Monday, August 13, 2007

Deep Pruple, Blue Öyster Cult deliver taste of nostalgia


Photo taken by Kelly A. Swift
Photo information: Bassist Roger Glover and singer Ian Gillan of the classic rock band Deep Purple performed at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007.
(Story below originally published on www.ocregister.com on Monday, Aug. 13, 2007)
Review: The final installment of Pacific Amphitheatre's summer concert series a heavy metal fan's dream.
By ROBERT KINSLER
Special to the Register
The first time I caught Deep Purple in the early 1980s, the British hard rockers definitely lived up to their ear-bleeding reputation (the outfit was once credited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's loudest band).
On Sunday night, it was a decidedly more mature quintet that headlined at the final concert of the Pacific Amphitheatre's 2007 summer concert series.
Although the lineup of Deep Purple no longer features guitarist Ritchie Blackmore or keyboardist Jon Lord, the band gave the animated crowd a solid and strong performance that was a credit to the influential troupe's legacy.
Ian Gillan can't hit as many high notes as he did in the 1970s and early '80s, but his voice remains a melodic instrument up to the challenge and he has never looked happier on stage. The barefoot Gillan danced and moved with the music throughout the band's 90-minute set, and proved himself to be a personable frontman, able to keep things together on stage while involving the audience in sing-alongs and cheering on his band mates.
The set list was a heavy metal fan's dream, with the band playing well-known hits ("Space Truckin,' " "Smoke on the Water" and night-ending "Hush") and newer material such as "Rapture of the Deep." Longtime guitarist Steve Morse (who replaced Joe Satriani in 1994) is one of the world's best electric guitarists and his playing was exhilarating throughout the set, notably during an instrumental solo leading into "Knocking at Your Back Door." Both Morse and keyboardist Don Airey shined during the bluesy "Lazy," where they displayed their skills around Gillan's blues harmonica playing.
Bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paige continue to bring fire to Deep Purple's sound, as evidenced by the heavy hypnotic power of "Perfect Strangers" and racing "Highway Star."

Blue Öyster Cult may not have Deep Purple's deep catalog of hits, but what the band does have is guitar virtuoso Buck Dharma. His playing was so inventive that it brought life to many of the lesser-known selections featured in the group's 45-minute set.
Highlights of the five-member band's stint were a driving "Burnin' for You" with both Dharma and Eric Bloom singing the song together to give it a layered sound, and a dynamic "(Don't Fear) The Reaper."
Although the kind of skillful guitar playing displayed by Dharma has fallen out of favor in modern rock circles, he truly delivered a clinic how to push the electric guitar to its limits that seemed to please not only longtime fans of the band, but a number of teens and twentysomethings sitting at the show.

While Edgar Winter's appearance at the end of the night (he played saxophone with Deep Purple during "Smoke on the Water") was welcome, his 30-minute opening set was a strictly by-the-numbers affair except during a funky and energetic "Free Ride."

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