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Now What?! perfect fit for DP in USA
Deep Purple live at Festival Park (Elgin, USA 2014-08-20)
After amazing performances of Highway Star, Into the Fire, Hard Lovin’ Man, and Strange Kind of Woman, Ian Gillan informed the thousands of fans at Festival Park that the rock show was over and the rest of the evening would be jazz and slow ballads. Perhaps a sarcastic hint that the new songs were about to be played. The band then flawlessly recreated Vincent Price. This writer’s ear drums were destroyed many shows ago, but I’m pretty sure Don Airey’s keyboards somehow produced rattling chain sounds and other haunted house sound effects. Next Steve Morse led the band thru an amazing Contact Lost/Uncommon Man/Well Dressed Guitar. Steve Morse took over, he was the band leader and the performance of these three songs demonstrates how talented this band is and how relevant they are. How can you top that? Obviously by playing The Mule. After Lazy, back to Now What ?! with a crisp Hell to Pay. The strength of this song was highlighted when Roger Glover, Ian and Steve sang the chorus of Hell to Pay. Their three voices shouted out in unison tricking you into believing that students from the Nimbus School of Recording Arts were backstage singing along. Perfect Strangers was next followed by Space Truckin’ and Smoke on the Water. No Green Onions or Woman from Tokyo but a spectacular performance of Hush and Black Knight for an encore. Awesome drum solo that included Ian Paice’s lighted drum sticks. This felt like a rock concert. The crowd was on their feet and fists were pumping in the air. There were many young people in attendance and it was fun to see a crowded merchandise booth. Like others who have posted reviews I also traveled quite a distance for the show. I drove 250 miles from St. Paul Minnesota and brought my 10 year old son along. A special moment for me was rolling around in the grass fighting for a Steve Morse pick which I immediately gave to my son. Please keep coming back to the U.S.!
review by David Connor
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I was there as well and can attest that the band was in great form. Their sound is just amazing with every instrument in perfect balance. Gillan’s voice is the best that I’ve heard in years and as usual the guys looked like they were having fun on stage. They played nearly everything that I wanted to hear and Into the Fire was a nice surprise. I was hoping for one more song from the new album (Apre vous) but what they did from What Now?! was wonderful. The crowd stood on their feet for the whole show.
August 28th, 2014 at 04:31