Zagreb Philharmonic with the music of Deep Purple
Ljubljana / Cankarjev dom / Slovenia
Saturday, 25 March 2023

---

Every once in a while, a special kind of concert comes along. Not so much unusual as unexpected. The kind where the electric guitar is front and center, yet it somehow ends up happening at Cankarjev dom. You know the place — jazz, classical music, cabaret and the like… not exactly a natural home for rock. Unless you’re Pero Lovšin or Siddharta, of course. But those two Slovenian acts play every corner of Slovenia one way or another.

This night’s program, though, brought together classical music and rock. Old-school rock. The pioneering era. The turn of the sixties into the seventies. A band called Deep Purple was already out there doing their thing. And one of its members — the late keyboardist Jon Lord — wrote a little piece called “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”.

“Concerto For Group And Orchestra” didn’t make it back to a proper stage for many years — not until the thirtieth anniversary, in 1999. Then came the fortieth, with the last of those early spectaculars in 2011, when Jon Lord himself stepped in to re-interpret his own work. He passed away in mid-July 2012. When the fiftieth anniversary rolled around, the idea roared back to life. Conductor Paul Mann, who had first joined the project back in 1999, was back on board. And alongside him, none other than Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson. In 2021, the show was staged in Győr, Hungary. The Hungarian Philharmonic played under Mann’s baton, while the rock contingent alongside Dickinson on vocals included Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, and the excellent Croatian guitar virtuoso from Dubrovnik Zvonimir Kaitner — performing under his artistically adapted stage name Kaitner Z Doka (the ‘dok’ likely a nod to shipyard/nautical lingo). Rounding it out were Bernhard Welz on drums and Jethro Tull keyboardist John O’Hara, who stepped directly into Lord’s spot on stage. The reception was extraordinary — and the appetite to keep the project going was no less. New dates were confirmed. Stepping in to replace Glover was the svelte bassist Tanya O’Callaghan, who had joined Whitesnake in the autumn of 2021.

March 2023. After shows in Sarajevo and Zagreb, Ljubljana was next. The Zagreb Philharmonic stepped up as the orchestra, all 74 members of them. Eight o’clock. The venue packed to the last corner — sold out. Black everywhere you looked. The bulk of the crowd counted itself among diehard fans of Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson’s solo work, and I needn’t waste words on how beloved the iconic Deep Purple are. Which was ultimately proven by the fact that the beer ‘evaporated’ during the concert. Normally, people order wine at Cankarjev dom — the place mostly draws Ljubljana’s season-ticket puritans and well-marinated older ladies in expensive fur coats. But this time around, at least on the drinks front, supply fell woefully short. The already-too-small 0.33-litre bottles of Union beer ran out by the halfway point — all that remained were little bottles of the other stuff, the budget option: Heineken’s swill. Which is to say, Laško. Outrageous. That’s what happens when metalheads show up and gut the bar of a venue that was nowhere near prepared for them.

On to the concert itself. The lights go down, and the crowd buzzes as the musicians slowly take their positions on stage — the rock band right up front at the lip. Among them, making his first appearance, was naturally the main star of the evening: Bruce Dickinson, whose easy-going energy immediately broke the ice and loosened a few stiff shoulders. Now, Concerto For Group And Orchestra is a three-movement work, and Bruce’s role during its performance was more that of an occasional vocal cameo. Through the first movement, the audience maintained a kind of respectful, almost hushed silence. Up on stage, though, a tight-knit crew of battle-hardened musicians. The philharmonic orchestra followed the legendary Lord’s score with total devotion, while the rock contingent dutifully delivered what gives the piece its name. In short: the tension built minute by minute, movement by movement. The prospect of watching Bruce Dickinson pull triple duty — dramatic actor, frontman (minus Iron Maiden), and stand-up comedian — was undoubtedly the focal point of all that anticipation.

Concerto For Group and Orchestra landed brilliantly. Professionally. With real commitment and heart. Jon Lord would have been more than thrilled. A tribute to the legendary musician that grabbed you by the collar with a mighty, thunderously majestic interpretation — one that stirred the deepest feelings of reverence and belonging to the great Deep Purple. And a generous serving of nostalgia, too.

Then came the proper intermission — the very one during which the beer at Cankarjev dom, as mentioned, actually ran dry. We were on edge waiting for the second half. The crowd was fired up. Expectations through the roof. They came alive the moment Zvonimir opened with his interpretation of Lord’s Bourée. He picked up the acoustic guitar from the stand. After an intro that gave nothing away, he settled into A minor and began picking out the main phrase of the most recognisable song in all of Dickinson’s solo career. It was Tears Of The Dragon. People lost it. Bruce was brilliant that evening. In every respect. Vocally? Definitively and absolutely. The set length suited him perfectly. He knew he could sing at full power. That he could let loose and throw everything into his voice without holding back. The long instrumental passages — both opening and closing — worked perfectly in his favour, giving his voice time to recover. So in the second half, Bruce floored it. He sang with everything he had. Tears Of The Dragon was one of the definitive highlights of the night. But it was followed by another track from his solo career — the phenomenal Jerusalem, taken from Dickinson’s most revered solo album, “Chemical Wedding” (1998). Already steeped in a folk melody at its core, combined with the orchestra it reached an extraordinary atmospheric intensity that sent chills across your skin. Especially when Bruce absolutely captivated the venue with a genuinely outstanding vocal performance. The iconic Iron Maiden vocalist, in brilliant form all evening, preceded each song with a short intro delivered with the flair of a true stage actor. During the songs he bolted across the full width of the stage several times, which only wound the crowd up further — and the peak, naturally, was one of his signature moves. You’ve probably already guessed: he hollered “Scream For Me Ljubljana!!!!!” — a timely reminder to anyone who’d somehow forgotten what was waiting for them at Arena Stožice on 28 May 2023! At one point he said the word “Water” and reached for a bottle, when someone in the crowd immediately seized the moment to continue the next verse from the Iron Maiden classic The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Bruce found this absolutely hilarious — and used it as an opportunity to ‘correct’ the record, clarifying that the next piece wasn’t a tribute to Samuel Taylor Coleridge but to another English artist: William Blake (he was leading into Jerusalem).

Then came four Deep Purple tracks (three, strictly speaking, plus one cover that originally belongs to Joe South). Each given its own unique rearrangement. Its own story, its own vibe. And phenomenal, the lot of them. The orchestra adds that layer of excitement that never stops thrilling you — just the simple curiosity of how a well-known rock track is going to sound with an orchestra behind it is enough to keep you hooked. The absolute highlight, though, came right at the close of the main set: a monster re-interpretation of the cult Purple classic Perfect Strangers. Clocking in at nearly eleven minutes, with a phenomenal extended opening section that belonged entirely to the orchestra, it delivered a one-of-a-kind musical treat from start to finish.

An obligatory encore? Of course. No guessing required this time either. There was once a night by Lake Geneva, at a Frank Zappa concert. Thunder and lightning — Smoke on the Water. The one thing you simply cannot leave out when Deep Purple is on the bill. Theatre at its peak. A grand finale. The hall shook. Right down to its foundations and roof.

And the sound? We were up near the ceiling (second balcony). The bass up there was cutting. But overall — brilliant, with Dickinson’s outstanding vocal performance throughout. His vocal charisma delivered in a slightly different mode than we’re used to at Iron Maiden shows. His stage theatre while singing also made clear who one of Dickinson’s biggest inspirations was: Ronnie James Dio. At Iron Maiden concerts, that influence is nowhere near as obvious as it was here at Cankarjev dom. Bruce radiated extraordinary freshness and piercing clarity with his voice that evening. Pristine! No complaints. Only superlatives. A concert evening that touches you deeply and reaches into the most hidden corners of the soul. A unique, unforgettable experience. In some ways, almost impossible to put into words. Those of us lucky enough to be in Cankarjev dom that evening will not forget a concert spectacle like this. Not for as long as we live.

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Setlist:
Part one: Concerto for Group and Orchestra
1. First Movement: Moderato – Allegro
2. Second Movement: Andante
3. Third Movement: Vivace – Presto
Part two:
4. Bourée
5. Tears of the Dragon
6. Jerusalem
7. Pictures of Home
8. When a Blind Man Cries
9. Hush
10. Perfect Strangers
—encore—
11. Smoke on the Water

---