![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse6.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan2.jpg)
Still bringing the power
Last night Deep Purple headlined the Ottawa Bluesfest. Local newspaper Ottawa Citizen reviews the gig:
Together, the five men joined forces to make the 2015 edition of Deep Purple a formidable beast, leaping out of the starting gate to let ‘er rip on the classic Highway Star. Strange Kind of Woman was also rolled out early in the set.
With selections from their latest album, Now What?! included in the mix, it was not a greatest-hits show, although the creepy Vincent Price and the bluesy Hell To Pay fit in well. Each musician also had the chance to strut their stuff in an extended solo, a practice that might have been tedious for the casual fan.
But it all came to a thrilling resolution with killer versions of Space Truckin’ and Smoke on the Water, during which the line “some stupid with a flare gun” inspired a perfectly timed (and completely unauthorized) pop of fireworks in the crowd.
Ottawa Sun concurs:
While Simple Plan captured the singalong portion necessary of any concert, Deep Purple’s set was filled with five-minute long solos coming from every instrument on stage.
“We’re done with the jazz section of the show, time to get onto the funk portion,” lead singer Ian Gillan joked to the crowd.
Nothing could have been further from the truth as they broke down into the darker Vincent Price from 2013’s Now What?! album.
At 69, Gillan, in a black T-shirt and black jeans, surprisingly had no trouble hitting all the high notes.
And perhaps it’s time to remind you that if you have your own review of a gig, you can publish it right here, on The Highway Star. Head over to our submission form and start typing.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Nice to read positive reviews.
July 19th, 2015 at 18:42Ottawa is a city of over 1 million people. Its annual Bluesfest draws people in from Toronto, Montreal and outlying regions. From the reviews of the 2 major newspapers there, it is obvious that Deep Purple is still a living breathing machine with lots of fire left in it. Glad to hear, and looking forward to seeing them at London O2 in December.
July 20th, 2015 at 02:49Seeing them Saturday the 25th and looking forward to it as always. However, looks like it is going to be the same exact show they did last year and not pleased with that. I know they have to play more “hits” here in North America. That’s a given. But Why do “Hard Lovin Man” on back to back tours? If they wanted to do a more obscure song there are more than enough to choose from. Would love to “no no no” or “smooth dancer”. Will have a hopefully positive review next week.
July 21st, 2015 at 02:42Who took the pictures at the top of this post?
August 8th, 2015 at 20:02Marije:
i did.
August 10th, 2015 at 17:37