Purple devastates Rio de Janeiro

Ok, I always thought that headline from "Who do we think we are" was cool and now I finally can write that DP amazed me and everybody else! It was my third Purple concert. In the first one, Joe Turner blew it. The second one (Purpendicular tour) was very good, but I was somewhat distracted. But now everything was fine!

The set list was the same as Sao Paulo's, but they just didn't play "Highway Star" as the second and final encore! Probably one of the guys was ill or just too tired, because the ecstatic audience was screaming for that anthem. That was the only non perfect thing about the show !

Morse was pretty much the star of the gig, playing lightining fast solos but also tastefully using some blues-rock licks and effects a la Jeff Beck. The old warhorses were all in good shape, Gillan impressed me favourably. I mean, his screams aren't the same as they were on "IN ROCK", of course, but the singing is still strong and confident. Glover and Paice, what a solid and brilliant rhythmic section! And Lord is always that loveable Hammond virtuoso. The most charismatic keyboard player in Rock music, that's for sure!

Unforgettable moments: "Bloodsucker", the epic beauty of "Sometimes I feel..."' (what a guitar tone!), the majestic "Perfect Strangers" (it is the Purple's "Kashmir", don't you think?) and the keyboard-guitar duet in "Speed King". "Woman from Tokyo" was particularly pleasing, as the "Into the Fire" intro at the end of "Fireball" also was.

But the big surprise was how wisely Morse built the tension for the "Smoke on the water" inevitable riff. By interpolating mind-blowing fast solos with the classic riffs of "Sunshine of Your Love", "Moby Dick" and "Iron Man" (!!!), he moved the audience of rockers (it was delightful to listen to Zep and Sabbath in a Purple concert) and proved, when the unforgettable notes finally were played, that even among other monster riffs, "Smoke..." is the ultimate one.

I've watched the best attraction in the hard/heavy rock business nowadays! Deep Purple rocks!

Marcio Carvalho - Rio de Janeiro

[ reviews | the highway star ]