Legendary heavy rock band Deep Purple has been through many line up changes but the core remaining players of Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and Roger Glover are still the real deal for the legions of their dedicated fans.
Add to this the incendiary guitar playing of Steve Morse and, since the passing of the much missed uncommon man Jon Lord, the graceful fingerwork of Don Airey on keyboards and Purple are a band not only re-born but, on tonight’s performance, an X Men band of superhuman musicians to marvel at.
To open with Time for Bedlam – a song from their excellent current album Infinite – set the tone for the classy heavy rock racket that was to unfold.
A rather sprightly 72-year-old Ian Gillan proved that he still exerts a tight grip on his vocal range during the songs most demanding parts. To then follow up with deep cuts Fireball and Bloodsucker was a masterly nod of appreciation towards their hardcore fans.
There has always been a slightly jazzy, bluesy influence to some of Purple’s studio sound as displayed on Infinite’s standout track All I Got Is You.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
It’s played live tonight with a swing feel from Ian Paice’s impeccable, wristy drumming and Roger Glover’s tight but loose bass lines as Gillan’s sublime ear-worming vocal really works its way into the listeners head. That is until Airey and Morse take the song up a notch with an interplay of musical notes that defies normal logic.
Moreover, it soon became evidently clear that we were witnessing a band playing towards the peak of their powers, enjoying every minute and note of their set as they launched into The Surprising.
Known as the guitarist’s guitarist, Morse played the intricate passages of the song with an acuity bordering on the supernatural as he flicked out hot licks from his well-worn fretboard.
In fact, there were more than a few surprising looks of astonishment from band and fans alike towards this guitar-slinger extraordinaire.
And then the set got even better with a shortened take on Lazy and its nifty riffs being traded like a blues-rock pass the parcel game between the band. But it was an epic Perfect Strangers which arguably stole the show.
Don Airey channelled Jon Lord’s momentous swirling Hammond Organ intro sound as if he was born to play it as the band crashed in and locked into the songs pulsating throbbing rhythm. Morse again stealing the limelight with his otherworldly atmospheric guitar sound effects.
Te loudest roar came when the song that launched a thousand guitar riffs arrived as Morse chopped out the riff to Smoke On The Water. Fists pumped the air as heads nodded along to Gillan’s ‘We all came out to Montreux’ classic opening line.
The audience’s hearty singing of the chorus line seemed to shock the band a little, such was the excitement being generated by Purple’s stagecraft.
To finish up on late sixties power psych hit Hush and jukebox rock anthem Black Night, reminded all of the longevity and versatility of a band that just seems to get better and better with each show.
Intimate shows do not come more exceptional than this and to witness one diehard, long-haired Purple fan in his flowery purple shirt head-banging down the front, whilst appearing to sing along to every word, summed up this evening’s show for the true, diehard fans of Deep Purple.
Long may their purple patch continue.