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DPAS
LIVE REVIEWS Well here we go again…last gig on the current..(Keeping with the fruit theme you notice) leg of the last, next, never ending tour. Liverpool Pops is a series of summer concerts with a line up as diverse as comedian Peter Kaye, Status Quo, Alice Cooper and of course Deep Purple. The venue is right on Albert Dock. It is a tent that reminded me of my youth visiting Billy Smart's Circus. Strange venue..but remarkably it worked…
A highlight for me was catching Gillan's “lunch wrapper” at the end of Lazy… After every song the band received a tremendous ovation with the audience standing and clapping then sitting down! I was worried that we would continue with this through to the end of the show but as the first notes of Smoke.. rang out everyone was on their feet..great stuff… Space Truckin' followed and I was so intent on watching the band I never noticed that everyone had sat down again….leaving me as the only guy standing at the front.. It’s a very strange feeling being the Last Man Standing in a gig.. I thought for a minute I was going to get “bladdered “ by the bouncer but by this time he had given up.. Encores followed swiftly, Hush and Black Night then it was over. A short sharp performance but none the less exhilarating for all that. I left the tent for backstage while Haunted played over the PA… The backstage area reminded me of a contractor's site with porta-cabins everywhere. I had a chat with all the members of the band. Roger Glover commented that halfway through the gig he suggested to either Steve or Ian that they should get chairs and sit down as well…. Steve went into a monologue about signing autographs while skateboarding on cobblestones!!…Ian Paice was very chatty, commenting on my Skynyrd t-shirt and how good a band they were for Purple to play with. Don refused to divulge the reason behind his hat…..Ian Gillan was every inch the gentleman posing for pictures, and congratulating me on my catch... All in all a memorable night….now what am I going to do until the Bananas tour!! review: Mike McBain
Another show another town!! From being accosted on entry by two local females extrapolating on the merits of knowing a steward, who unwittingly gave them free tickets, to see a band they had never even heard of, I had a strange sensation that this would be an enjoyable evening!! Purple as always deliver; although at times they seemed to be going through the motions (or is it me and the never changing setlist, pretty much as I saw in Nurnberg 2001 etc, etc..). Things are bound to get stale, the new numbers at least breathed some much needed fresh air into the show. Lazy and Knocking... were awesome and Speed King was not too far behind. Big Ian sounds better than ever, he really stole the show for me, incredible, much of the after gig chat revolved aroung the quality of his performance. Roll on Bananas, I look forward to them becoming RIPE and then a revamped show with new stuff and a decent airing of Purpendicular and Abandon material again, or am I dreaming? review: Andy Robertson
Thank you Deep Purple for paying me back for the £36 I paid into your pension fund at the NEC on the 22nd!! Let's say the Liverpool Show was 'Big -Tops'. A few additions to the set list, decent lights for Perfect Strangers and bags of energy made the trip to the King's Dock well worthwhile. Even the new songs sounded pepped up the second time round! Can we just pray that the summer rest will do them all the world of good and allow them to stay on stage for a little longer in the Autumn, when I will undoubtedly, like countless thousands, shell out once again!! Please Mr Purple - More tents, less sheds, as it would break my heart to pay any more money to the NEC!!! review: Stewart Edgar
So Purple finish off this short tour on the banks of the River Mersey. With tickets the same price as the London and Birmingham shows and no Skynyrd or the Darkness in tow, I foolishly thought the setlist would be expanded to the 2 hours or so which was the norm on the Purpendicular tour....sadly, this was not the case. The set was exactly the same as Dublin onwards, delivered with exemplary finesse - Ian Gillan in fine form (surely it was worth risking a stab at 'Child..' at the last gig?), Ian Paice and Rog as reliable as ever, Steve putting in an accomplished performance and Don playing a blinder (well up in the mix).
I had the pleasure of seeing the Blue Oyster Cult in a small venue in Manchester recently - part of an 11 day, 11-date UK tour during which they played 40 different tracks in sets averaging 15 tracks. Two great bands with a wealth of fantastic material to choose from, I just feel BOC didn't go for the easy option whereas Purple did. review: Ali Adams
I have just had the pleasure of witnessing a band that are having the time of their lives on stage, and who are still kicking ass after 30 odd years... yes I'm talking about Deep Purple. The last time I saw Purple was approx. 13 years ago (the Joe Lynn Turner line up!) and I was wondering if they still had it. It took just a few seconds of the intro to Highway Star and I knew it was going to be a night to remember. Highway Star led straight into Knocking at Your Back Door (pure genius). What a start. Further songs included some great tracks from the new album. You could see that they were having as much enjoyment as we were. It was the first time that I had seen Steve Morse & Don Airey and I was very impressed. No passion was lacking in any of the songs and the whole place exploded as Steve Morse's solo ran straight into the opening riff of Smoke On The Water. What can I say, but to thank the boys for a night to remember. Long may Purple reign, from an older generation of the Deep Purple fan club. review: Graham Myers
Didn't catch the name of the young scouse (I'm not) support act. Keep flying the rock flag boys but get the bass player a full length pair of pants. (Did he remind anyone else of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo? I could have watched him for hours!) For Purple, it was a no frills start, on stage, and bang into 'Highway Star'. I like the slower Machine Head tempo used, and PHEW, Gillan was in truly great voice! The guitar solo featured Steve paying tribute to R.B. by playing the solo note for note from 'Machine Head'. There were no surprises in the set ... I'm tired of Lazy & Black Night. These were by another incarnation, of young angry men, rather than the fine accomplished songwriters that Gillan, Glover & Morse have become! Well Dressed Guitar ; why? Why not play an actual SONG from the post reunion catalogue, or even the last two records?! Blackmore must be allowing himself a wry smile looking at the set list.( Of course he isn't looking as he's playing Robin Hood in the Forest of Connecticut or Sherwood or the Black Forest in Bavaria; but do you get my drift?) I wish these fine men who are such a part of my life would stand up and be counted and be current! Remember GILLAN around 1980. Four new songs at least every time you saw them! Having said all that I enjoyed every note played and felt 15 years old again. The band were as tight as a crab's arse at 10,000 fathoms, thanks to the amazing Glover & Paice. (Roger, your a fine bass player, so stop being so shy and tell the guy on your soundboard that you wish to be heard! This inaudible bass guitar has been going on since 'Down To Earth!) You know that these two are FANS of Deep Purple, as is Big Ian. Gillan seemed a little tired at times, but no thoughts of doing a Jon Lord please. As for Steven Morse. Have we thanked him for saving this group?... because I want to, personally. I still find it a novelty to see the chaps on stage, having fun, smiling & exchanging jokes. I haven't seen Don Airey since I fell out with Rainbow after seeing them with the Turner creature in 1981 (Turner ruined my life, twice, and for several years on each occasion!) The man has changed. Is it a Blackmore curse or did Ozzy hold one séance too many? He was quite the demon at points last night, I thought his head might spin, like a Lesley organ speaker, well done son.
Speaking of which, chatted with a cute lady sporting a well worn 'Glory Road' tour T-shirt with Reading Festival 1980 on the back. I've still got mine but I couldn't get it over one arm these days. If she reads this I've got photos (& shhush, the full Gillan Reading 1980 set on tape) if she wants them. The DPAS can pass on my e-mail if she's around. Pleasure writing for the site, I know for a review it's a bit long, with more tangents than a Gillan lyric, but I think I may be going 'BANANAS'. review: Phil, ticket scan: Nigel Young |
I
had a front row ticket and was placed just to the left of centre stage.
Great view. The band came on and blasted into Highway Star, we
stood up..only to be told to sit by our friendly neighbourhood bouncer..
this contributed to the strange sight of Purple playing their nuts off
with the whole auditorium sitting!!!! Purple's set was the same as Glasgow
but with Woman From Tokyo dropped. The set lasted 1 hour 30 minutes
on the money. 
