The Montreal Blues Society is preparing a review of Deep Purple’s appearance at the Ottawa Bluesfest. In the meantime, we are happy to offer you their review of Now What?!

Ok, blah, blah, blah. What about the music? I pour myself a frosty Kool Aid and set myself on the king’s throne and hit play. Expecting a big ass riff to kick me in the bollocks, I am instead greeted with a mellow bass riff with some soon added guitar fills to start off ‘A Simple Song’. A subdued Gillan chimes in and the vibe is kind of Gabrielish or Gillan solo (not a bad thing)…but then BANG… Hammond, Ball, Pearl, Vigier, and Shure explode and come at me with a vengeance. A skull penetrating rhythm invades the prior serene lead in. It didn’t take long and I now keel over in pain from what I wanted. I can’t believe how prominent the bass sounds. The standard guitar solo is switched out for a great Hammond piece by Airey before the song 360s back to how it began. Beautiful. I don’t even make it to track two…repeat.

Read more at the Montreal Blues Society.

Thanks to Sean Willoughby for the info.

Watch this space for further developments.

Le Soleil in Quebec City has published not only an excellent review of the Deep Purple performance at the Festival d’été de Québec, but also did a great feature on the band in the days leading to the show. Written by Nicolas Houle, a rock journalist, longtime DP enthusiast and also a longtime THS reader. It is all in French, but even from the rough automated translation one can see that it’s a work of love for the band. He even dug into the newspaper archives and found a picture of Randy California standing in for Ritchie Blackmore on April 6, 1972. Kinda makes you wish that every newspaper on the planet had a staff Purple enthusiast.

The feature includes an interview with Roger Glover, followed by a who-is-who writeup of everybody who has been a member of the band over the years. Roger spoke about his very beginning, his debut with the band — Hallelujah, the 1984 reunion and how the band was irritated by the fact that only the money side of it draw attention, on how the band never thought that Smoke on the Water would be a hit, about his opinion on Joe Lynn Turner choice as a singer for Purple, and many other things.

In the second part of the feature Nicolas spoke to Steve Morse, who explained that talking of the end of the band is a taboo thing with other members. He fears that DP may be one of those bands who crashed on the road. Among other topics, he shared his opinion on Whitesnake’s The Purple Album, explained why the band doesn’t have the same following in the US than in the rest of the world, and the chemistry with Bob Ezrin.

Thanks to Nicolas Houle for the info. Pictures are from Ottawa, July 18, by truly yours.

Deep Purple at Festival d’été de Québec (Quebec City, Canada, 2015-07-19)

On a cold windy evening on the Plains of Abraham, Quebec – site of the historic battle between the French and British in 1759, Deep Purple came, saw and conquered the 60,000 or so faithful who braved the bitter temperature, high winds and the constant threat of thundershowers.

I was at the show and the weather was absolutely brutal…13c and winds of around 50km/30 miles per hour with threat of thunder and lightning all through the show. People were dressed in winter coats. Yours truly shows up in a t shirt and jeans, having left a balmy 36c in Montreal.

When I arrived in Quebec City two and a half hours later….I knew I was in trouble because the temperature had dropped to 19c. At the show the winds were so high the speakers were swinging on their cables like they were going to fly away. The Festival Été Québec is a huge outdoor music festival that lasts about 10 days. This was the last show of the festival. The boys didn’t give a damn about the bad weather. They played a blinder of a set. Ian Gillan’s voice sounded better than ever. Not sure if he changed something in his style but I aint questioning it. He looked refreshed and rejuvenated as did the whole band. After the show I got to chat with Roger Glover and Don Airey for a while. They were really pleased with the tour thus far and the crowd reception.

I have seen many a Purple show over the years and I believe this tour is not to be missed. If you can get out to see the band then please do. No one knows how many tours the boys have left in them and DP are bringing it stronger than ever on this one. Sorry to babble…now to the reviews.

Two reviews here from the show in Québec City; one from le Journal de Montréal and the other from La Presse, the two largest French language papers in the province. Apologies for the rough translation but I think everyone will get the gist of it….. Cheers !

LE SOLEIL

(Quebec) Neither the threatening sky or wind or chilly weather are able to scare away fans from the Quebec City Summer Festival (QEF) Sunday on the Plains of Abraham. The Deep Purple machine managed to warm up the crowd with a formidable performance, fueling the crowd with classic songs, new songs and neglected pearls of the past.

A point worth noting is that initially Nickelback was scheduled to headline the closing concert. However, following health problems of singer Chad Kroeger, Deep Purple were asked to take on the job. Good idea! At the opening, with the inevitable Highway Star, we knew we had the drive: Ian Gillan was in fine voice form and behind him, the group could not be more in sync. The band had an excellent sound system to play through.

Although they do the festival circuit this summer, the guys did not opt for the easy musical route. Also, no fewer than four titles of the recent Now What ?! album snuck into the evening, without necessarily undermining the pace of the show. Among them, Vincent Price was particularly good. It must be said that the musicians are top notch, as witnessed during the organ virtuosos, courtesy of Don Airey, and those of guitarist Steve Morse who took care to cover one of his hands with a glove, were enough to sustain attention from the crowd. The musicians rose to great feats without falling into the excesses or demonstration. They never lost the melodic dimension of sight.

As an aperitif to a Perfect Strangers meal, Don Airey has allowed a segment where he resumed Gens du Pays [unofficial national anthem of Quebec — THS] to the sheer delight of the crowd. Morse, meanwhile, served the impressive instrumental The Well Dressed Guitar, in addition to dialogue with the wider public, at the end of the show, during Black Night. Moreover, dialogues, we also had dialogue between Ian Gillan and between Steve Morse, with a friendly Strange Kind of Woman or between Morse and Airey, during Hush, first success of the British band.

In addition to highlighting Hard Lovin ‘Man, rarely performed play on stage, Deep Purple also unearthed The Mule, which allowed Ian Paice to call upon his expertise behind the drums – light wands included!

Besides the instrumental flights (solos) , we must emphasize the cohesion and the overall sound of the group in each song. It was also pleasing to see how Gillan, down from its 69 years, was able to make good use of his voice. Certainly, he no longer has exceptional flexibility of spring, but his singing was assured, just, and veteran could afford here and there his famous shrill cries, his usual signature.

No doubt the crowd was conquered. And when it came time to support Gillan during the chorus of the must Smoke On The Water, nobody held back. Even the rain had the foresight to spare us throughout the concert. A successful finale.

JOURNAL DU QUEBEC and JOURNAL DE MONTREAL (same newspaper owner)

A band that delivers…..big rock and pleasure. Deep Purple has offered a solid and furious performance on the Plains of Abraham to conclude the 2015 edition of the Quebec City Summer Festival.

The site was not full, but there were lots and lots of people, even in the hill, on a windy night that had absolutely nothing to do with the summer.

A gray sky, low clouds that pass quickly and hanging sound speakers that swayed with the wind. You had to love the rock. Those brave enough to agree to leave the cozy comfort of their homes were rewarded with a nice big rock evening with Deep Purple.

The five members of the celebration that approaches 50 years of career are all in their sixties. Guitarist Steve Morse, who wore a black glove on his right hand to keep out the cold, is the youngest at 60. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover are veterans at 69. You’d never give them that.

Sound, although excellent in front of the stage, was affected somewhat in the rear, because of the wind.

Danny N

Deep Purple will be performing on The Today Show this Thursday, July 23rd. The Today Show airs on the US TV network NBC daily at 8 a.m. Selected fragments of the show are also posted online, including live music performances.

Thanks to deeppurple.com for the info.

And just when you thought that nothing can top the Siberian throat take on the Highway Star, or the infamous in certain quarters Firemen of Edo, another gem comes your way.

This is one for the tech geeks (both of us). Smoke on the Water performed by an orchestra of recycled floppy drives. Behold our new robotic overlords:

<geeky stuff>My guess the most difficult part was designing a controller that translates MIDI into proper sequences of track seeking commands. And then — quite literally — fine tuning the whole orchestra.</geeky>

On a related note, recently uncovered evidence suggests that the certain Bulgarian top hat transmitter may in fact have been an Azerbaijani one:

The esteemed scientific jury is still out on the final attribution, though.

Thanks to jamoore60 and the Association of Electrical Technologists at Purdue University for the overlords, and to CaspianTimsah for the top hat research and to Deep23 from deep-purple.ru forum for bringing it to your attention.

The official YouTube channel has a couple of clips that offer view of a gig from quite a unique angle:

These were shot in 2003 in Rome.

Another one, from Jon Lord’s farewell tour. Hammersmith Apollo, September 6, 2002:

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.

A track called The Other Side from upcoming new Blackmore’s Night album All Our Yesterdays:

The album is due to be released on September 18th.

Thanks to Blabbermouth and Nigel Young for the info.

Today, on the third anniversary of Jon Lord’s passing, JonLord.org has revealed a previously unreleased live recording of John Lennon’s Instant Karma performed by Jon Lord.

Filmed on Armed Forces Day in July 2009 at an event in Jon’s local community, the band includes Micky Moody, Steve Balsamo, Steve White, Willie Wyffe, Sam Brown and Joe Brown.

The footage was sponsored by a fan on the promise that we use it to remember Jon on the day of his passing.

To coincide with the anniversary, JonLord.org has also launched a special commemorative sale of *All Those Years Ago*, the *Jon Lord photo book* from *Rufus Stone Limited Editions*.

For a short period ending on July 20th, 2015, the special limited edition book will sell at £150 incl. world wide delivery.

As a special bonus, the first 25 copies will come with a postcard signed by Jon Lord. Jon signed these while on tour, and they only recently came to light.

Also available will be the *Jon Lord Signed Edition* of *All Those Years Ago*. Signed by Jon Lord, these will sell at £300, and there are five copies only. These signatures were signed by Jon, when the *California Jam Books* were produced by Rufus Stone. Jon signed them 3 weeks before he died.

Both editions will be available only from JonLord.org. As always, a portion of the profits will be donated to Jon’s favorite charity The Sunflower Jam.

Special commemorative offer ends July 20th 2015.

Orders can be placed now only at: JonLordShop.org.

Flying Colors have been nominated for the 2015 Progressive Music Awards in the Band of the Year category, as well as their Second Nature album for the Album of the Year. To celebrate this, they have released a live-in-the-studio music video for Fury of My Love:

The band is also running a contest through their website with prizes including:

• a Sterling by MusicMan guitar autographed by Steve Morse
• a 20-minute Skype guitar lesson with Steve Morse
• drum head autographed by the whole band
• Flying Colors vinyl collection

Thanks to Classic Rock for the info.