Deep Purple...bring back any memories? Obviously you remember the one with arguably the most recognisable opening riff in the history of rock music? Putting that aside for just a moment Deep Purple are without doubt a real phenomenon of the music scene. The group has been operating for over 50 years and has sold over 100 million records. With 20 studio albums and numerous studio albums to their name they are one of the undisputed monsters of rock. Adding to this, is the statistic that 'Smoke on the Water' has been voted one of the top 100 rock compositions of all time.
The group's discography closes with the album 'inFinite', which was released in 2017. After the release of this album, the band began the 'Long Goodbye Tour', which included three very enthusiastically received concerts in Poland. Although named as the band's final tour, sometimes it is difficult to say goodbye and the great musical journey under the sign of Deep Purple has yet to come to an end. On December 3rd, at the wonderful Tauron Arena, Krakow, I was privileged to experience the live magic of the rock legends, Deep Purple.
Hosting such bands as Black Sabbath, Kiss, Elton John, System of a Down, Muse, Rod Stewart, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Andrea Bocelli, Sting, Linkin Park, Green Day et al, the Tauron Arena is a magnificent stadium with wonderful infra-structure making for a hassle free enjoyable experience.
Kicking off the show, the band opened with 'Highway Star'. It was almost like being back in the 70,s listening to 'Made in Japan' as the band rocked the house with an amazing wall of sound. The present Deep Purple features the Mach ll line up of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice, joined by Steve Morse and Don Airey. Ian Gillan has always been one of the most influential singers in Heavy Metal and he still puts on an amazing performance.
Next up, the crowd was delighted by 'Pictures from Home', off the epic 'Machine Head' album, followed by 'Bloodsucker' and 'Demon's Eye'.
It is of course difficult to include everyone's favourite song but for me Steve Morse on 'Sometimes I feel like Screaming' was the show stopper. From the 'Perpendicular' album he really showed his emotion and brilliant technique. Below is the actual song from the night.
'Uncommon Man', 'Lazy' and 'Time for Bedlam' followed and then the Don Airey solo. Incredible talent and doing justice to the legacy of Jon Lord on every song. He and Steve Morse showed why they are revered in the music world. The skill and showmanship exhibited by Airey during his solo ( tailored to the Polish crowd with some Chopin thrown in was memorable).
Watching Ian Paice perform was pretty damn good as well. His skill, speed and finesse are well documented and he mesmerised the crowd with his enthralling performance. Roger Glover had his five minute solo in the encore and proved again that he is far from a spent force with a superb polished set.
'Perfect Strangers' and 'Space Truckin' preceded the much awaited visit to the Lake Geneva shoreline...it may be 47 years old but who in this crowd cared about that. With the average age of the audience not too different from the age of their most iconic song, Deep Purple rocked the arena. It may be old school rock, cliched to a degree, overplayed....who cares, this was raw, solid, hard rock at its very best, choreographed by a band whose cumulative age is 355 years! These guys know what they are doing and it was bloody brilliant. Yes, 'We all came out to Montreaux'.
" I don't think we feel that it is 100% over " said Roger Glover a few days before the concert in Krakow....I and thousands of others sincerely hope he is right. What a night! Below, Ian Gillan, 3rd December, 2019, Krakow, Tauron Arena.
