Deep Purple

AO Arena, Manchester

9 November 2024

I'm about 14 rows back, and miraculously there are no freakishly tall people in front of me, so I've got an excellent view of the band. Best seat of the tour so far. The sound doesn't seem as crystal clear as previous gigs, maybe it's just too loud, but there's definitely some distortion going on at times. Not enough to spoil the music, though.

Reef once again play an excellent supporting role, and seem to get the biggest crowd reaction of the tour so far. Even Gillan name-checks them during Purple's set. For somebody I originally had no interest in seeing, they've definitely won me over.

Deep Purple are ... just Deep Purple. They're just so good at what they do. I think Gillan is struggling more vocally tonight, but still delivers where it counts, and once again his moving performance of When a Blind Man Cries is the best part of the night.

Star of the show is Ian Paice, who fills every possible moment with extra drums, swinging and grooving in the way that nobody else in rock really does. No extended solo, though he comes close to it at several points. Most notably Space Truckin' which, let's be honest, is basically a drum solo anyway, and is the best song of the night even though Gillan is struggling a little.

The other star of the show is Don Airey, who once again dominates every song with his Hammond playing, and again gets two superb, lengthy, and again unique solo spots.

As on previous nights, the best part of the concert is Lazy, just a glorious instrumental jam that you never want to end. And the other highlight of course is Hush, for exactly the same reason. Deep Purple are at their absolute best when they don't worry too much about the songs and just stretch out the instrumental sections. It's what I'm here for, and they deliver exactly what I want, every time.

Best concert I've ever seen. And I don't say that lightly.