![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse7.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan2.jpg)
Magic night in Montreal
Date: 2011-06-06
Venue: Place des Arts, Montreal, Canada
I attended the Deep Purple with orchestra show in Montreal with family and friends last Monday. On the way to grab a quick beer and some food with my nephew before the show, our route took us right beside the Place des Arts venue. As I was stopped at a traffic light I looked towards the venue just as Roger Glover was exiting a vehicle and heading inside. Cool… had to be a good sign.
Eddie and the Automatics began their set at 8 pm sharp. Two former members of Boston in this group and the 9 minute Boston medley was outstanding. Deep Purple took to the stage at 9 pm. The set began with the 20 something piece orchestra playing and then the band began with Highway Star. They looked and played with great energy and, as usual, great proficiency. I had thought the orchestra might take the edge off the sound a bit but I was wrong. The songs were tight and the orchestral accompaniments were well timed and sounded great. The venue, normally reserved for jazz and classical music acts, provided a great setting for the show. The capacity for the arena was around 3000 and the show was sold out.
We met the band after the show, thanks to Roger Glover, who I first met in 1982. Everyone came out except Ian Gillan. We talked about touring (the guys have been out for 10 months now), Roger’s latest addition to the family, Colin Hart’s new book and what it was like to play with an orchestra. I spoke to a few of the orchestra players and they were thrilled to be a part of the show. In all the years I have seen this band, I am really happy that they are still having fun with the music and that they can still bring it night after night. If you get a chance to see this tour I highly recommend you do. It was nothing short of magical.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Add a comment: