DPAS LIVE REVIEWS

Deep Purple
St.George's Hall, Bradford.
9th September 2002

The set-list was as Hammersmith, and 'solid' is perhaps as good a description as any. Beginning with the awesome power of Fireball (as previously stated, a much more effective opener than Woman From Tokyo), the momentum never really let up, meaning that much of the audience were knackered way before encore time.

Despite many people being aware of Jon's impending appearance, the roar of approval when he did threatened to blow the (high) roof off St George's and the man himself seemed genuinely chuffed by the response.

Highlights were a surprisingly sprightly - punchy even - Space Truckin' and the bionic dexterity of Mr Morse in Well Dressed Guitar which brought forth gasps of amazement from those around me. Elsewhere every last drop of emotion was wrung forth from When a Blind Man Cries by all concerned, but particularly by Ian Gillan who sang as though his life depended on it, stretching out the closing lines to impossible lengths. A measure of a good band is how well they handle mistakes : when Big Ian inadvertently began singing the third verse of Smoke On The Water where the guitar solo should have come in (he'd been too busy asking Jon Lord if he was going for a drink afterwards!) Steve manfully stepped aside and along with the others laughed it off and picked up the backing to carry the song along seamlessly. Steve the made up for it by launching into a truncated version of the solo after the singalong part. Professional or what??

All in all then good vibes prevailed on and off stage and it was great to see Jon pumping out the classics one last time. Despite a rather conservative set-list, a really excellent night was had by all.

review: Tim Summers, photos: Michael Richards (click to enlarge)

It’s a few years since I last stood inside Bradford’s St George’s Hall, the first Morse UK tour to be precise. Good memories of that show included having the freedom to move around and try out different vantage points in the “standing only” stalls. No such luck this time as we found ourselves wedged tightly just in front of the mixing desk and, sadly, just behind a couple of giants permitting poor Glynis only brief glimpses of the stage.

Despite our location I found the sound muddy with over dominant bass for the first few numbers. I know I risk the wrath of some by saying this but Big Ian seemed to be forcing his voice a little too much to begin with, even to the point of pitching a note or two a tad “sharp” at times, perhaps a legacy of the unrelenting touring schedule? Things improved as the set moved on with Ian delivering a stunning When A Blind Man Cries, more than making up for any earlier concerns, accompanied by excellent contributions from both Don and Steve.

This was my first chance to see and hear Don handle the keys: clearly an accomplished player, he left a favourable impression. Although lacking the powerful stage presence of Jon, he seems to have settled in well, looking comfortable and very much part of the team whilst making his own musical mark. However I missed the improvised interactions between Jon and Steve that, for me, so often provided the highlights of Jon’s last few years, yet maybe that will come? He makes much more use of the piano / synth than Jon did, which certainly adds a different flavour to many of the songs. Nonetheless Jon, for me, has been the musical rock upon which Deep Purple’s survival since the arrival of Morse has been founded. Indeed my discovery of just how important Jon’s contribution was to the sound and music of the band made that transition much easier to bear. As a consequence I think I’ll find this change much more difficult, time will tell.

Jon’s arrival on-stage brought a growing cheer of welcome as more and more of the crowd realised what had happened and Perfect Strangers was for me the strongest and most enjoyable number of the night. To say Jon looks to be enjoying his last few outings would be an understatement. During the prematurely terminated February tour he seemed at times to be a little subdued (though learning later about the rampant flu went some way to explaining that) but this time the man’s on fire! Much more animated than of late, head up, mouthing the words more often than not, clearly determined to savour every moment of these last few shows and (as our resident twitcher so rightly put it afterwards) show us and the band what they will soon be missing! The interplay between Jon and Steve was a wonderful treat, long and adventurous, and Jon’s total command of the Hammond clear for all to hear. I think it has proved a good decision to have both ivory tinklers on board for this tour, and a respectful nod to Don’s new position that having allowed Jon a few moments in the spotlight Don came back too for some of the closing numbers.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched Don and Jon during the closing Highway Star, Don playing along yet craning over Jon’s shoulder, watching the old man at work, a master-class if ever I saw one! At the end Don did the “I am not worthy” bows to Jon with broad smiles all round (and that went for most of us too!) Standing in the toilets a little later I heard the following little exchange: “Wot was that first number then?”, “Burn wasn’t it?”, “Oh yeah, that was it, Burn, and they did Child in time didn’t they?” “Err yeah, I fink so”….. Wrong on both counts lads

review: Peter Judd, ticket scan: Nigel Young (click on it to enlarge)