Toronto August 19th-Review of ELP-Deep Purple
August 19th-Molson Amphitheater, Toronto, Canada
Arrived at the show a little late, completely missed Dream Theater.
ELP
ELP was just hitting the stage at 20:30. They played
- New Song (I think)
- Karn Evil #9
- Hoedown
- ????
- Piano Concerto #3
- C'est la Vie
- Lucky Man
- Tarkus
- Encore: Fanfare for the Common Man Total time: approx. 1hr.
Highlights
Greg Lake
His voice is holding up so well after all these years. A little deeper and rougher, but that actually added a new element of emotion to C'est la Vie and Lucky Man. Bass and guitar playing as solid as ever.
Keith Emerson
His musical quotes, especially in Hoedown and Fanfare. I know I heard (correct me if I'm wrong):
The circus theme
Blue Rondo a la Turk (Brubeck's arrangement of the classical piece) amongst many others that I already forget.
Also loved Keith's phat analog synth sounds (was that old analog synth patch console behind him for real?!?!!). And who can deny the Hammond factor? Lots of crunchy attack and tube tone. (We'll get to Jon Lord in a bit.)
The concerto was good but the crowd did not really appreciate it! I wondered just how good Emerson's piano playing could be if that was his main focus. He may not be Chick Corea or Keith Jarrett, but who knows? Keith's antics were great too, from the fire spitting Moog controller to the beret and accordion on C'est la Vie right through to the requisite Hammond routine (giving new meaning to the words synth stab). I would have liked to see that Hammond completely totalled though. Maybe he needs an axe!
Great "behind the keyboard" rendition of Bach's Toccata in Dminor too!
Carl Palmer
Great drumming! Superb jazz-influenced solo during fanfare. Dare I say "Buddy Rich"? My only complaint is that it degenerated into a crowd-pleasing bass drum roll, just as he was really starting to cook.
Band as a whole
Better than I could hope for, especially for their age. Good to hear these guys on a late '90's sound system too. Really cool tip of the hat to Lake's stint with King Crimson when they broke into the opening verse from 21st Century Schizoid Man during Fanfare. Never thought I'd hear Greg Lake sing that live!
Deep Purple
Set List
- Hush
- Bludsucker
- Strange Kind of Woman
- Pictures of Home
- Almost Human?
- Woman From Tokyo
- Watching the Sky
- Steve Morse Solo/Jam
- Smoke on the Water
- Jon Lord Solo/Lazy
- Perfect Strangers
- Speed King
- Encore: Highway Star Total time: approx 1.5hrs
Highlights:
Ian Gillan
Holy sh@#! How can I guy who screams like that still have so much left at ..what age? 50+??? (I think it was his birthday last night? Or was it the other Ian?) [Yep, it was Gillan's 53rd birthday - Ed.] I was really surprised that this far into the tour (and after a cold about a week ago) how this guy could still get those famous screams happening. Don't get me wrong, this is not the Ian Gillan of 25 years ago, but compared to Robert Plant and various other old screaming madmen, he is an ironman! Very impressive.
Ian Paice
Rock solid and a good (also very jazz-influenced) solo in ??(I forget which tune already!). [Speed King - Ed.] Anyone must admit that Palmer is a hard act to follow. All in all, though, still a great drummer.
Roger Glover
Solid bassist, nice solo in Speed King? [Pictures of Home - Ed.] Damn, I was way too into it to keep track! Again, great to see these original legends.
Jon Lord
What more can be said about this legend of the rock Hammond sound? An imposing figure with two of the biggest Leslies I have ever seen towering behind his non-negligible frame. Nobody plays the rock ivories with this man's time, authority or tone. His chunky sound is like heaven. Who would have thought that an instrument invented for the church could ever cook up such a satanically satisfying sound! A true virtuoso. Loved the variations on the theme of Smoke in the Water that he served up in his solo section. He also played some great quotes from the jazz and classical repertoire. (If only they had set up a video camera on the keys! Hope the video crew reads this!)
Steve Morse
Wow! A true master. He payed dutiful homage to the classics, played a beautiful solo, complete with moog-like attackless section (achieved via the old "volume knob under the pinky" trick) and a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Ian Gillan.
He was also able to give the band a really modern sound on the newer tunes with some up-to-date Metal-influenced speedball solos and that heavy, heavy chord-riff sound. He had lush tone pouring out of his rig, bringing all the attending guitar freaks to several burning climaxes. Big bag-o-tricks! He also had a real rapport happening with Jon Lord. Looked like a mutual admiration society, which is always great to see.
The newer tunes almost seemed like "The Steve Morse Show" (this is not a complaint!) highlighting some incredible technique.
Band as a whole
They totally cooked from the word go. I don't think I've seen many tighter live shows. They also had a lot of fun on stage and had all their chops finely honed. Super show.
With ELP I had the impression of some old guys having fun and reliving their glory (not to mention making a few bucks). I did not have the impression of a vital band that still had a lot to say and play. (Though it was still great to see them.)
With Deep Purple, on the other hand, I had the impression of a killer band that could play back-to-back with a bunch of 20-somethings and put them to shame. Their new songs sounded as good or better than any of the newer bands and the classics absolutely breathed fire! These guys are still kicking ass after all these years. More power to them.
To sum up
Great overall show. Deep Purple absolutely fabulous. I was a little bit worried about seeing a bunch of old guys trying to relive past glories, but DP created new glories last night.
Good to see lots of young (20-something) faces in the crowd.
How come their new album isn't getting airplay in Toronto?
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