Fredag 2.august
In the “Blues City” of Notodden, where this friendly and vibrant festival takes over the town each year, showcasing local and international talent across the spectrum of blues and blues-inspired music, it was completely fitting that the headline act on the warm Friday night was our current cover star, Deep Purple, one of the flag-bearers for blues-inspired hard rock.
Deep Purple received the kind of reception you would expect – Hovigs Hangar, the giant popup inflatable tent in the corner of Torvet, was full. They are touring their new record “=1”, from which we would hear four tracks. However, it was the classic material that people had mostly come to hear – it was the old stuff which got the best reception. The fact that they have a new album after such a long career is tribute, for the undersigned, to two things, both of which were obvious during the show. First, the band are still enjoying what they do – they are not eking out their long careers. Second, and perhaps making a contribution to that enjoyment, is their lineup. Keyboardist Don Airey joined in 2002, replacing Jon Lord, and in 2022 Simon McBride replaced Steve Morse as a full member of the band after 28 years. The energy of these two musicians made the show and they have undoubtedly kept the band fresh and sharp.
At 78 years old, Ian Gillan’s voice is not what it once was and there is no pretence made that he cannot sing as he once did. Not to doubt his commitment. He engaged with the audience throughout the show, often coming to the front of the stage and taking opportunities to thank them or compliment them for their response to the music. If Airey and McBride are the stars of the show musically, Gillan is the star as far as the band is concerned – he is the face of the band, and it was fitting that we started with numbers which put his vocals at the fore – the classic “Highway Star”, which got the crowd going immediately, and “A Bit on the Side” from “=1”, which has a long vocal part, “Hard Lovin’ Man”, and the high energy “Into The Fire”.
The band know their strengths and what makes for an exciting show, so the greater proportion of the music was instrumental, and it was dazzling. Even the vocal-led pieces were built up with regular interjections from Airey and McBride. Every solo, every fill had something about it. The most striking thing was the variety of musical influences on display. McBride is primarily a blues-rock guitarist, but his early solos had an edgier, more modern quality, like on “A Bit On The side” and “Into The Fire”, where he made free use of the whammy bar to create almost a portamento sound. McBride’s guitar solo came early in the set, near seven minutes of highly technical, fast, but also musical playing. We had swells and trills followed by arpeggios of extraordinary dexterity, like a Paganini capriccio, building faster and faster until he eased into a soaring lyrical passage which brought the rest of the band back in for “Uncommon Man”. Similarly, his playing on the new piece “Portable Door” was fascinating, varied and musically striking.
Airey got his own centre-stage moment, two if you count the long keyboard introduction to “Lazy”. Overall, he gave us a mixture of sounds, ranging from classic ‘70s rock organ fills on the vocal numbers, to breathless electric piano and flute sounds that came out of Rick Wakeman’s playbook, or some more modern electronic sounds that echoed Jan Hammer or Jean Michel Jarre. Musically, he also ran the gauntlet of styles. When he wasn’t playing rock organ in keeping with the band’s heyday, his playing was more at the jazz-fusion end, full of curious dissonance, pushing the motifs of the music in some interesting directions, or entirely classical, sounding something like Rachmaninov or even Bach. In his solo, he quoted “Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg at one point, to the audience’s obvious amusement. The remarkable thing about his playing, as well as that of McBride, is that for all its blistering skill, it was never simply showy – it was fascinating, well-structured, gripping and entertaining. As he drew to the end of his keyboard solo, he had the audience in the palm of his hand, clapping along.
Beyond these two musical stars of the show, what stood out was the quality of the ensemble playing. Ian Paice and Roger Glover had no trouble keeping up. They are easily equal to their two lead musicians. Paice’s drumming was first-rate throughout. He has lost none of his dexterity, pace, or timing, and remember this was not a short set and had no slow numbers. Glover’s bass playing was likewise slick, lively, and an equal part of the foundation of the music. Every riff was perfectly in time – the band were still on top of their game. The newer tracks fit well in the set, particularly the single “Lazy Sod” and “A Bit On The Side”. “Bleeding Obvious”, which is a more episodic piece, was probably the only misfire over all.
Despite all the musical pyrotechnics, which were not wasted on the audience, it was the classics which got the warmest applause, like “Anya” and “Uncommon Man”. And of course there was one classic that everyone was waiting for, which closed the main set. “Smoke On The Water” remains one of the most revered, copied, played. The band played this honoured member of their set pretty much straight, with little embellishment. The audience joined in, singing the main riff. Then Gillan came to the fore again, and got the crowd to do the “Smoke on the water”s while he sang “Fire in the sky”. They were delighted. “Hey hey hey hey! You are amazing. We love you.” Gillan told the crowd.
They returned for a not-so-short encore. They started with “Hush” which, though a cover, was their first hit single back in 1968. This gave Airey and McBride another chance to duet, threading the instrumental melody between their instruments in a jazzy improvisation which was dissonant and complex, while Paice and Glover absolutely nailed the supporting rhythm playing. Finally, “Black Night” returned the show to where it started, to the band’s heritage, its strong and beloved back catalogue. Not to waste the opportunity, again McBride took centre stage, channelling Freddie Mercury at Wembley, getting the audience to join him as he stripped down the main riff, playing each phrase and getting them to repeat it. McBride may be a modern musician, versed in a broader palette than simple blues rock, but he knows very well which band he has joined and he respects the band’s heritage in both the spectacle and the style of his playing. The main riff returned and took us home.
“Unreal! Unreal!” shouted Gillan before thanking the crowd one more time. He was right, it had been. It had been an absolutely first rate set from all concerned and even the new material by and large stood up alongside fan favourites and classics. Notwithstanding Gillan’s obviously aging vocals, on a circuit littered with bands dragging out their careers, this is a band that is still producing performances of the highest quality. 5/6
Text: Alex Maines
Photography: Anne-Marie Forker