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North America 2

Jim Collins' great vantage point

Verizon Wireless Theatre, Kansas City, MO, USA
Aug 25, 2004

Boy, what a concert!
It's now a day later and I'm still on a buzz from seeing Deep Purple. I've seen them many times in different incarnations, but last night was definitely the best. They were musically very tight, unbelievable musicianship, and they were very animated, laughing, bouncing around the stage,and generally appearing to be having a great time.
The set list was the same as they played in Boston, as per that review, with just enough extra stuff and solo's added to make it interesting.
It never ceases to amaze me how much energy this band has and even though they have gotten older, (haven't we all), they still kick butt. It was great to see them headline the show and they gave a superb effort for 1 1/2 hours. I encourage anyone that has any doubts about seeing them to just go, you won't be disappointed.
They were preceded by Joe Satriani which I thought was very good and entertaining, despite what some of the previous reviews had stated about him being boring. I found his guitar wizardry amazing and his attitude very enjoyable. Very good support from his bandmates also.
Thin Lizzy opened the show, but they sure aren't the band I remembered them as. Much more metal sounding than before and while some of the crowd obviously enjoyed them I found them really subpar compared to the original band. They do rock out however.
Overall, one of the best concerts I've seen in a while. Thanks Deep Purple and hope to see you again soon.
Ron Rufkahr

Row 1 Seat five, dead center!
Well to start with the weather was nasty and the venue was total open air (won't go there again).
Now the big moment. Purple came on stage (still no more rain) to a stand up crowd of I would say 6000 people which I thought was good taking into concideration of the weather.
I don’t remember the exact set but I would say the same as the other reviews. One thing I did notice was Deep Purple were not as tight as the last couple shows I saw. Now to me that was not a bad thing, sounded live and not so mechanical.
For the first time I saw Morse not on top of his game. Seemed to me he wasn’t all there, off tempo, not a good mix and actually missed notes. He was having fun or putting on a good show one. Now with that said I think it was one of the best show’s I’ve seen since the Purpendicular tour and the absolute best version of Highway Star that I’ve ever seen. The band and crowd went absolutely wild jumping and singing. I saw Rodger give Gillan a strange look of “like what’s up with this?!”
They absolutely rocked (not perfect) but live, loud and the crowd was pumping them on, absolutely fabulous. The only disappointment was not enough Bananas stuff, nothing from the previous two LP’s (I will touch on that in a minute) and a whole lot of oldies.
Now to the backstage stuff! We waited about 30 minutes before they would let us backstage (really a tent behind the stage) so we waited there about 15 minutes and Don came out first. Very nice, I was probably the loudest in the crowd so he came over to me first and talked to me for a while (could hardly make out the accent, besides I was totally deaf from the concert) and signed my Bananas CD. Roger was next out, then Ian Paice. Last one out was Steve. He immediately went over to a corner and stood. Everyone had to walk over to him to get his signature, didn’t say a word to hardly anyone. Came my turn, got his signature, I told him it was a great concert (no reply) and then asked him why don’t you guys put Ted back in the mix that’s a true classic? His response was (very abrupt and low tone) “I’ve got no say in it” then turned away and didn’t look back. This is my personal opinion, but not alls well in the Purple camp!
Terry Sears

They're playing and sounding like they're in their 20's and hungry for success. They performed with the precision of a Swiss watch, the power of a Force 5 hurricane and the passion of a pair of young lovers locked in a twisted tangle of limbs.
Jim Collins - read Jim's full review

I cannot believe my luck! On my way in to the concert, I registered to win a Bananas record at a local radio station's booth. As I placed my slip in the drawing box, I noticed an envelope on the table labeled, "Deep Purple Meet and Greet". The guy told me it was the last pair of passes, and that they should go to a big fan. I only had to answer a trivia question to prove it, which was to simply name the current members of the band (no problem!)
After the concert, we were led with about 20 others to a picnic area backstage. All five members came out, and were sincerely friendly and willing to sign their autographs and pose for pictures. My wife and I got our backstage pass and ticket signed. I thanked the guys for all the great music through the years, and they were very receptive to my noting how well the mix of older and newer songs worked out. Steve Morse was especially accomodating, introducing himself as Steve Morse of Deep Purple. He even handed out guitar picks with his name inscribed!
The concert itself was terrific. I am the band's biggest fan and its harhest, knowledgable critic. The small but enthusiastic crowd seemed to please the band. Morse, Glover, and Gillan exchanged jokes and laughs among themselves and with the fans throughout the show.
This was certainly a great experience I never expected to have. Thanks to the band and 101 The Fox!
Don Branham
Olathe, KS

Wow! Fantastic!
This was my third time seeing Purple, it was the best one so far! The other two were great but this one really got the crowd going to no end! I had an all access pass thanks to my sister Trish and Steve morse. This time the whole band was backstage after the show and I was in awe. They are a special bunch of talented musicians that are down to earth people!
There new CD Bananas is great , go buy it.
On our 200 mile trip home we were ready to turn the car around and go to Texas to see them again!
The set they played couldn't have been better for me , they played almost all my favorite Purple songs.
Thanks for the awesome show guys! Oh and the great German beer. Can't wait to see you play again.
Terry Cherney

Ian Paice simply walked out onto the stage and took his place behind the kit as the crowd burst into thunderous applause. With a grin on his face behind those trademark cat-glasses, he raised his arms in the air in a combination greeting and "Well?" gesture, and the crowd responded in kind.
With no ado at all, Paicey tapped the slatedown and the Deep Purple ploughed into the first song: "Silver Tongue." Looking like some kind of Dalai Lama in what looked like loose-fitting white pyjamas, Ian Gillan grabbed the microphone and charged the stage. "Well, I'm standing here on a moving sta-tion...ALL the world is a-travelin' by...To strange outlandish dest-i-na-tions...There they go, I'm a-wonderin' why..."
Troy D. Wickman - read Troy's full review