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DPAS
LIVE REVIEW Deep
Purple You'd think it would seem kind of late in their career to rock out this good and with such amazing energy, but they did.
Ducking out for a quick trip to the men's room felt like a brief visit to the Twilight Zone as there were two guys at the urinals having a real-life version of the old Blackmore vs. Morse flamewar, something I didn't expect outside the internet. The Morse defender then asked me if that was Tony Carey at the keyboards. When I told him it was Don Airey he said "Wow, he's changed." Well yeah.
Side 2 of MH went down even better than side 1, as you'd expect. The order was reversed so that "Smoke on the Water" came last, which may seem like a cheat but again you have to accommodate these forgetful USA fans. "Space Truckin'", my favorite MH track this year, sounded amazing. The encores were "Speed King" and "Hush". I couldn't tell if the former was terribly recognized or not, but they sure reacted to the latter. Everyone around me was dancing where they stood. "Silver Tongue" was roaring in my head as I drove home, and it's been there ever since unless I forcibly replace it with something. It's one of those songs that sound twice as amazing live. review and photos: John Hopkins. |
The
crowd was pumped up, so opening with "Silver Tongue" from the
new album was a smart move. Few in the audience seemed to recognize
it, but a killer tune is a killer tune and they all cheered. They cheered
even louder when "Woman From Tokyo" came next, and a pattern
of sorts emerged as the crowd sat down for a Bananas cut, then leaped
to their feet again for a 'classic' song. I was particularly gratified
that the title track was in the set; I adore that tune.
The
full Machine Head presentation in the second half seemed to prove that,
in Chicago at least, this was a brilliant move in the American market.
The crowd ate it up like you wouldn't believe. From my vantage point
in the rear of the main floor I caught plenty grooving even to "Maybe
I'm A Leo" however even with Gillan's explanation that "When
a Blind Man Cries" was originally intended to be on the album, more
than a few decided that was a good time to relieve themselves.