A friend and I flew up from Wellington on Thursday afternoon (after seeing Deep Purple there the night before). The venue in Auckland was a small theatre, which I think is a much better choice compared to Wellington’s Events Centre. So much more intimate and purpose built for usic so better acoustics.

We arrived in the rain at the Logan Campbell Centre well in time before Purple hit the stage but after the opening act. Certainly a different make up of punters here tonight (generally older and more ‘hardened’ compared to the Wellington crowd). Upstairs was sold out but there was still some space downstairs.

What can I say about the gig. Wellington was good but Auckland was VERY good! The sound quality was an improvement, notably clearer if not ear-splitting loud at times (especially during Morse’s guitar solo). The band seemed to really be enjoying themselves with beaming smiles all round and the usual complimentary comments to the crowd from Gillan.

There was a slight change in the set list tonight with Rapture of the Deep and Mary Long replaced early in the set with Before Time Began and Living Wreck. And further into the set Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye was replaced with Junkyard Blues.

During Smoke On The Water some crazed fan managed to jump on stage and give Ian Gillan a big hug. It took a few seconds for security to react and guide him off stage. Gillan took it all in his stride. Steve Morse’s solo part was different and longer to Wellington, perhaps more emotional sounding.

Just before the start of the encore ‘Hush’ Gillan commented ‘We found this sound under a rock’ ‘It’s off the first Deep Purple album… from 1968!’. It’s amazing how they keep playing those old classics with the same level of enthusiasm year after year.

So in reflection I think the quality of the performance outdid the previous night, however this is probably due to a better sound quality in the venue.

Hope to see the Purps back in New Zealand soon!

Ben Doyle

I managed to see both Melbourne concerts last weekend.

Firstly I didn’t like the warm up act Status Quo, I believe a Australian act would have been more appropriate such as Jimmy Barns, or Inxs. [So you obviously missed Sydney’s finest, Mandrake, who played before SQ… Rasmus]

They opened the set with Pictures of Home, and Don sounded great. He played the parts like they way Jon played them, his organ sound was just the same. I was very happy with seeing him in the band.

They then played Things I Never said which sounded great. It reminded me of a car racing type of song if it had the right lyrics. The down point was Before Time Began this sounded very depressing and bad, not a live song at all. Something like Gypsy’s Kiss or Under the Gun would have sounded much better or even Burn. Ian Gillan sang Hush from another line-up so why not do songs from the Glenn Hughes era? They are all Deep Purple songs in the end. Something like Getting Tighter or Drifter would have sounded great.

Ian Paice was in top from, his work too fast to follow for me. Ian Gillan was in fine voice, Steve was exciting and Roger provided and strong backbone. They were not playing like a bunch of guys in their late 50’s but much rather in their 30’s.

It was a great show but I believe the set list needs some improvement. Perfect Stranges is becoming a nostalgia song for the reunion in 84, and should be dropped. Bloodsucker, Speed King and Fireball, and When a Blind Man Cries never should have been left out.

On the second night they left out Before Time Began which was good and played Rapture Of the Deep which sounded much better.

George Fotis

Attended the first Melbourne show on Saturday night. The opening act, Mandrake, were woeful. A total waste of half an hour that could’ve been tacked on the end of Deep Purple’s set time.

Status Quo were pretty good. I think I enjoyed their set more than I thought I would, although, they had more amplifiers on stage than chords they played for their entire 80 minute set.

Now to the main attraction. Let me tell all those who are yet to catch Deep Purple on this tour that they are in sensational form. The performance was impeccable. The highlights for me were:

1. Opening their set with Paicey doing that amazing drum roll at the start of Pictures of Home. For him to go straight out their and pull that off cold is remarkable.

2. Wrong Man really rocks live. A good heavy riff that got the crowd going, even though most of the crowd didn’t know the song.

3. Gillan sang Living Wreck very well. He let out an almighty scream at the start of the “…you said you were a virgin” verse. Blew me away. That man can still sing!

4. Gillan also really seemed to get into Before Time Began. The build up to the heavy riff in the middle was excellent live and the last verse was very powerful. A great song.

5. Really enjoyed Don Airey’s solo set which included Waltzing Matilda, Advance Australia Fair and Star Wars. The man is a marvel.

6. Space Truckin’ was probably the next highlight. Paice drives that song beautifully.

7. Highway Star is always a treat. It’s the quintessential Deep Purple song for me. The rest of the set I’ve heard a million times.

The 90 minute set was not long enough as they had to drop several songs, but I hold the promoter to blame for this. It’s not Purple’s fault.

The mix was a little… well… mixed. Drums were too loud initially. Gillan’s voice tended to be lost at times in the mix. Don Airey (just like in 2004) was simply not loud enough. Could hear Steve Morse just well enough but he probably could’ve been a touch louder too.

The highest highlight for the night was probably after the show when I was waiting outside the backstage door and got to meet Don Airey, Ian Gillan and then Steve Morse. I’d like to give them laud for the way they handled themselves. They were extremely friendly and made sure that everyone who was there who wanted an autograph got one and everyone who wanted a photo got one. They answered all the questions and were very polite to everybody. Well done gents, I was impressed.

All in all, an excellent evening. Thanks Deep Purple.

Set list was as follows:

Pictures of Home
Things I Never Said
Wrong Man
Ted The Mechanic
Before Time Began
Living Wreck
Contact Lost
Steve Morse Solo
The Well Dressed Guitar
Lazy
Don Airey Solo
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin’
Highway Star
Smoke On The Water

Hush
Black Night

Mike Burrows

Deep Purple’s first ever show in Wellington! The venue was the Queens Wharf Events Centre on Wellington’s waterfront. Upstairs was full and downstairs about half full. There was a good range of ages here tonight.

The set list was predictable with four new tracks thrown in from Rapture of the Deep and a selection of older classics. I would have liked to have heard Woman From Tokyo and something different from the Purpendicular album in place of Ted The Mechanic and Mary Long.

I’d also like to see the old formula from Steve’s solo through to the end of Don’s solo changed somewhat as they have been using it for quite some time now. But in general it was still a satisfying set list with a mix of new and old.

Of the new material I was particularly impressed with the heaviness of Wrong Man and the title track Rapture of the Deep with it’s Middle Eastern sound and feel, especially the keyboards.

The crowd, initially a little quiet to start with during the newer material came to life with encouragement from Ian Gillan during the second half of the show. During the last five classic tracks there was plenty of loud clapping and cheering providing great atmosphere to the energetic band performance.

At one point Gillan came back on stage wearing an All Blacks rugby shirt which was a nice acknowledgement for the Kiwi crowd. He commented “I’m not worthy of wearing this.”

The band seem to be really enjoying their first show of this leg of the tour. It was just great to see them back in New Zealand. Due to our geographic locality we don’t get as many rock concerts outside of Auckland.

Set list:
Pictures of Home
Things I Never Said
Wrong Man
Ted The Mechanic
Rapture Of The Deep
Mary Long
Contact Lost
– Steve solo –
Well Dressed Guitar
Lazy
– Don solo –
Perfect Strangers
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Space Truckin
Highway Star
Smoke On The Water
Hush (encore)
Black Night (encore)

Ben Doyle

They were in good form.

I really loved the opening surprise of Pictures of Home, completely unexpected – I obviously don’t visit your web site very often.

I also caught their show last year in Christchurch. Most of the set seems to have been as per the last leg of the tour, though there were some differences.

I was far too near the front to get the full effect of the music, getting mostly Steve’s guitar. I didn’t really think that the venue was that great, having seen them in much more elegant surroundings last year. Good sound, great lighting, and they seemed much more low-key in their dress and style this year than last.

Interesting to see them do some of their less well-known songs, e.g. Pictures of Home, and Mary Long, and leaving out some of the more better known songs, such as Woman from Tokyo. I see that they played one of my favs earlier in the tour, Living Wreck and not here. Oh well, maybe next time.

Good to see Roger to the fore a bit more, doing the bass solo in Pictures of Home and later in the show. I noticed that Ian P had less solo time than last year, with more prominence given to the other players, particularly Steve. Till next time…..

Gavin James

An Australian Band called Mandrake opened the show. This three piece powerhouse should be a household name worldwide. They did songs from both their albums, as well as an amazing cover of Tommy Bolin’s “Wild Dogs”

Next came the legendary Status Quo. They could now have made more of their 85 min. set. Packed with wall to wall classic hits, that rock even more live, and played with pin point perssion, supporting their new cd “The Party Ain’t Over Yet” (and it ain’t). What a great band!

Waiting for Purple to come on I glanced around and noticed that most of the people in the first 10-15 rows were young teens, and most of them girls who would sing along to most Purple songs. Is there hope after all of seeing them on Rage?

The lights lowered and a pre-recorded Middle Easternish number started playing, almost putting the crowd to sleep, when in a flash, Ian Paice pounds away on the drums at top volume while blinding lights flashed away and the band broke out into “Pictures of Home”.

Living Wreck was a great surprise, I don’t know if Purple ever performed that in concert. This version out did the one on “In Rock”. Four songs from “Rapure of the Deep’, Space Truckin’, “Highway Star”, “Smoke On The Water”, “Perfect Strangers”, “Ted” “Lazy”, “Hush”, “Black Night”.

Great solos by each band member completed a fantastic evening that was GREAT value. In fact with Mandrake, and either Quo or Purple it would have been more than worth it. Deep Purple, come back soon and this time bring Uriah Heep with ya’ll.

Mark O’Neill

An absolute storming Pacific Rim tour opener with the band in awesome form. The high energy performance got the crowd going and it was great to see so many young headbangers giving it some.

Steve Morse is a god in these parts and he played brilliantly along with the rest of the band. The new songs went down superbly as did the unbelievable awesome run of Perfect Strangers, Space Truckin, Highway Star, Smoke on the Water, Hush and Black Night.

The Rolling Stones played a stadium gig to 40.000 people the week before Purple hit town but the word on the street is that Purple blew them away. As I went to both gigs I totally agree. The musicanship of Deep Purple left the Stones for dead! Long live Purple – I wish I was going to the Monsters of Rock!

Now take this advice: Get off your lazy ass and go see the greatest rock band in the world! You will be blown away.

Pictures Of Home / Things I Never Said / Wrong Man / Vavoom:Ted The Mechanic / Mary Long/ Rapture Of The Deep / Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye/ Steve Morse Solo Contact Lost / Well Dressed Guitar / Lazy / Don Airey Solo / . Perfect Strangers / Space Truckin’ / . Highway Star / . Smoke On The Water / Hush / Black Night

Bryce Coleman

I’d last seen Deep Purple way back at Knebworth in 1985! I stood amid an expectant Auckland crowd. The lights went down. Huge cheers and then Purple hit the stage with Pictures Of Home …. note for note perfect with the original.

Steve Morse starting the beaming smile which would last the entire evening. The Kiwi crowd lapping up every moment of the show. Messr’s Gillan, Paice, Glover, Airey & Morse playing with a passion and an excitement which was clearly evident throughout the night.

Gillan, Paice, Glover and co may be getting on in their years, but they still know how to rock and know how to put on a show … a show which I had to say surpassed the 1985 reunion show!!!
The songs may sound differently with Morsey at the guitar helm … but he has added a new deeper dimension to the sound. He’s added excitement and laughter too … something Blackmore never had. The band gelled … the showmanship was superb. They looked like they were enjoying themselves and they appreciated the tremendous noise which the Kiw crowd gave them after each and every show.

The track listing included all time favourtie anthems – Lazy, Living Wreck, Perfect Strangers, Space truckin’, Smoke On The Water. Highway Star began with a a lighthearted ‘duel’ between Messr’s Glover & Morse …. amid smiles and banter which was sadly missing during the Blackmore era. Mixed in between were new Rapture Of The Deep Tracks Wrong Man, Before Time Began and Junkyard Blues.

The high point of the evening …. or more correctly, the highest of the high points of the evening was the Steve Morse GUITAR SOLO! More smiles and pure enjoyment by the new Deep Purple guitar maestro … and Contact Lost before one of the most amazing guitar solos I’d seen for a long time (forget Schenker or Vai or Blackmore or Campbell or Sykes) …. an unforgettable fifteen or so minutes of pure guitar magic which the thoroughly entertained Auckland crowd will not forget in a long time (and Mr Morse just kept smiling).

The low points of the evening were Things I Never Said & Ted The Mechanic … only because the tracks are not amongst my own personal favorites … they were still polished and well performed but they lacked the edge with the other more favourite tracks had.

Even Mr Airey got his moment with a keybord solo … not the same as Jon Lord … but still just as polished and entertaining … starting with strains of Mr Crowley and rising in crescendo to the Dambuster’s Waltz … appreciated by the crowd …

Sadly, all good things had to come to end. But then there were the encores … Hush, an Ian Paice drum solo and then Black Night. And then it was over. Well worth the money; well worth the long drive two hour home in pouring to Hamilton.

Let’s hope when the next album comes out they will revisit Auckland …. for a repeat performance (please)

Matthew J Henderson

First time I’ve seen the boys outside of England so I wasn’t sure of what the crowd would be like. I’ve got to say that for a band that have been going for nigh on 40 years they’ve got a lot of fans in their 20’s and they absolutely loved them.

Personally, I think this is the best gig I’ve seen the band play since the Purpendicular tour way back in 97 or 98. They all seemed really happy on stage and musically they were faultless, I don’t know what it would have taken to wipe the smile off Steve’s face but it was there most of the night.

Don Airey IS the heir apparent to Jon Lord’s throne not a note out of place all night and the intro to Perfect Strangers was absolutely class.

Mr. Gillan has invented air-keyboard which is really fun to watch as hundreds of fans wiggle their fingers in the air during Don’s solos. Having said that it’s quite difficult to see the stage when everyone around you has their hands in the air and their fingers are wiggling!

Roger and Paicey, what can you say? The rhythm section is as tight as ever and for once they’ve let Roger have a bit of a solo right at the end when he must be knackered.

The new stuff went down quite well considering I haven’t seen a copy of Rapture of the Deep in any record stores in Auckland, (which brings me to a gripe, why is Things I Never Said only available as a bonus track on certain releases?).

It’s the first time I’ve heard Ian describe Lazy and from now on I’ll listen to it in a whole new way!

I probably can’t list all the songs in order or even remember all of them but the show comprised of:

Pictures of Home; Things I Never Said; Wrong Man; Ted the Mechanic; Livin’ Wreck; Before Time Began; Well Dressed Guitar; Lazy; Perfect Stangers; Junkyard Blues; Space Truckin’; Highway Star; Smoke. Encores Hush and Black Night – with contributing solos from the band thrown in along the way for our listening pleasure!

All in all a superb gig, love the new album. Hope it sells millions and the band’s enthusiasm goes on and on, and for those fans yet to see the show may I borrow a phrase from AC/DC “For Those About To Rock, We Salute You”.

Jimmy Stein, the morning after the night before!

Another excellent gig from Deep Purple, well worth the trip up from Invercargill [Oi! From one end of the world to the other: Hello! 🙂 Rasmus] (a pity that there was no gig in New Zealand’s South Island this time around).

The band played a tight performance and I felt enjoyed themselves in the making, full of energy and firing on all cylinders. Don’s solo had a touch of Rainbow/Jon Lord thrown in with Star Wars etc, a great solo from Steve, Roger and Ian P’s solo’s too short, Ian G showed he still has a great set of lungs.

Someone threw a All Black t-shirt on stage which Ian Gillan wore for awhile which was appreciated by the crowd. The time just went too quick.

The only down side of the event was the merchandise that was available or lack of it or at a realistic price, You could buy a t-shirt with a pic of Machine Head album minus Ritchie Blackmore, a couple of tees/hoods, keyring with Rapture of the deep pic. I know New Zealand is only a small market but would have been nice to be able to get some worthwhile gear or CDs such as; a tour t-shirt, R.o.t.d with live tracks, I.G – Gillan’s Inn, signing session, etc.

The list as I can remember was a bit like this

Pictures Of Home / Things I Never Said / Wrong Man / Ted The Mechanic / Rapture Of The Deep / Before Time Began / Mary Long /Lazy/ Contact Lost / Well Dressed Guitar /Don’s Solo/ Perfect Strangers / Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye / Space Truckin´ / Highway Star / Smoke On The Water / Hush / Black Night

Murray Shuttleworth