An absolute storming Pacific Rim tour opener with the band in awesome form. The high energy performance got the crowd going and it was great to see so many young headbangers giving it some.

Steve Morse is a god in these parts and he played brilliantly along with the rest of the band. The new songs went down superbly as did the unbelievable awesome run of Perfect Strangers, Space Truckin, Highway Star, Smoke on the Water, Hush and Black Night.

The Rolling Stones played a stadium gig to 40.000 people the week before Purple hit town but the word on the street is that Purple blew them away. As I went to both gigs I totally agree. The musicanship of Deep Purple left the Stones for dead! Long live Purple – I wish I was going to the Monsters of Rock!

Now take this advice: Get off your lazy ass and go see the greatest rock band in the world! You will be blown away.

Pictures Of Home / Things I Never Said / Wrong Man / Vavoom:Ted The Mechanic / Mary Long/ Rapture Of The Deep / Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye/ Steve Morse Solo Contact Lost / Well Dressed Guitar / Lazy / Don Airey Solo / . Perfect Strangers / Space Truckin’ / . Highway Star / . Smoke On The Water / Hush / Black Night

Bryce Coleman

I’d last seen Deep Purple way back at Knebworth in 1985! I stood amid an expectant Auckland crowd. The lights went down. Huge cheers and then Purple hit the stage with Pictures Of Home …. note for note perfect with the original.

Steve Morse starting the beaming smile which would last the entire evening. The Kiwi crowd lapping up every moment of the show. Messr’s Gillan, Paice, Glover, Airey & Morse playing with a passion and an excitement which was clearly evident throughout the night.

Gillan, Paice, Glover and co may be getting on in their years, but they still know how to rock and know how to put on a show … a show which I had to say surpassed the 1985 reunion show!!!
The songs may sound differently with Morsey at the guitar helm … but he has added a new deeper dimension to the sound. He’s added excitement and laughter too … something Blackmore never had. The band gelled … the showmanship was superb. They looked like they were enjoying themselves and they appreciated the tremendous noise which the Kiw crowd gave them after each and every show.

The track listing included all time favourtie anthems – Lazy, Living Wreck, Perfect Strangers, Space truckin’, Smoke On The Water. Highway Star began with a a lighthearted ‘duel’ between Messr’s Glover & Morse …. amid smiles and banter which was sadly missing during the Blackmore era. Mixed in between were new Rapture Of The Deep Tracks Wrong Man, Before Time Began and Junkyard Blues.

The high point of the evening …. or more correctly, the highest of the high points of the evening was the Steve Morse GUITAR SOLO! More smiles and pure enjoyment by the new Deep Purple guitar maestro … and Contact Lost before one of the most amazing guitar solos I’d seen for a long time (forget Schenker or Vai or Blackmore or Campbell or Sykes) …. an unforgettable fifteen or so minutes of pure guitar magic which the thoroughly entertained Auckland crowd will not forget in a long time (and Mr Morse just kept smiling).

The low points of the evening were Things I Never Said & Ted The Mechanic … only because the tracks are not amongst my own personal favorites … they were still polished and well performed but they lacked the edge with the other more favourite tracks had.

Even Mr Airey got his moment with a keybord solo … not the same as Jon Lord … but still just as polished and entertaining … starting with strains of Mr Crowley and rising in crescendo to the Dambuster’s Waltz … appreciated by the crowd …

Sadly, all good things had to come to end. But then there were the encores … Hush, an Ian Paice drum solo and then Black Night. And then it was over. Well worth the money; well worth the long drive two hour home in pouring to Hamilton.

Let’s hope when the next album comes out they will revisit Auckland …. for a repeat performance (please)

Matthew J Henderson

First time I’ve seen the boys outside of England so I wasn’t sure of what the crowd would be like. I’ve got to say that for a band that have been going for nigh on 40 years they’ve got a lot of fans in their 20’s and they absolutely loved them.

Personally, I think this is the best gig I’ve seen the band play since the Purpendicular tour way back in 97 or 98. They all seemed really happy on stage and musically they were faultless, I don’t know what it would have taken to wipe the smile off Steve’s face but it was there most of the night.

Don Airey IS the heir apparent to Jon Lord’s throne not a note out of place all night and the intro to Perfect Strangers was absolutely class.

Mr. Gillan has invented air-keyboard which is really fun to watch as hundreds of fans wiggle their fingers in the air during Don’s solos. Having said that it’s quite difficult to see the stage when everyone around you has their hands in the air and their fingers are wiggling!

Roger and Paicey, what can you say? The rhythm section is as tight as ever and for once they’ve let Roger have a bit of a solo right at the end when he must be knackered.

The new stuff went down quite well considering I haven’t seen a copy of Rapture of the Deep in any record stores in Auckland, (which brings me to a gripe, why is Things I Never Said only available as a bonus track on certain releases?).

It’s the first time I’ve heard Ian describe Lazy and from now on I’ll listen to it in a whole new way!

I probably can’t list all the songs in order or even remember all of them but the show comprised of:

Pictures of Home; Things I Never Said; Wrong Man; Ted the Mechanic; Livin’ Wreck; Before Time Began; Well Dressed Guitar; Lazy; Perfect Stangers; Junkyard Blues; Space Truckin’; Highway Star; Smoke. Encores Hush and Black Night – with contributing solos from the band thrown in along the way for our listening pleasure!

All in all a superb gig, love the new album. Hope it sells millions and the band’s enthusiasm goes on and on, and for those fans yet to see the show may I borrow a phrase from AC/DC “For Those About To Rock, We Salute You”.

Jimmy Stein, the morning after the night before!

Another excellent gig from Deep Purple, well worth the trip up from Invercargill [Oi! From one end of the world to the other: Hello! 🙂 Rasmus] (a pity that there was no gig in New Zealand’s South Island this time around).

The band played a tight performance and I felt enjoyed themselves in the making, full of energy and firing on all cylinders. Don’s solo had a touch of Rainbow/Jon Lord thrown in with Star Wars etc, a great solo from Steve, Roger and Ian P’s solo’s too short, Ian G showed he still has a great set of lungs.

Someone threw a All Black t-shirt on stage which Ian Gillan wore for awhile which was appreciated by the crowd. The time just went too quick.

The only down side of the event was the merchandise that was available or lack of it or at a realistic price, You could buy a t-shirt with a pic of Machine Head album minus Ritchie Blackmore, a couple of tees/hoods, keyring with Rapture of the deep pic. I know New Zealand is only a small market but would have been nice to be able to get some worthwhile gear or CDs such as; a tour t-shirt, R.o.t.d with live tracks, I.G – Gillan’s Inn, signing session, etc.

The list as I can remember was a bit like this

Pictures Of Home / Things I Never Said / Wrong Man / Ted The Mechanic / Rapture Of The Deep / Before Time Began / Mary Long /Lazy/ Contact Lost / Well Dressed Guitar /Don’s Solo/ Perfect Strangers / Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye / Space Truckin´ / Highway Star / Smoke On The Water / Hush / Black Night

Murray Shuttleworth

What can I say? Tonight’s gig was truly phenomenal. The guys just keep getting better as the years go by. There was indeed a huge turnout. The venue was very much full.

The biggest surprise of the evening for me was that they played Living Wreck. I was totally blown away and that was by far the highlight of the night. Gillan’s screams during each Hammond scream was sensational.

The guys all had a great time and the audience was really into it. Even the merchandise was very good. I finally had the opportunity to score Roger Glover’s Snapshot. That too was a nice album.

All in all a spectacular concert and was definitely a lot better than their Bananas gig two years ago. And it would have been nice to have them play the title track but you can’t have everything can you.

It was a well put together setlist. It was nice to have them play Things I Never Said even. A track I obviously do not have on my CD, sad to say. Still it’s a fantastic song.

Don, Ian, Roger, Steve and Ian. Do come again soon. I most certainly thank you for an amazing night of great music. I thank you indeed.

Set list:
Pictures Of Home
Things I Never Said
Wrong Man
Ted The Mechanic
Before Time Began
Living Wreck
Contact Lost/The Well Dressed Guitar
Lazy
Don Airey solo
Perfect Strangers
Junkyard Blues
Space Truckin’
Highway Star
Smoke On The Water

Encores:
Hush
Black Night

Fabian J Lelo

Purple kicked off the next leg of their World Tour in a small aircraft hangar known as the Events Centre in Wellington. It was a mixed bag.

The sound at times was truly awful, a common problem at this venue. We couldn’t hear Paicey’s intro to Pictures and the keyboards were inaudible at times.

Compared to other set lists I’ve seen, this one was a bit short, with only three songs from RoTD, which was a bit strange given that they’re supposed to be promoting the new stuff. You can’t count The Song We Don’t Know (aka Things I Never Said). I was looking forward to hearing Before Time Began but alas it was not to be.

On the plus side, Steve was on fire and really carried the show. His guitar tone seems to have got heavier and more ferocious; absolutely awesome! Paicey and Roger – do they ever have a bad night? When we could hear him Don was creative and exciting.

Big Ian was looking extremely slim and healthy! There was plenty of tomfoolery (did somebody tamper with Ian’s lyrics book to put him off?), mistakes (Ian was off stage when he was supposed to start singing Highway Star!) and disbelieving looks at Steve’s genius.

An obliging fan gave Big Ian an All Blacks shirt; the ultimate sign of acceptance!

Although there was far too much reliance on the old stuff for my liking, the guys have breathed new life into these songs with new arrangements. The new intro to Highway Star being especially enjoyable.

Crap venue and dodgy sound notwithstanding, Purple are a class band and Steve Morse just gets better and better.

Set list (correct order not guaranteed):

Pictures
Things I Never Said
Ted
Wrong Man
Mary Long
Rapture
Kiss Tomorrow
Contact Lost / Well Dressed
Lazy
Keyboard Solo
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin
Highway Star
Smoke

Encore:
Hush
Black Night

Simon Dickens

I came from Livorno (Tuscany) all alone to see the guys and their show and I am sure I have done the right thing!

Some people say “Deep Purple are old.” Bullshits! This was my first Deep Purple live experience and I can surely say that they play, they really play! I am a big fan of them, I don’t have all their discography but I think they are the best rock band ever.

Before the guys starts there was a nice Italian group called the Five Trolls that opens the show, they have a classic hard rock/metal style and they were quite good but the acoustic was horrible. I can’t hear the guitar at all, so I hoped that the Deep were not in that condition of sound.

After the five trolls there was some minutes of break and then the mega screens projected a video that shows the guys going out from an instrument box marked “the band”….very funny! When the video was over the band came on the stage with a killer fill in of drums that everybody recognize, Ian Paice shook the ground with his drums, then the rest of the band came on stage and the show start with a powerful “Pictures of home”!

The people were going crazy since the first riff of Morse, and the show started in the best way! The acoustic was very good and from where I was (in front of the stage) I can hear all the instruments clearly. The guys were all in a fantastic mood and we can see it on their faces.

The show continues with “Living Wreck” and the audience responded very good while Gillan made his “woooooh” a very good performance for him. Despite his years I think that he is a very good frontman.

This is the list of the songs (as I recognize) they are not in the correct order because I don’t remember it!

Pictures of home
Living wreck
Rapture of the deep
Wrong man
Mary long
Contact lost (Steve Morse solo)
Don Airey solo (La donna è mobile, Star wars)
Kiss tomorrow goodbye
Lazy
Highway Star
Perfect Strangers
Smoke on the water
Space Trucking
Before time began
Ted the mechanic

Encores:
Hush
Black Night

I enjoy very much listening to the solo of Steve (Contact lost), there was applause from the public at every pause of it, I liked also the solo from Don and the part of “La donna è mobile” and the “Star Wars theme” with a rushing finale.

I can’t forget Roger Glover! He was in a very good mood and he runs up and down in the stage, sometimes ”facing” with Morse, very good!

As I have already said Paice was incredible, he seems so “easy feeling” at the drums but he can produce a very loud and powerful rhythm. Fantastic.

The songs were all good, except maybe the performance for “Rapture of the deep” that don’t excite me like the studio version. I like very much Mary Long, Wrong Man and Before Time Began!

When the guys started with the intro of “Highway star” I say “incredible”! Even Gillan (dressed like he was in ‘70s) seems sceptic looking to the audience as saying “I really have to sing that?!” and he does it, very well also!

The best concert of my life, absolutely. I think the next time they come in Italy I surely come to see them.

Fabio

Deep Purple live in Helsinki 1st February.
The icehall was full. There was 7 ,000 people.
They played over 2 hours.

Set list:
1. Pictures Of Home/ 2. Things I Never Said/ 3. Wrong Man/ 4. Ted The Mechanic/ 5. Living Wreck/ 6. Rapture Of The Deep/ 7. Before Time Began/ 8. Mary Long/ 9. Contact Lost ~ Steve Morse -solo-/ 10. The Well Dressed Guitar/ 11. Lazy/ 12. Don Airey -solo ~ finlandia ~ Perfect Strangers/ 13. Junkyard Blues/ 14. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye/ 15. Space Truckin’/ 16. Highway Star/ 17. Smoke On The Water/ Encore: 18.Speed King ~ Ian Paice – Drum -solo-/ 19. Roger Glover ~ Bass -solo- Black Night

Marko Hyppänen

Clarín newspaper review (Spanish).

The concert in Buenos Aires Argentina was excellent, two hours of a perfect performance.

They played in the Luna Park stadium, sold out a week before, for 12.000 excited fans. The set included new songs of Rapture of the Deep album (Rapture of the Deep, Kiss tomorrow goodbye and others), a lot of the best classics (Pictures of home – the first song of the concert, Space Trucking, Mary Long, Hush, Perfect Strangers, Smoke on the water, Highway Star, Black Night and others).

Special moments were the guitar solo of Steve Morse with pieces of Led Zeppelin songs like Heartbreaker and Stairway to heaven, AC/DC (Back in Black) and classic music. The Airey solo was excellent too, with pieces of Astor Piazzolla Tango’s and Star Wars song. They were acclaimed by the public.

In my opinion, the concert was 10 points, my friends and the media notes said the same.

Long live to Deep Purple, and thank for play in Argentina.

Ariel Star