Deep Purple

MEN Arena, Manchester

6 November 2004

Here we go again. Another tour in giant anonymous arenas with as many bands as possible crammed on to the bill. Four bands in one evening... I know I'm only going to hear 90 minutes of Deep Purple. And 90 minutes isn't enough. But, some Purple is better than no Purple, so off I trek across the country (braving train derailments and other assorted hazards of the British transport system) to a giant anonymous arena in another giant anonymous city... but, ok, before this gets too depressing, I'll talk about the music. Which was, in fact, rather wonderful from start to finish.

Dean Howard's band (playing their first ever gig) come on 20 minutes earlier than advertised, thus ensuring that they play to an even smaller audience than support bands normally get. And they deserved a bigger audience. It's nothing special, but it's a good band with a nice set of songs, breaking the Deep Purple tradition of terrible opening acts. They play for about 30 minutes, and the stage changeover is a marvel of efficiency: the next band is on a mere 10 minutes later.

The empty seats rapidly fill up for Thunder. They have a lot of fans here and they're masters of whipping them into a frenzy. I've always liked Thunder, but this was my first time seeing them live. They work hard, play well, and generally have a good time. Danny Bowes treats you like you're all mates at his party, and it creates a great atmosphere. Definitely worth seeing. Would I see them again? I don't know... I like all their songs, the atmosphere is fantastic, but I don't feel anything special after seeing them... Hmmm... They play for 40 minutes, and again it's a quick changeover for the next band.

Somehow, I've completely missed out on the Peter Frampton phenomenon. I know him as a legendary name but couldn't recall hearing any of his music, so I didn't really know what to expect (although I recognised two or three songs when he played them). Plus several people had expressed the worry that his style would kill any atmosphere generated by Thunder... Yes, there's a huge difference between Danny Bowes's party approach and Peter Frampton's quiet charisma. But it's not an atmosphere killer by any means. The crowd loves Frampton and he returns the favour by seeming honestly happy to play for us.

And when he plays, you can see why he's got this legendary reputation. The man is, simply, awe-inspiring on guitar, plus he has a great set of songs (some new, some old), a solid backing band, and a genuine charisma on stage. He only played for an hour and it should have been a lot longer. I'm off to buy Frampton Comes Alive now...

OK, this was supposed to be a Deep Purple review. Their 90 minutes start with Silver Tongue, end with Hush, and include almost everything you could want from the 36 years in between. Five new songs, ten classics (including, as a very nice surprise, Demon's Eye), and the inevitable solos and jams. You could tell they were against the clock. Gillan kept his between-song waffle to a minimum, and the solos and jams were kept short (but intense).

I run out of ways to describe how good Deep Purple are—but they never run out of ways to impress me. Everything follows the old familiar patterns but it's all fresh, there's always something new to hear, never the same solo twice... The set is exciting, energetic, fast-paced... and, honestly, if there is anything more fun than singing along with Smoke on the Water, well... I've yet to find it.

I've seen a lot of bands in concert this year, and they've all been so enjoyable that sometimes it's tempting to label each one the best. Then Purple come around, and even playing a short set in a giant arena they remind me why they're the greatest rock band in the world. And this was the best concert I've ever seen.

Except I think Monday's will be better...