Beacon Theatre - Tuesday, November 26th

After an eight year absence from the USA with Ian Gillan at the helm, Deep Purple finally returned to the Big Apple. As soon as the band took the stage, the energy and intensity levels of the crowd (which appeared to be a packed house) peaked almost immediately. The intensity remained high throughout the show as the everyone in the orchestra section stood from start to finish. The set list was basically the same as the other North American shows so far...

• Hush
• Fireball
• Ted the Mechanic
• Pictures of Home
• Black Night
• Cascades...I’m Not Your Lover...(Morse solo)
• Sometimes I Feel like Screaming
• Woman From Tokyo
• Aviator
• Rosa’s Cantina
• No One Came
• Smoke on the Water...(Lord solo)
• When a Blind Man Cries
• Speed King...(Paice solo)

Encores:

• Perfect Strangers
• Hey Cisco
• Highway Star

I’d like to mention some distinct highlights of the show... It was great hearing the wolf howling at the start of “hush”. Jon and Steve had a serious duel going during “black night”. Ian introduced “sometimes I feel like screaming” as “sometimes I feel like drinking” and “sometimes I drink like screaming” (which would make a good title for a Joe Walsh album). It was a pleasure to witness “woman from tokyo” in it’s entirety. “No one came” was the psychedelic part of the show with the flickering white stage lights. I was a bit deceived by the “lazy” intro before “smoke on the water - I was almost convinced they were going to play the entire version of “lazy”. They closed out the set with “speed king”, which contained an excerpt from “not fade away” - Ian can still hit that high note! The high point of the show was “perfect strangers” - what a rush it gave me.

In all honesty the show was simply amazing. Every song was perfectly executed and everyone on stage seemed like they were really enjoying playing together - Roger had a permanent smile on his face. As much as I like Blackmore's music, I didn't miss him one bit because there was not one sign of tension on the stage and Steve fits in brilliantly with his own unique style. It was a really tough choice, but I gave the MVP award of the evening to Jon, who I’ve nicknamed “the master”. The absence of Blackmore has finally given Jon the opportunity to become a more prominent figure on stage.

If you haven’t seen Deep Purple during this tour and have the opportunity to - you must see them perform live to experience the true meaning of rock ‘n roll!!!

Glenn Murani
Delaware, USA

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