Rainbow performed on this day in 1980 at Rodahal in Kerkrade, Netherlands.
Rainbow were at this time on their Down to Earth Tour, undertaken to support the album of the same name. The group had performed in several Northern and Western European countries by this point, with this concert being the second one they performed in the Netherlands.
A review of the concert praises several aspects of the performance, from the “nostalgia” of seeing guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and bassist Roger Glover onstage together to the sound of singer Graham Bonnet’s voice. Don Airey’s solo was also praised, with the reviewer making particular note of his then-standard solo trick, including the main theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Amusingly, the review even noted the group members’ ages, remarking with surprise on the relative youth of their audience. Every member of the group who survived into his seventies has continued to produce new music and perform; one, Ritchie Blackmore, even still does some of his contemporary work with Rainbow!
This concert is known to have been recorded, and is in circulation online.
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