After a few dates in Czech Republic, Poland and Belgium, and Lyon the day before, Deep Purple were in Montpellier on the 6th of november.

The show started very well with an italian support band called “The Running Birds” (their first song “Blast Me Away” is still in my head). Congratulations!

Then Deep Purple hit the stage, with Hard Lovin’ Man to open, which was a good “surprise” (even if i had seen it on this website before). Then, “Things I Never Said” came. It sounded really well, and i’ve been a bit disappointed to see the song was dropped from the setlist then. I remember Gillan laughed after forgetting the lyrics “i can’t remember, i can’t forget”, which was indeed quite funny.

All the show was great. To name a few highlights: No One Came with the strobe light. Good to hear Almost Human (great intro), Silver tongue. Perfect Strangers (my personal favorite) sounded so powerful…

Then it was time for the encores. Before going to the show, I had seen on The Highway Star that the song of the same name had been dropped from the setlist since the beginning of the tour. Also, while waiting in front of the Zenith before the show, people who were in Lyon the day before confirmed me that Highway Star hadn’t been played there. That’s to say I was really pessimistic…
What a great surprise to hear Steve Morse’s guitar screams!!! Highway Star??? Really??? Then Gillan started “Nobody gonna take my car i’m gonna race it to the grouuuuuuund…!”. No more doubts! I felt really lucky that they choose this show to play it again.

Then Hush and Black Night ended the show very well. And unfortunately it was already time to go.

Thank you very much to the band for nearly 2 hours of great music! As always with Deep Purple, you cannot be disappointed! You see they have pleasure and they really share it with the audience. Chapeau bas!

CD

Setlist:

Hard Lovin’ Man
Things I Never Said
Maybe I’m a Leo
Strange Kind of Woman
Rapture of the Deep
Fireball
Silver Tongue
Contact Lost
Steve Morse guitar Solo
When a Blind Man Cries
The Well Dressed Guitar
Almost Human
Lazy
No One Came
Don Airey keyboard Solo
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin’
Smoke on the Water

Encore:
Highway Star
Hush
Black Night

The concert last night in Mannheim was simply brilliant. Everybody in good shape and good mood. Ian Gillan maybe with a slight cold, his screams “going away” towards the end…

Roger, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and especially Don Airey with great performances.

Set List the same as previous, they skipped “Things I never said” at the beginning, great versions of Hard Lovin´man, silver tongue, no-one came and Hush !

Sad to say that the venue was half full only, Marillion was not the right opener for DP, good performance but their times are over without Fish….

I will definitely go to Stuttgart also.

DB

Seventh time that I see the Purps in concert. The show was fresh and energetic. Enthusiastic crowd. They played loud.

Same list than Lyon with a great opener Hard Loving Man. The guys were in a fine form, even if Gillan had always some problems with his voice.

Highlights: Hard Loving Man, Rapture of the Deep, When a Blind Man Cries, Almost Human, Perfect Strangers, Lazy with great work from Don Airey.

Encore; Highway Star, Hush, Black night.

Lights show were also good. Two hours of happiness. Maybe nostalgia? Audience: 3500

During their stay in berlin on November 22, Steve Morse gave a video interview to More Metal. The questions ranged from his motivation to play music, to his opinion on live albums, to Joe Satriani, to the inevitable topic of a new album:

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

Funeral for the late Tony Edwards was held in London on November 18th with Jon Lord and other luminaries in attendance. DPAS has a full report.

The reaction across Purple family has been overwhelmingly appreciative of Tony’s role in the life of the band.

Jon Lord:

A few days ago – fittingly, on Remembrance Day – I lost a friend. He was my manager from 1968 to 1976, my daughter Sara’s Godfather and the man who was instrumental in helping me to realise, in 1969, the dream which defined my musical life – that of a Concerto for Group and Orchestra.

Tony Edwards was a good man and a man also of deep-seated enthusiasms. He had a passion for, and a great interest in, Deep Purple and its various member’s careers, as well as a genuine enjoyment of the band’s music.

He was the reason that Richie and I were able to get together at the end of 1967 and the sole reason too for our being able to form the band that changed our lives. Without him and this early financial and emotional support, there would have been no Deep Purple.

He was a rock and a firm foundation on which we could build our musical house. It still stands, and it stands as a monument to him.

Thank you Tony.

Glenn Hughes:

So very sad that my dear friend and Manager of Deep Purple, Tony Edwards has passed away, we have lost one of the Good Guys…

Roger Glover:

Tony was the driving force of Deep Purple’s management in the early days. My first impressions of him when I joined the band in July 1969 – a man of ideas, an intellect, a man of taste, a man of action. I remember him rubbing his hands together with enthusiasm and saying, “Now what can we achieve today?” He was the kind of man who could think of something and then turn it into reality with his drive and passion. It was his instinct to book the Albert Hall in order to stage Jon’s Concerto, an event that was to propel the band in more ways than one into the future. He also dreamed up the cover image of In Rock, the album that changed everything for us.
I am always grateful for his powerful contribution at the start of our long journey.

My condolences go to his family.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov and Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

The show in Bordeaux was quite special for me: it’s the place I live, wheras usually I have to travel to see my faves … Second, it was kind of like closing a cycle (I hope this won’t be the last), because Bordeaux is the place where I rediscovered Deep Purple with Ian Gillan after 20 years, in march 2007 (see my Angoulême review in 2007).

Things are totally different now: this is my 5th gig since (not counting 1987 and 1991 shows). Unlike 2007, I decided to stand, on Roger’s side. The opening band Puggy did a good job, but a bit too much in a pop style for my taste. This meant: back to the bar !

So was it the beer? Was it the sheer excpectation, my fan’s eyes and ears, unable to do anything but admire, and love?

No, I don’t think so. Some of you may remember writing biting comments about last year’s Toulouse review in which I reported some severe, but «isolated» voice problems of my absolute fave Ian Gillan in an overall brilliant vocal performance. This time, he did a fantastic job without any remarkable weaknesses. We all know his voice is not what it used to be, but we also know, don’t we, that the voice he has is still as unique, moving and …. well, I get goosebumps every time. What an artist !!!

The first notes of the show made it clear to me we were gonna enjoy some of the better moments of the Morse era: Hard Lovin Man is a brilliant opener and outshines Highway Star (not as such, but as an opener); so glad to hear that one again ! AND: Ian is delivering the goods, and the high singing on the chorus says it all: first thought – tonight is gonna be good …
But that would actually be an understatement: Bordeaux was simply one of the finest things I got to see from this band. It was ALL excellent, from A to Z.

I love the way they rush into the set without breathing between the first four songs, I love the lines on « Maybe I’m a Leo », and « Things I never said », just like « Strange Kind of Woman », that are rather dull on tape (at least after a while), have so many good vibes on stage !

«Rapture» and «Fireball» were next, and especially on the latter it became clear Gillan was doing an A+ performance: no breathing problems, edgy elocution (can you say that in english ? I mean, he sometimes tends to mumble a bit on the faster tracks) …

The middle part of the show, with it’s mixture of songs and Steve Morse solos, was introduced by « Silver Tongue ». Good idea; well, at last the choice of playing some of the rarely played « new » stuff seems right to me. Now, if you ask me if « Silver Tongue » is the best choice … « Loosen my strings », played in Angoulême in 2007, for instance, is more interesting, at least IMHO. (how about Rosa’s Cantina, Hey Cisco, Bananas, Junkyard Blues …).

Which brings me to « Almost Human », the biggest setlist surprise. I must admit I enjoyed it, but did’nt love it; although the song has gone through a pretty nice rearrangement. Interesting, I’ll have to reconsider that one in Pau in december.

Do I have to say anything about the overwhelming quality of Morse’s soloing, of Gillan’s performance on « When a blind man cries », that popped up in the middle of the set, just like in 2007 (it was dropped between march 07 and dec 09 as far as « my » gigs are concerned) ?

At this point, the audience was totally on the band’s side, from 15 to 65 years old …

And so Deep Purple nailed it with the third, « all hits », part of the show. « Lazy », « Perfect Strangers », « Smoke on the Water » (overplayed but never enough heard) …. Let’s not forget « No one came », as funky as ever ! Gillan even went through « Space Truckin » without any noticeable problems on the « Come on ! »-parts (not like in London and Toulouse in 2009, where he sounded thin and weak, almost a bit silly). End of the show.

I started yelling « Highway Star »!!! to the top of my voice, because I knew they would only play it on a special night, and this WAS a special night. And … it worked (of course not because of the yelling …. just because they were in such a good shape). This was a climax ! And it sounds much better as an encore (just like in 2007, talking about a cycle !), because Gillan is hot, so is the band … I hear they now play it on every show (Rennes, although not as good as Bordeaux), and they even opened with it in Paris (Things I never said being kicked out of the set). Bad idea !

Well, maybe it’s partly my fault (lol), because I so warmly thanked Roger, Steve, Paicey and Don (I got to briefly meet after the gig) for playing it … I think it should only be played when Gillan is able to perform it properly (same thing with Space Truckin and Fireball). On nov 7th, they did these three all-time faves perfectly, so it was justified. And I am really grateful for that. But DP’s repertoire is so extraordinary, so rich, that they should’nt consider themselves as prisoners of any track or tracklist (well, Smoke is probably a must …).

One last thing: although I tend to talk of Ian Gillan a lot (maybe too much), I want to insist on the quality of every single musician in this band, especially Don Airey, who is now much more than an « ersatz » for Jon. Great performance in Bordeaux, Don !

See you in Pau !

PS: setlist as in Prague + Highway Star as an encore

Art best conquers time, and therefore the nemo. It constitutes that timeless world of the full intellect where each artefact is contemporary, and as nearly immortal as an object in a cosmos without immortality can be’ – John Fowles

Deep Purple are immortal. Deep Purple are timeless. Deep Purple are daring in the approach to their art. Adventure leaks out of the speakers; excitement is built up by the lightning; glorious past is reminded on the video screens – yet it all thrives on the present and allows to throw a hopeful glimpse at the playground of the future.

Deep Purple are the quality of their own. The five piece band of musicians never cease to amaze – be it with the Sunday concert goers or the hard core fans. For me personally, they are the only band able to leave a firm feeling of euphoria mixed with something of indescribable nature which runs in my system for days after the last show. This time I got a triple dose and the spiritual high I am in works wonders.

All the shows were practically sold out. There were two smaller venues (Rzeszow, and Wroclaw – around 6 000) and one bigger (Katowice – around 9 000 to 10 000). The halls were packed in with people of all generations you can possibly think of. You could even see small children rocking the hell out of their first encounter with Deep Purple.

I mean, this country loves this band. The fans here react enthusiastically to every note produced by the musicians. The fun sprinkled with a bit of insanity and spontaneity and the spirit of Deep Purple has justified its existence on it and has refused to die over the years. For many (me included) those past three shows were like one big, national holiday compared to the 11th of November (the regaining of Independence in 1918) and 3rd of May (signing of the world’s second constitution or rather a bill of rights).

I spoke to lots of Polish fans and they all claimed Deep Purple’s visit is always a special treat for them. Some even admitted they took the leave at work. Some borrowed money to get the tickets, and some travelled the country far and wide just to be on one show only. The dedication is amazing and gives you a wider perspective on the matter of the Polish Deep Purple fan base. This can be loosely related to the notion of patriotism.

Poland has its place in Deep Purple’s history as well. In 1991 the band paid the first visit to Poland and did a gig in Poznan. Jon Lord was so moved by the audience’s reaction that after the last song he stepped out and with a lump in his throat thanked the fans and promised they would come back pretty soon. It took them two years. In 1993 the band triumphantly returned. This time it was the classic line-up.

Backstage, a fan nearly weeping begged Roger never to split up, and the bass player though it ironic because a night before Ritchie declared he was going to leave the band after the European leg of the tour was finished. At the same time, the reaction of hysterical admiration allowed them to forget all the nuisances and they put on a fantastic show that memorable night.

Roger also admitted he felt like Purplemania would have come back. It certainly strengthened the band’s spirit in that difficult time. The next visit was soon after Purpendicular was released. The crowed warmly welcomed the shows in 1996 despite Ian Gillan’s cold and reassured the band Steve Morse was a spot on choice. Steve was given a chance to pilot one of the Polish produced aircrafts too!

In 1998 Deep Purple visited Poland bringing the fresh material of the ‘Abandon’ album. Next visit was in 2000 with the late Ronnie Dio and, for many, this remains the definitive Deep Purple Polish show. In 2003 Deep Purple treated the Polish fan base to a banana, and returned for two shows in 2004. On this occasion the musicians planted their trees in Szczecin.

In 2006 Ian Gillan dedicated the show to the victims of collapsed trade hall in Katowice and this is still warmly remembered here. In 2009 owing to Deep Purple we broke the Guinness World Record and Steve Morse said the performance of Smoke sang by nearly 20 000 people was the moment he would cherish forever. The same year Ian Gillan was approached to perform at The Solidarity of Arts festival and thus Deep Purple’s input into Polish fight for freedom in the Communism got recognized.

Ian has also left his hand pressing in Gdansk (the place where overthrow of Communism began). There even used to be an active Polish fan club that organized convents for fans year by year until 2006. The last show in Katowice was dedicated to Tommy Dziubinksi, the band’s promoter, who according to Ian is not well at the moment. It is not a mystery Ian Gillan’s idea for his latest solo recording originated in Poland and now Ian appears in a Polish documentary about Chopin.

All the ‘Purple People’ have numerously been to Poland as well. They all appreciated the kindness and the hospitality the Poles endow them with. Jon Lord for instance is going to visit Poland soon… I do not want to bore you with a history lesson so let me get to the main topic of this account.

Roger said to me backstage: ‘I love Poland, man. People here are very strong inside’.

This was the ‘longest’ Purple stint in Poland and they played three shows and currently are at the very start of the Fall/Winter leg of the tour. For your benefit, and for fear of losing some excitement I will just throw in the short reports I was writing for the Hub soon after every single show got to its end.

Rzeszow, Podpromie Hall, 28.10.2010
The last night’s show in Rzeszow went down pretty well. Set list stayed the same, no drum solo from Ian Paice. They rehearsed ‘Rosa’s Cantina’ but unfortunately didn’t play the song last night. Anyway, it was a great chance to see the changes and a breath of fresh air the ‘old-new’ songs have brought into the set and the general reception of the music by the audience.

They’re also happy with the changes as the positive energy the songs are welcomed with is reflected in their faces and conversations after the show. No ‘Highway Star’ played last night. They were all having a ball on stage, particularly big Ian who’s shooting another part for the Chopin movie today in Warsaw.

Note: This is only the beginning of the tour and there were some areas the band could improve upon. They weren’t as tight as I saw them previously, but I’m sure the next one is going to be much tighter. And yes, the energy levels HLM generated was amazing

I recorded HLM, ST and AH. However, I didn’t have my usual ‘first row’ place because I had some other things to do before the show than queuing in the cold and I’m particularly unimpressed with the final quality of the recordings. I’ll wait till I record more and let you all know on Monday.

Katowice, Spodek, 30.10.2010
This time it wasn’t even pretty well. This time it wasn’t even good. Hell, it wasn’t even fantastic. It was smokin’ hot!!! Man, what a show did the Purple boys put on in Katowice. Everything was brilliant. The sound, the musicians and the singer too. Comparing it to Rzeszow now I feel I saw two different bands, not to imply Rzeszow was a tragedy or something. They rocked the place down. Everything was faultless from the beginning.

During HLM Steve nodded to Don and you could tell the show was going to be awesome. Ian sang beautifully and interpreted his ‘usual’ parts in a slightly different way. Steve was fantastic, I especially loved the closing solo to ‘Silver Tongue’ played in a different way than in Rzeszow. Don was all over the place with the Hammond and shone on ‘Almost Human’. Any solo he touched turned to gold. Can’t say anything bad about the guy… He even changed his solo spot keeping all the must-dos like Chopin and Polish National Anthem. Roger was jumping around throughout the entire show, and Paicey was drumming in a steady, yet impeccable way. You should have seen things he was doing in ‘TINS’.

Set list still the same, nothing’s changed since Prague. The show was sold out – people had lots of fun. I had a standing place, made it to the second row but then I found myself in the first one.

Personal favourites: Hard Lovin’ Man, Silver Tongue, Almost Human, No One Came.

In ‘Fireball’, the moment the song starts, you can see the back curtain fall down, presenting DP logo and a building in an ancient style architecture wise. The only theatrical element in Purple show, but it makes a nice impression – at least it did on me.

Wroclaw, the last show of Polish tour, tomorrow.

Conclusion: Some Deep Purple (women) fans are simply just breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for allowing me to have one eye to Morocco during the show!!!

Wroclaw, Hala Stulecia, 31.10.2010
It’s 3 am and it’s going to be my last dispatch. Not that I’m being taken into captivity… The last show in Poland went brilliant! The band was hot but the set list stayed the same. There were notable differences though. Steve changed his solos (improvised in a different way) and played a part of Hey Joe as an intro to SOTW. You may ask: ‘Why the hell Hey Joe?’ Because the show was in Wroclaw and Steve took part in ‘Thanks Jimi’ festival last year where they broke the World Guinness Record.

Slightly different solo spot too. Don’s solo got longer and au contraire to his solo spot from Katowice it didn’t include Beethoven’s Fur Elise. Roger played his mini solo in Fireball in a slightly different fashion and Paicey lost a drumstick in ROTD (I felt like watching Montreux 2006 a bit but on a way bigger screen and with way better sound). Ian sounded really well though the show was taking its toll on the voice and it was especially visible by the end. Nevertheless he performed really well and gave 20000 % of his self.

Another sold out show, another town, another night… another girl? Another chapter in the Purple history has closed. I’m glad I had a chance to be part of it. Go and see Deep Purple in concert if you get a chance. They’re still the best band in the Universe and the ease they manouvre within the boundaries the songs make them face is amazing. Uplifting and artistic.

Over and out.

Generally speaking they sounded very heavy reminding me of the shows circa 1998/1999 when they were promoting ‘Abandon’. The set list stayed the same though you may see in one of the photos that they put ‘Highway Star’ as the first encore. Yet the song was not performed. It is a very daring move and I am particularly proud of them.

I am glad they finally dropped ‘Highway Star’ and hope if they are going to play it, it is going to be played in the encores and not as an opener because ‘Hard Lovin’ Man’ is just fantastic. Need to mention ‘When a Blind Man Cries’. I have not heard it performed live for three years and it sounds better than ever! ‘Perfect Strangers’ transported the crowd into a different dimension and ‘Lazy’ rocked us with its boogie feel. They were rather brief, Ian limited his usual on stage banter to minimum and Steve did play more in classical rock guitar vein than ever.

A side note on Rzeszow: the band might not have sounded that tight because the hall has particularly poor acoustics. This aspect took toll particularly on Paicey’s drumming and Roger’s bass. Some registers of the bass guitar simply buzzed. Snare drum was way too loud and bass drum got blurred in the mix. Purple’s sound engineer, Steve and Roger were doing what their best so it could all sound coherently together but they seem to have lost with the acoustics.

How am I to conclude this? I have no clue. I will just leave you with no conclusion conclusion to make things a bit different. I hope you enjoyed this ‘not brief’ account. Oh yes, I nearly forgot. I need to thank here a lovely girl who was kind enough to grace me with the feel of her svelte rear in Katowice (because of the crush in the hall). You certainly added to the excitement this show generated!

Another year, another Purple show. This year they had the good taste to show up in the city of Rennes a few days before an important trade show in the U.S., so me an a colleague could go watch them again (last times was Angers in 2007, way too long a wait).

We had nice seats on the balcony, so we could see quite comfortably. The opening act was European band Puggy, which was pretty good (last times we were delayed on the road an missed the opening act, sadly). The crowd liked them, and so did we. The only problem on the balcony is the crowd doesn’t sing as much as the people standing in front of the band.

As usual, there’s a break between the opening act and Purple, and we could see that while the venue was full, it wasn’t fully packed on the balconies. So we could seat together despite the non-consecutive tickets, as we bought them only ten days before the show.

Anyway, Purple took the stage around 9pm, and stayed there for about an hour fifty including the encores.

A pretty cool set-list, without much surprise in it, mostly classics & Rapture. The surprise was Hard Lovin’ Man, which frankly I didn’t recognize at first! guess I don’t know my Purple as well as I thought.

Don Airey was even more brilliant than the last time, and he knows how to please a crowd when soloing. Rennes is in Brittany, an area whose people are called Bretons ; and Don Airey played the well-known theme for an old french folk song whose lyrics goes “ils ont des chapeaux ronds, vive les Bretons!” (rough translation: “they have round hats, long live the Bretons!”), which sent the crowd wild. That was a very nice touch.

Everybody else was up to the usual Purple standard, and the venue has a pretty good sound, so I’d say it was better than the last time in Rennes in 2006 on that account alone. But maybe not quite as great as Angers in 2007, mostly because I love Battle Rages On, and in Angers we had the title track. I’ve seen Purple often enough that I prefer when they do a bit more of the lesser known stuff.

Anyway, great stuff, thanks to everyone in Purple & the support staff on tour and locally. Next time in Rennes, I’ll be there again.

* Hard Lovin’ Man
* Things I Never Said
* Maybe I’m a Leo
* Strange Kind of Woman
* Rapture of the Deep
* Fireball
* Silver Tongue
* Contact Lost (and Steve Morse solo)
* When a Blind Man Cries
* Well Dressed Guitar
* Almost Human
* Lazy (beginning with Don Airey solo and instrumental intro)
* No One Came
* Don Airey solo (featuring an extra bonus for the crowd, explained later)
* Perfect Strangers
* Space Truckin’
* Smoke on the Water
(short break to the encores, less than a minute I’d say)
* Highway Star
* Hush
* Black Night (beginning with a Roger Glover solo)

This Hala (I don’t like its new name) in Wroclaw (Vratislavia) is a beautiful building, but its interior disappointed me (I was there for the first time). Concrete walls and stairs, various pieces of junk in the foyer… But the acoustics of the hall were quite good.

The songs were the same again, but now, during “Hard lovin’ man”, Don played so eagerly that I thought he’d smash up all those keyboards! So did Steve in “Maybe I’m a Leo”. Unfortunately Mr Gillan sang out of tune again. Also in “Strange kind of woman”. In “Fireball” he started speaking instead of singing. He must have been very tired.

But independently of that the show was great. Brilliant solos of the guitar, bass and keys, some new lights… And a big surprise: Steve gave us a fragment of “Hey Joe” before “Smoke on the water”. Does he remember our Guitar Guinness Record of 2009? Thank you, Steve, how nice to know you’ve come to like this great festival!

The same enthusiasm of the public, although without lifting up girls. But I saw flying sweaters and jackets instead.:) It was the third gig of Deep Purple in Poland this year, yet the hall was full. And it isn’t a small hall, oh, no.:)

We were exhausted, but happy. Such “show marathons” are so tiring, but I think I’ll go to next gigs of Deep Purple when they come to Poland again. I had the time of my life.

One remark about Roger Glover and his interview in Przeglad: Roger, you’re a bit unjust about the people of my age. We don’t go to DP shows to remember old good times only. First of all we come there to listen to good music. Cheers!

– Joanna Ostrowiecka

I like Spodek very much, so I went to that show with a big pleasure, although the setlist was identical. The band was in good form as well. The same lights, videos, lightnings, the same enthusiasm… But there was something new: Don played a Chopin waltz instead of the As-dur polonaise. And as far as I noticed, he drank our health with a glass of coke, not beer. 🙂

The public was delighted. I didn’t notice anyone dancing, but those hands were up! A forest of hands waving and clapping. Some girls were lifted up again. Is it in vogue nowadays, or so? A bit dangerous custom, especially for the girls, but it looks cool. I like it very much.

That evening was the most exciting for us because we managed to meet four musicians. Steve was so happy to see I’d bought one of his latest solo albums. So was Roger seeing his “Mask” in my hands. Don was surprised to see “Babylon”, a CD of Ten, the group he used to play with many years ago. Even Ian Paice, who was very glad to see us, signed a few albums for us, including “Come taste the band”. I guess the musicians are always happy to see we buy their solos.

We managed to go to bed quite early, but in any case it was so hard to get up at six the next day! 🙂

– Joanna Ostrowiecka