Parrocks at The Crimea Tavern Castleford, 1st November 2007 by Carl Wragg

The Crimea Tavern is renowned for putting on ‘top drawer’ bands week in week out, and yet the term ‘top drawer’ can only be deemed an understatement when used to describe the sensational Italian rockers Parrock who played the Crimea as part of their UK tour, organized by Paddy of the King Bz.

I went along to the gig after hearing of their success last time they were here, and was expecting a good performance. But what I saw was far more than the initial ‘good’ expectations I had. This band took Deep Purple classics and absolutely mastered them. By mastered, I mean really brought the songs to life, played to perfection and with so much feeling and confidence, if you shut your eyes you will easily have mistaken the band for that much loved classic 70’s DP lineup of Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord and Paice.

They kicked off the first set with Bloodsucker, a great song from the now legendary ‘In Rock’ album which gave the band chance to warm up, and boy did they get into the swing of things quickly! The middle section of this song featured some wonderful work between the band’s rhythm section, keys and guitar and they were playing as tight as a drum – definitely the signs of a well rehearsed band. I also noted some great Gillan-esque wailing from frontman Carlo ‘Polmone’ Croci. A first class start to the night, and a smooth rendition of Might Just Take Your Life came next before a great Fireball and Into The Fire, both of which saw some excellent keyboard work from Paolo “L’himmondo” Cerofolini.

What followed, can only be described as the best musical performance I have ever seen! The band played incredibly well and the song featured a stunning solo from guitarist Diego “the Egg” Perugini, but the thing that captured everyone’s attention was Polmone’s vocals, which sent shivers down my spine during the masterpiece Child In Time. Everywhere around the room people were nodding in agreement of appreciation for what these guys were performing. You simply can’t put it into words to describe how well this song was delivered. Truly astonishing! With the audience on a high, the band kicked into yet more superb renditions of Lady Luck, Getting Tighter and Drifter, all of which gave Polmone chance to put in some strange but rather fitting stage routines, interacting well with the rest of the band. As the end of the first set approached, the band were on fire, the sound was really impressive and the audience were loving it. What better way to finish the set than with a splendid Strange Kind of Woman – sounding as good, if not better, than DP’s own live version on the ‘Made In Japan’ album, and finally Space Truckin’, two of my personal favorites of the night, and a great end to a great set.

I often go to gigs and during the break between sets, find the audience saying how good the band have been so far, but it has been a long time since I’ve heard the positive feedback given with such sincerity. The audience were genuinely thrilled with the band’s performance and much of the talk was about their version of Child In Time. I couldn’t disagree with any of the positive comments being made and the line ‘best singer I’ve ever heard’ came up in conversation often during that 15 minute break.

The band took to the stage after the short break and from the off were in full flight. Perfect Strangers kicked off this set before they played a rather spectacular rendition of Mistreated, and one which I really enjoyed, particularly because of the excellent guitar solo, played with enough feeling to give Dave Gilmour a run for his money! Keep On Moving was the next hit before the commercial side of Deep Purple was given the Parrock treatment and they blasted out a superb Black Night. What a great song, and one which saw heads banging around the room. Clearly a real crowd pleaser, along with the track they played next, the one song that is most associated with DP and which no ‘tribute’ gig would be complete without. Yes you guessed it… Smoke on the Water. Throughout the night I would’ve compared Diego’s guitar playing characteristics to that of Ritchie Blackmore. However, when he kicked into the infamous riff of Smoke on the Water, complete with a small improvised section, I thought straight away how much this reminded me of when I saw Steve Morse playing with DP earlier in the year.

I also have to mention how tight the rhythm section was, in particular with this song but all night also, Gianluca “Brioscia” Meconcelli keeping a steady Paice like drum beat whilst Flavio “Ruspa” Mangiavacchi took care of the bass lines. Whilst we are on the subject of the rhythm section I have to mention a superb drum solo which captured the room’s attention and resulted with a great cheer of appreciation, with Brioscia’s talents making it look so easy. I’m sure any drummers who have witnessed this man in action will back me up in saying how well he performs. The end of the night sadly drew near but the band chose to leave us on a real high with three absolutely brilliant renditions of Soldier of Fortune (complete with a clever segue into the solo section from Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb), a particular favourite of mine – Highway Star, and finally one of Coverdale’s finest in Burn. I group these three songs together as they really showed what Parrock is about. The wonderful solo’s from the band, the stunning vocals from Polmone and the energy they created on stage – magnificent.

It is not very often our area gets the opportunity to witness the talents Parrock but these guys really set the standards for ‘tribute’ acts to aspire to and could easily be at the top of the tribute circuit with the likes of Limehouse Lizzy and Livewire etc. Their talent is phenomenal and it is a privilege to have witnessed such a great band. I urge everyone who missed this tour to make sure you get to see them next time. You really won’t regret it.