Deep Purple live at Hard Rock Live (Orlando, USA 2014-08-30)

Just got back to the room after watching a stellar performance at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando. The band was on Fire from the opening note of Highway Star to that final closing note of Black Night. Gillan sounded great tonight, Glover was solid as ever, Paicey continues to show just what a great drummer he really is. Airey was fine as always and Morse just lit the place up. He was grinning from ear to ear most of the night and the whole band seemed to feed off a much enthusiastic crowd. Same set list, so no need to repeat it, but they were just awesome. Can’t wait to see them at the final show tomorrow in Hollywood. Thank you to Ian Paice for the drumstick and to Steve Morse for the picks. My wife and I took our oldest son and his wife. My son grew up listening to Purple so he knows all the songs. We all just had a wonderful time. I hope they won’t wait so long to get back to the states for another tour. Thanks again Deep Purple for a fabulous show.

review by Del Ferguson

Deep Purple live at Hard Rock Live (Orlando, USA 2014-08-30)

I’ve been to numerous Deep Purple since my first in 1987. I reviewed all the shows. And the band deserved a glowing review every time.

I’m not about to write a bad review, but it’s a mixed review. Good stuff first: I brought my wife and kids. My boys are 17 and 15 and love Deep Purple and ended up loving the show. We got to say hello to Internet Purple Maniac friends Rich, Julie and Glenn. It’s always good to meet personable, pleasant people who are also such perverse maniacs for the sound of that same one band you are. Great to see you! See you next time, guys!

I also laid eyes on Colin Hart. We had to wait in an area far from the doors but he was all the way up by the doors and talking to people. I left him alone. When they let him through the door I saw Don Airey give him a big hug. Later, Colin joined the sound booth which was right in front of me. I did manage to shake his hand and tell him I loved his story. He was very polite and friendly. Thanks, Colin.

The show. The setlist was the same. I’m not up for writing details on every song. The two best songs were Uncommon Man and Space Truckin’.

The sound was, at times, terrible. Most times it was fine, but that’s what you pay for. You expect it to be fine. But when I’m watching Don Airey play a solo on the videoscreen yet can’t hear it in the mix at all, I know there’s a problem. It was really muddy in sections and a song or two were damaged by the bad mix. Gillan’s voice was barely audible in spots. Many spots.

Unfortunately, that’s not all bad. Ian Gillan. Hmm. Ian Gillan is my favorite singer, he has been since 1973, and he’s a very significant part of my obsessive love for the music of this band. But his voice seems to have been deteriorating for awhile now. Tonight he mostly sang great, but when using the upper register he at times faked notes, he choked on notes, he skipped notes it seems he had intended to sing, and he arbitrarily started talking the lyrics instead of singing them. Nobody I was with noticed, so maybe I’m too critical. But some of the higher-pitched stuff had him singing like Joe Walsh. So those moments were hard for me.

Oh! If Deep Purple audiences in Europe and elsewhere are filled with 18-year-olds, the United States didn’t get the message.

This Deep Purple is super-competent and really, really polished. They get more polished every time i see them. Steve Morse has morphed Deep Purple into Kansas! 😉 Polished is good, entertaining and enjoyable. It’s not what I typically look for in an act, but when it’s done right it’s pretty amazing. That, the musicians’ competence and the roster of classic songs are the appeal of a DP show in today’s world. I’m sure that’s very enjoyable for some people.

review by Brad DeMoranville

British paper Newsbury Today reports that one man decided to very literally get off his arse, and do it big time. Alex Pickard has started today, August 29, an 800-mile bicycle ride across the country, from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Scotland, to raise £3,000 for the Sunflower Jam. He became inspired for the ride after Jon Lord passed away:

My music taste has always been Rock or classic rock for as long as I can remember. My earliest recollection of Deep Purple was when my cousin was home one Christmas and was putting some of my parent’s records on and I was glued to the speaker when one song started which turnout out to be Deep Purple’s Lazy from Machine Head.

Alex aims to complete the ride within the next two weeks. The money raised will go to fight against cancer.

We wish him luck!

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov (deep-purple.ru) for the info.

Broward Palm Beach New Times (is that a long name for a newspaper or what?) down in Florida has an excellent interview with Roger Glover. Here are a couple of quotes to wet your appetite:

Somebody once asked me, “How come you don’t write songs like ‘Highway Star’ anymore?” I said, actually we do, but they don’t sound like “Highway Star.” We’d be a parody of ourselves, and that’s when you get in trouble and become intimidated by your past.

Anyone who actually gets out from the computer or the TV and gets off the couch and has the energy to go see a live concert deserves our absolute gratitude. And that’s what we live for. People doing that. It still happens. The internet has robbed us of a lot of things, but people still get up and go to a concert, and I’m very grateful.

Looking back now, you can see that something quite magical happened in the late ’60s and ’70s. There was something going on there. There was a huge creative explosion, if you like. The record companies were all run by people who loved music, unlike today. You could write songs about anything, in any particular style, and people took it seriously. Plus, the tastes ran across the board. Now it’s become so polarized and shackled. Music isn’t as important in people’s lives as it was then. So I think we were part of a huge cultural revolution without even knowing it.

Go read the whole thing. It’s well worth it. You’ll learn how it feels to sign stacks of 40 records, to get stuck in your own traffic jam, what drives him to keep touring, and many other things.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov (deep-purple.ru) for the info.

PS. the photo above is from the Ceasars Casino in Windsor, Ontario, August 21.

Deep Purple live at Bergen Performing Arts Center (Englewood, USA 2014-08-25)

My girlfriend and I drove roughly 1 hour and 50 minutes from Connecticut to see one of the best dp shows I’ve been to (this was her first). We were 10 rows back center. What a great venue. Indoors, comfortable seats, air-conditioned. There was no opener. We laughed it up, made some new friends. All around a happy atmosphere. Small venue and not surprisingly, sold out! Packed. The fans were loud and so was the band. A perfect mix. IG was spot on. Everything was clear. Fans were on their feet all night except when Steve started Contact Lost. Played beautifully. I had never heard them play The Mule so that was a treat. Awesome drum solo. Of course I would have loved to have heard more Morse era material, but I was happy with Hell to Pay, Uncommon man and Vincent price. The fans roared even for the new songs. The band definitely liked that. I’m really at a loss for words here. It was that incredible! Everyone rushed the stage towards the end, fists pumping, head banging. Good thing I’m 6 foot four so no problem seeing anything. We met Roger, Ian Paice and Don after the show. Great guys. Roger liked my Purpendicular shirt that I bought at The Beacon theatre, NYC back in 95? He said he took the photo that’s on the front. Took pictures etc. I’ll end my review with this message, go see this band now!! You will not be disappointed. Cheers

review by John

Joe Lynn Turner gave an interview to Rock Overdose and a question of Rainbow reunion popped up:

Rock Overdose So, talking about Ritchie, do you see maybe a reunion for the band of Rainbow?

Joe Lynn Turner Well, I’m gonna be honest with you, right now. Yes! Possibly. It’s very possible. Last year, I wouldn’t say it. But this year I say it. It’s possible. It’s a very big possibility that something might, just might, happen. I heard talk a bit and all I can say is that I’m not supposed to talk about it, but I’m talking to you now, and all I want you to do is say yes. It’s a very big possibility that we may have a reunion. It will be phenomenal.

Thanks to Hair Bangers Radio for the info.

Drove 4 hrs from Buffalo, NY with the wife to the Caesars Windsor Casino (Canada). Checked in for overnite stay and had a few hours before the show to gamble, have cocktails and dinner.
This was a 60th B-day present for me (wife not a fan) and hadn’t seen them since 2004, so I was pretty excited.
Full venue (3-4 thousand) and the sound was very good (I was 12 rows and a little right of the stage).
They exploded out of the gate with Highway Star/Hard Loving Man/Into the Fire/SKOW right in a row !!
The band was tight and in great spirits. Vincent Price was followed by Contact Lost/Uncommon Man/WD Guitar in succession. Paicy’s solo during The Mule was top notch. Lazy was followed by another new one called Hell To Pay which sounded great live. Don Airey’s solo before Perfect Strangers was just brilliant.
Space Truckin’ and then SOTW followed. The band went off for probably just one minute and came back out to do Green Onions/Hush/Black Night for the encore !!
Just an exceptional concert with great memories.

Daniel Viapiano

More details have emerged about Gillan’s involvement with the Guitars on the Beach festival to take place in Lyme Regis in September. Festival organizer Geoff Baker spoke to the local paper Bridgeport News:

With thousands of guitarists involved, they need to follow the house band on the song and we need a stage for the house band.

We thought we might have to cancel; a handful of organisers had a whip round amongst ourselves overnight and raised several hundred pounds, but we needed a lot more.

Then out of the blue, Ian Gillan rang from the middle of Deep Purple’s world tour, saying he had heard about our problems and he would pay for the stage to be built.

He has saved the day and all of us involved are deeply thankful for his generosity.

Big Ian will take the stage to front the house band and perform Smoke on the Water accompanied by thousands of guitar players in the crowd. Papa Le Gál, the band featuring his daughter Grace Gillan, will also perform at the festival:

Thanks to Yvonne and Bridgeport News for the info.

David Coverdale got the short end of the stick in the Ice Bucket Challenge that is intended to raise funds and awareness for a disease called ALS.

Thanks to Cameron Hons for the info.

Ian Paice appeared on the Classic Rock Show that aired on TeamRock Radio on August 20. There does not appear to be a way to listen to the interview again, but Classic Rock magazine has a couple of quotes posted on their site.

The quotes deal with Paicey’s current relationship with Blackmore (if any):

I don’t know that he’s still my friend. I don’t believe it. I don’t have anything there that convinces me he’s the guy I used to know.

I don’t think Ritchie’s changed – I just think he’s become a more concentrated version of himself through the years. It’s sad because it’s unnecessary. I hope I’m wrong. If Ritchie reads this and gives me a call, and says, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ I’ll go, ‘That’s fantastic.’ But I’m not hanging by the phone.

I didn’t put the wall up. He knows I’ve been here for 40 years. He knows who I am. I don’t have his phone number; I don’t have contact with him. Friends keep in contact.

Thanks to MacGregor and Blabbermouth for the info.