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It only took 24 years
KNAC.com has an interesting review of the Deep Purple gig in Mansfield, Mass., on August 13, 2026. It is written by a gentleman who is self-admittedly a casual fan, and furthermore, had walked out of the band’s performances twice before: in 2002 and 2017.
As I sat in the pit waiting for DEEP PURPLE to take the stage I thought, there’s no way they’re going to open with “Highway Star” again. It’s probably better that they work their way up to it after their performance in 2017. Then the opening notes of “Highway Star began….and Gillan killed it! Not in a bad way either. He sounded great. Then my thoughts started to drift to, then this show is probably going to be boring. I had to eat those words.
I think the big difference was that DEEP PURPLE played a good amount of music from their newest album, as well as the album that preceded it. These songs are what the band is capable of today, and I don’t mean that as a knock. It’s just better than a band of today trying to recreate the band they were 40-50 years ago. The material from their current album ‘Splat!’ made me want to buy the album (which I did).
Read more on KNAC.com.
Photo credit: George Dionne.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Having seen them in 2002 and 2017 (and not liking it both times), maybe the secret new ingredient for the author/George Dionne was the arrival of Simon McBride? George doesn’t point to that, but while Blackmore is mentioned, Steve Morse is not, so maybe George isn’t that deep into DP’s convoluted history of line-ups (not a criticism, we’re all nerds here). Simon – not a Blackmore, Bolin or Morse in terms of stylistic idiosyncrasy, but a more than competent rock guitarist with excellent chops in his own right – does add new impetus and urgency to the band, that transpires in live gigs.
August 25th, 2026 at 14:13Sounds like the tool they lambasted on “MTV!” Mr. Gillian and Mr. Grover, indeed.
August 25th, 2026 at 22:19