Latest Live Purple Concert Review

1 April 2021, Weakly Concert Review (by Joe Patterson III)

In an amazing feat of longevity the once famous, now infamous, rock group Keep Purple played a "staggering" comeback performance here last night.

It was the late '90's lineup which performed to commemorate the 25th anniversary re-release of their re-mastered "Purpinridiculous" album.

The line-up was Eons Old Gillan - vocals; Jon "getting close to the" Lord - keyboards; Ian Paicemaker - drums; ol'Codger Glover - bass and guitarist Stevie "somebody stole my wheelchair" Morse.

The show received a warm response from a large audience (In no small part due to pensioner discounts on the ticket price).

The excellent performance was only marred by a few small incidents. The most notable was when ol 'Codger Glover who was swaggering imposingly at the front of the stage, attempted to raise a foot onto a monitor to show off his new shoes (a trade mark of his more recent performances), his hat fell over his eyes causing him to miss the monitor and topple into the audience. He returned to the stage only a little worse for wear but without shoes which fans from the crowd had quickly removed for souvenirs.

The pure showmanship and inventiveness of the group was well demonstrated when, after losing a drum stick partway through a solo, Paicemaker nonchalantly reached down and picked up his walking stick to complete the number with barely anyone in the audience noticing the difference.

The set-list for the show consisted of a mix of old and very old numbers with favourites being: "Sometimes I Feel Like Sleeping", "Fadingstar", "Maybe I'm an Octogenarian", "Speak Up", "When an Old Man Dies" and "Anyone's Granddaughter". Apparently, an encore of "Trouble passing Water" was intended, however the show ended prematurely after Eons Gillan threw his head back to scream the final chorus of "Child For a Long Time" and inadvertently swallowed his dentures.

JS Patterson III

Kindly transcribed for The Highway Star by Cameron.