We saw them in Atlanta on the 12th (see review), and then made the trip to St. Louis and saw an entirely different show. Not necessarily the set list, but performance.

First let me say that the Pageant Theatre is by far, the best venue I have been to for the pure enjoyment of a Music Concert. Very informal. Not a huge place and the seating and standing areas are perfect for a Rock Experience, no matter where you are. There truly isn’t a bad seat in the house.

We arrived early enough to get some great seats in the lower level. Also, there was no problem walking right up to the stage and getting right in the face of things.

9:00 pm Sharp……DEEP PURPLE hits the stage with a vengeance!

I had a feeling that we would reap the benefit of the unfortunate cancellation of the House of Blues gig, the night before. When I saw that announcement, I said to myself…….”One man’s loss is another man’s gain”. I knew they would be well rested, pissed off and ready to rock. Boy was I right.

This was hand over foot, a different gig than the Atlanta show. They were fired up and ready to release some frustration and ROCK OUT! The sound was incredible. LOUD, yet clear (Ian’s vocals could have been up a little bit, but still very clear and audible). DEEP PURPLE…..the way it is intended.

I’m not going to do a ‘song by song’ as I did with Atlanta, but I will hit on the high and low points. First off it was PURPLE. That’s always good. They played the exact same amount of songs. 16. But they changed out 3 tunes. That was great for us. They swapped “Fireball” for “Woman from Tokyo”. “When a Blind Man Cries” for “Knockin’ at your Back Door”.

The encore was totally different, whereby in Atlanta they played “HUSH” first and then “Black Night”. They surprised everyone with……”The Battle Rages On”, and finished with “HUSH”. GREAT!!!

Thus we got “3” different tunes to enjoy in just 12 days time. Who says they don’t vary? Not to mention that those that were repeated, were definitely rearranged. Solos were different. Intro’s were different, and so were the endings.

Trust me, these guys play with precision and structure, but yet they still enjoy changing their own parts for the sake of staying fresh and on the edge. In a different way than when those other guys were in the band? Yes, but this is the way the present Purple do it and it is none the less impressive.

I’ve seen them countless times now, and I can definitely say that they still hold true to variations. Each time I see them, I hear something different. Not necessarily different songs, but different arrangements of them. That is undeniable to any critic that frequents their shows.

Now for the critical view. Sorry to keep harping on this issue, but here we go again. “Way too short”. As an outsider, I made many a friend at this show, prior to Purple coming on and I found that it is not uncommon for bands to play until Midnight. There apparently is no “Curfew” as is with many venues.

Yet, this iconic rock band whom has been around, off and on for 39 years, and with “18” studio albums, averaging 11 songs each, played a whopping “16” songs, and called it a night.

I’m sorry, but if anyone has a gripe, it’s the “Deep Purple Fan”. Forget the newbie’s whom really don’t get it and whom really only know the few mainstream hits that are shoved down their throat. It’s not their fault that the radio stations only push “SOTW”. And neither is it ours.

But I can say this for certain……”2 Hours or more, and More Present MK 7 and 8 Material” is a MUST. I’m stating this with all of the true conviction that I have, based on reading the Blogs and interacting with other concert goers and Purple Fans. It is truly deplorable, that a band of this stature, makes their appearance and plays such a short set of tunes. And even worst, overlooks the material that is keeping them present. Where is the stuff from “Perpendicular”, “Abandon”, “Bananas”.

Forget about each and every persons favorites (Mine being “Sun Goes Down” from Bananas) which somehow has never been played live. You can never address that, and I would hope most aren’t stupid enough or selfish enough to expect that. But, trust me…..play long enough and 20 or more songs will greatly improve your loyalty. That’s the trade off.
Forget song selectivity. Of course play the standard hits. “Smoke on the Water, Hush, Woman from Tokyo, Highway Star, Perfect Strangers”. These are for those whom only know you for the “HITs”.

The majority of your fans here in the states (and everywhere else), are true fans. We know your music, and we are the majority of your audience. Don’t immunize those whom are willing to help expand your followers. It’s hard to introduce newcomers to your new music, take them to a show, and then have you guys do exactly what it is that you bitch about. “Play only the old classics”.

It’s like you are your own worst enemy. It’s time to shove the new stuff down the throat of the masses. We are “Album rock Fans”. Don’t be so ready to give into the few whom only know the “Classic Rock Radio…Deep Purple”.

I think you will agree that it isn’t working and it’s time you change your approach. Yes, play those hits, yet overwhelm them, and the masses with your present material. Believe me, it’s great and much demanded. You guys have put out incredible albums since you revamped. Ignoring that is absolutely wrong.

Check the various Purple Sites. It’s hard to believe your conviction about wishing to not be a “Classic Rock Band”, and even more so, a “Blackmoreless Deep Purple”, when every show seems to be a tribute to the little “prim Dona”. This is the “Morse….Airey” era. Let it shine until “The Sun Goes Down”.

You guys are doing your job. You are writing new material and putting it out there for world to engulf. Somebody in your camp is definitely dropping the ball. I doubt that it is the band.

I’m sure I am not making any favorable points here with my favorite band’s promoters. Especially after I was treated to VIP Passes for the after show “Meet and Greet”. Though I was able to share some of these thoughts with the band. Roger mostly. But I will say that I kept it to a minimum, as I didn’t wish to insult my hosts, and there were many others there to share the moment with.

But from a fellow musician, long time fan (since ’69) and just plain casual observer’s standpoint, it is very clear that there needs to be a change in “Concert and Promotion” direction, if these greats wish to achieve what they are looking for. “Present status”.

Either Way…….Don’t miss them on this tour. They are without a doubt, without question, still, the “Greatest Rock Band on the planet”. Bar none!

The opening act was a local 3 piece Blues Rock band called “The Tony Campanella Band”. They covered some Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hendrix and did some originals. Very SRV influenced and I must say……..they were very good.

Totally enjoyable and even though I was there to see Purple, I’m thoroughly pleased with this opening band. Much better than Steppenwolf on the 12th, in Atlanta (whom by the way, it’s rumored that the Atlanta show with Purple was Steppenwolf’s last).

Purplexed,
Tracy Heyder

I’ve seen Deep Purple each time they have visited the Detroit area in the last 8 years, and I am always amazed at how great they really are!

Each time I see the band, it’s obvious that they love playing…. and love playing with each other! The breath of fresh air that Steve brought with his arrival, and continues with Don, is still surrounding them!

The show started promptly at 8:30 and ran until 10:30 and not a moment was wasted. Starting with Paicey’s intro, they belted through the set list with every ounce of power that they have always had. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Things I Never Said, and hearing Into The Fire was also a joy!

Ian introduced Steve as “The Only – Steve Morse,” possibly as an answer to those who never shut up about Blackmore, but with the crowds reaction, you would never know that anyone cared about ole whats-his-name. Steve Morse is F#$&ing incredible and he showed it last night!

Don, as always, was wonderful and has rightly earned his place along side the rest of the band. Roger is one of the greatest bassists and he shows it. And Ian Paice…… In my humble opinion, currently the Greatest Living Drummer! I was a little depressed about not seeing Ian deliver one of his perfect drum solos, but it is always a pleasure just to be in his company, even if is is half way up the pavillion.

Ian Gillan was, as always, the only singer that is really worth seeing all year. His voice last night was a little strained. I assumed that Big Ian was suffering from a cold, because of the cracking in his voice, but that was only during the screams. But other than that……. Fantastic!

All in all, another awesome concert from the boys…… Well done! The only thing that was unsettling was the lack of crowd. The lawn, of course, was packed, but the pavillion was only half full.

I hope that Deep Purple do not take this as a sign of losing fans in the Detroit area, because I would hate it if they didn’t return. I could happily pay to see this band several times per year! If you live in this area and have never seen Deep Purple…… It’s time you did

Paul Steinmayer

1. Pictures Of Home
2. Things I Never Said
3. Into The Fire
4. Strange Kind Of Woman
5. Rapture Of The Deep
6. Woman From Tokyo
7. Contact Lost
8. The Well Dressed Guitar
9. Knocking At Your Back Door
10. Lazy
11. Don Airey Solo
12. Perfect Strangers
13. Space Truckin’
14. Highway Star
15. Smoke On The Water

Encore
16. The Battle Rages On
17. Hush

The House of Blues in Chicago does not let anyone under 21 in, so my twelve year old son and I drove the 120 miles to South Bend, Indiana to see our favorite group. This was his first indoor concert ever. We saw Deep Purple outdoors two years ago in Rockford, Illinois the day they played in the morning in Toronto.

My son was really jacked up for this show. The backup band was a local group and they played for only 30 minutes. So he figured that maybe DP would play longer than usual. When you are 12 years old you can dream like that.

We were in the 10th row on the middle isle. These were great seats. The Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend is a beautiful venue. It looks a lot like the Chicago Theater where DP played on the Bananas Tour.

The lights went down and the background music started. Ian Paice opened up “Pictures of Home” with an explosion on drums. It was awesome.

Then it happened. Ian Gillan bounced out to the front and took one look at the empty seats behind us and to our right and I could tell something was wrong. I have never seen him look like this before. It was as if he had totally given up right there. You could tell that he was not into it.

DP blew through the first four songs and then took a breath. The crowd went nuts and really showed its appreciation. But it wasn’t enough. Gillan even made a comment that his mom was in the balcony and we should keep it down. He still appeared unimpressed.

Some notes on the band: Don was solid (bring back the Simpson’s Theme, yes kids do follow DP). Steve was great. He is truly a part of DP. I hope no one talks about RB anymore.
Roger worked his tail off and seemed to have a ball doing it. He even gave me a “thumbs up” at the end of Rapture because I was standing alone in my section during that great song. Ian Gillan’s voice sounded great and he is really getting thin.

Then there is Ian Paice. I hope the world sees this review for this reason. I have never seen Ian or any drummer play with such fury, fire and passion. This was his night and he was the true star of the show. I truly loved how he was highlighted in many songs.

The List:
Pictures of Home
Things I Never Said
Into The Fire
Strange Kind of Woman
Rapture of the Deep
Fireball
Contact Lost
Well Dressed Guitar
Knocking at Your Back Door
Lazy
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin’
Highway Star
Smoke on the Water

Encore:
Hush

One funny moment happened at the beginning of Lazy. It sounded like Don was doing the intro to Perfect Strangers. Ian Paice flipped a drum stick at Gillan. Gillan came from the back and had Don stop playing. Smiles everywhere as Don then went into “Lazy”.

Anyway, the band did Hush and left, no second encore song. The show was ninety minutes long and not a minute over. It was short but great.

On the way out most people echoed the same theme. Everyone felt that it seemed that the band wanted to get in and get it done then on the road again. After waiting two years and reading The Highway Star every day the whole thing left us a little empty. But my son and I can’t wait for them to come back.

Tom Uraski

Jon Lord will make a one-off appearance in Hagen, Germany on February 15, 2008. He will perform at the Hagen Stadthalle with a band called DCRS and the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Steffen Müller-Gabriel. This concert will take place as a part of a year-long series of “crossover” performances celebrating 100th anniversary of the Hagen Philharmonic, founded in 1907.

Thanks to Lars Wehmeyer from The Aviator for the info.

In the new issue of the Notes from the road: sound volumes, mowing grass, fatherhood pride, musicianship, and new ways of collecting guitar picks. Read all about it on stevemorse.com.

Steve’s guitar tech Mike Berger took some pics on the current US tour, including closeup intricacies of the Musicman Y2D. See them here.

Thanks to Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

Joe Lynn Turner will perform live on the syndicated US radio show Rockline with host Bob Coburn on Wednesday, September 5. Guitarist Howie Simon (Jeff Scott Soto, Graham Bonnet, etc.) has been confirmed as Turner’s guest musician. The show airs at 8:30 p.m. PT/ 11:30 p.m. ET and fans are encouraged to call in at 1 800 344 ROCK (7625). To find a station near you, check out their web site.

Two more gigs in New York area have been pencilled in recently to Turner’s itinerary for September. Check out DP Family tourdate listings for full details.

Thanks to Mike Garrett for the info.

Video footage of Glenn Hughes performing Don’t Let Me Bleed with Chad Smith at the Whisky A Go Go this past June was posted on YouTube:
Continue Reading »

While the Highway Star news crew was travelling around Quebec, several items of interest regarding Blackmore’s Night came in. At the moment they are touring Germany.

• Deutsche Welle TV Euromax will air a Blackmore’s Night special on August 3, including live footage from the performance in Berlin and a new interview. 7:30 PM in German and 10:30 PM in English (both times are presumably Central European). You can watch it online at Deutsche Welle TV, Internet TV Stream.
• Blackmore’s Night recently did an interview on Radio Marabu. The show was posted online and can be downloaded from their website: part 1 and part 2 (2x55MB MP3). Part One only has adverts for the interview on it; it is the second half of part two, that has the actual interview. On August 8th, the show will also be broadcasted via satellite on the Radio Caroline frequency in the UK. That will be from 17:00 to 19:00 CET.
• Blackmore’s Night Italian Fan club has now it’s own website: http://www.blackmoresnight.it/.
• Blackmore’s Night Polish Fan club also has launched it’s website at http://www.blackmoresnight.pl/ with a forum that includes an English section.
• Blackmore’s Night are featured in the current issue of Fireworks Rock Magazine.
• Black Night fanzine, featuring all things Blackmore’s Night has issue 2 out now.

Thanks to Mike Garrett for the info.

As we have reported previously, July 23 show in Chicago was cancelled. Fans were given the option of using already purchased tickets for July 22 show at the same venue, or getting a refund at the point of purchase.

We didn’t invent the refund clause or pull it from the thin air. We copied it verbatim from the Ticketmaster website, from the page about July 23 gig, which now is obviously gone.

The Highway Star has received at least one report that Ticketmaster refused to issue a refund for an unused July 23 ticket citing that the show was not cancelled, but rescheduled for July 22. Which is not true as both shows were scheduled at the same time and for a long time tickets were sold for both.

Anyone who has a similar story, please leave a reply. We have no lawyers on staff, or anything like that, but it’s time for the ticket monopoly to get some justice. Let’s start with exposure.

Update (July 28): our reader reports that he’s been able to get a refund from the Ticketmaster after calling them. Ticketmaster also indicated that there is a time limit to request a refund, so don’t procrastinate.

What could be better than one of my favourite bands paying hommage to another one of my favourite bands? Dream Theater are known to occasionally perform classic albums by other bands live on stage in their entirety: Master of Puppets, Dark Side of the Moon and Number of the Beast among them. They also make a point of recording these unique performances and issue them as official bootlegs via their own label Ytsejam Records.

On January 13, 2006 in Tokyo and on the 15th in Osaka Dream Theater covered Purple’s Made in Japan. The official release was pending for a long time, but according to the message from Mike Portnoy it will see the light of day shortly and will be sold at the merchandise booths at the upcoming Dream Theater shows. Roger Glover himself blessed the album by mixing it.

Here’s a sneak peek at Dream Theater playing Purple. This is from a bootleg video “In the Land of Meungs” recorded on the same tour in Seoul, Korea. Dream Theater played a regular set that night, but they did a take on the Highway Star for the encore: Continue Reading »