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Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sep 4, 2004

Preaching to the Choir is a term commonly used in these parts. For that reason, our reviews usually are kept to ourselves. Being fans for 30 years, and seeing the boys nearly every time they arrive in LA during that period, we felt it was finally time to chime in.
Tonight, as usual, the musicianship was tight. Unfortunately, the set list was restricted by two factors, imagination and the local curfew. Those of us who caught the Valentine's Day show at the Wiltern Theater will likely agree that that was a Purple show this one could not compare to. A predictable set, much similar to the one earlier in the year at the Wiltern, and less of Purple. 90 minutes vs. the two hours in Feb, left us seasoned fans a bit disappointed. Sure, in order to fill the Greek Theater they had to place Joe Satriani on the bill. However, this kept the Purple set to 90 minutes, finishing exactly as the local curfew required.
All said, Joe was better left to have performed only the Smoke on the Water he contributed to. His set, although technically fantastic, was ponderous from an entertainment standpoint.
We did get slightly different arrangements of Bananas tunes, less Bananas and less Purple standards. Looking forward to the next stop when perhaps a real headline show can reappear.
By the way, what happended to the Ian Paice drum solo? We could do with less Star Wars and a little more The Mule.
Highlights: Strange Kind of Woman, Highway Star, Knocking At Your Back Door, Satriani accompanied Smoke.
Marty, Kerry, Dave & Bob
30 year Purple Fans

I saw Purple last evening. It's amazing that these guys still have it after all these years. I saw them in India a few years ago and was blown away on that occasion as well. Last night was simply awesome.
Having Thin Lizzy open for them was perfect - great classic rock. I am not sure why Satriani was thrown into the mix. Even though I like him, at some points I simply wanted to push Fast Forward.
To be honest, when Deep Purple came on with Silver Tongue I really thought they had lost it. One of the things that simply didn't sound right was the sound - Ian Gillan sounded very tinny, and everything sounded wrong. But then, someone somewhere figured out what was going on and it went uphill after that.
To reiterate what I said above, Deep Purple still has it - without a doubt. Apart from their impeccable playing, Ian Gillan can still scream - and take all the highs and lows. The new man on the keys, Don Airey, was awesome. If I were to close my eyes, then it could have been Jon Lord playing. He was brilliant as was his solo.
Steve Morse was, well... Steve Morse. His composition Contact Lost dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia was very moving, to say the least.
Roger Glover - kept it all together with his solid bass licks. I was very disappointed that Ian Paice did not do one of his trademark drum solos. Being a drummer myself, I was hoping he would.
Will I go and see them live again? Damn right I will!
Vinay

It was the perfect night to be with about six thousand perfect strangers. There was a special feature to this show not only was Deep Purple playing but so was Joe Satriani, maybe the best guitarist on the planet at this time. If Ritchie Blackmore ever happens to read this review, just remember Ritchie the operative word here is maybe.
Thin Lizzy opened up the show just before dark in the smoggy but beautiful hills of Los Angeles. Yes, tonight there would be a Jailbreak and John Sykes would sing about it on the first song of their set. What could anyone say bad about a guy that used to be in Whitesnake? [Snigger... Rasmus] A short set ended and this Mr. Sykes would show up later during the Satriani set to do a song with Joe. (Going Down, I believe it was) Anyway, after Thin Lizzy departed Joe Satriani soon would appear.
Joe Satriani is so talented on guitar that every note he hits on the fretboard is magical. His playing reminds me of the moves of a Smooth Dancer gliding across a dance floor. Yes, kind of like John Travolta, since both are Italian. LOL
This Satriani fellow put on a clinic. Every note was perfect, like a Ferrari with Bridget Bardot, scantily dressed and in her prime, leaning ever so gently across the hood. Joe was at the Greek seems like only nine months ago on the G3 Tour. The show on that night was excellent as well.
There is a Deep Purple drummer named Ian Paice and a bass player who goes by the name of Roger Glover that are the best two players in the world at their respective instruments. On this night they literally put on a clinic of bass and drumming precision. These two guys are the backbone of the band and it shows.
The new CD is better than I expected and I recommend you buy it because it is very good. Of course, as often is the case, the songs they played live from the new CD are not the ones I like as much, but other than that I have no complaints.
The old hits were phenomenal. The best song of the evening was Perfect Strangers. I may have said the same thing on the last tour but time and time again, it just seems that Perfect Strangers is the song that hits the spot for me.
Don Airey has become an excellent addition. Of course, no one could ever replace Jon Lord, but Don has been able to shine like a diamond nonetheless.
It was great to see Ian Gillan again and his communication skills with the audience are special. When Ian introduces songs that the band is about to play he always gets just a little bit closer to the audience than most vocalists are able to do. On this night, it was no different, and his vocal work would bring smiles to most of the audience.
As I stated earlier, I was most impressed with how Glover and Paice work to keep the sound of Deep Purple tight and smooth. Even without Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord in the band if you have an extra $55 dollars and ten dollars to give away to those fantastic folks at Ticketmaster, just do it.
Terry Coakley

I have been to 25 Deep Purple gigs and never saw all of them fire on all five cylinders like this night. Little Ian broke a drum stick or lost it as he was playing Space Truckin'. The end came way too soon as they stormed through this all too blistering set. Joe Satriani came out for Smoke and it was smoking along with the crowd.
Thank you to all in Deep Purple for the all too bloody heavy gig.
Love and Peace
Jason Halvorsen