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Schwung Hallen, Roeselare, Belgium
May 29, 2003

Highway Star
Mary Long
I 'm Alone
Pictures Of Home
Haunted (new)
Speed King
Lazy
I 've Got Your Number (new)
Perfect Strangers
Smoke On The Water
Space Truckin'
Hush
Black Night

Two words for the Deep Purple gig: FUKKIN GREAT!!!!
The hall was very warm, too warm. I even left my place front stage, to go to the left side of stage, where I could breathe better. The drums are on the left side of stage, where I was standing, but due to some speakers I could not see them. The organ high midstage, bass left, guitar right and Gillan everywhere. At 10:56 PM stage lights went out.
HIGHWAY STAR: very heavy bas sound, a classical version of the song (at it's right place)
MARY LONG: during this one I hear Don Airey live for the first time. Jazzy ending of the song
The first REAL surprise of the evening: an unfamiliar intro, and then: I 'M ALONE! Very good and funky (though I don't like funk). The people loved it
PICTURES OF HOME classic, with at the end a little bit of another Purple song, I could name a thousand times, except.
Gillan: "I thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you. a new album called BANANAS (!) This is a song from it, and it's called: HAUNTED very much r' la Blind Man. What can I say? Just great!! And Gillan sang really really well. Afterwards Ian and Steve shook hands and kissed.
SPEED KING: without the usual intro, strait into it. Classic version.
Very heavy Hammond sounds (reminds me of the early Jon Lord) interpolating some playful stuff, is the intro to LAZY. Again another classic version.
Next comes the second new song I 'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER, a mid tempo thing (some said it reminded them of Smoke). The chorus was sung by all of DP (if Paice did, I don't know, I could not see him). I was not struck by it; others liked it more than Haunted.
Gillan chatting about a new birth method: giving it standing: the bungee birth.
Some classical piano music (while Steve was conducting) lead us into PERFECT STRANGERS, also the usual version, pity they still use green spotlights instead of the lasers.
SMOKE ON THE WATER - also straight into the song - included some small 'mistakes' by Steve.
I had already forgotten the long waiting and boredom of the early evening. This was a superb concert!!!
Next was the intro to SPACE TRUCKIN' Fukkin great!!!!!!!!
But at 00:03 it was already over!
After 1 minute: Roger was teasing us with his plectrums? Then into HUSH WOW!
The song "in the summertime, when the living is easy." led us nicely into BLACK NIGHT (my cell phone ring tune J ) What can I say?
It ended all much too soon at 00:17. Though they were supposed to play until one!
Everyone I spoke to agreed they were the headliners at the right place. Lot' s in the audience had seen DP for the first, but definitely not the last time! They also agreed that their gig was too short.
Me, I have to say it's one of the better Purple gigs I 've been to (my 17th). And I am very pleased with Don Airey. Can't think of a better man to replace Jon. Their playing is much similar to the stuff Jon did in the earlier times.
Go and see them!!!!!!
dpm@pandora.be

The show began with Highway Star which was a big surprise for me!
They played for the first time "I'm Alone" on stage and they present 2 new song of the news album a slow one called "Haunted" and really good rock one called "I've Got Your Number" and the new of the new album will be "Bananas".
Max

Back on the road after a long six months break-as Gillan said-Deep Purple offered us a great concert, intense but short!
The classics were all there-Smoke, Highway, Lazy,Black night...
A couple of new tracks: Haunted and I Got Your Number which had already been played as Up the Wall - I witness it at the" flue show" in London Feb 2002.
And back from the archives of Purple, the long lost, probably never played live I 'm Alone.
Ian Gillan was in an especially good shape, great singing and screaming!
Ian Paice seemed to be in one of those days where he was willing to do the minimum and no more - which is already a lot, but no Drum solo and for me that was a first and as a drummer quite dissapointing.
Steve Morse had his usual big white smile, teasing the female audience...(with his Mazda t-shirt!) [What! No Datsuns? ;^) Rasmus]
I also have to admit I missed the presence and the charisma of Jon Lord even if Don Airey is as good as a keyboard player.
The set was very good, even if too short, and also we could feel it was the first show, some mistakes were made-Paice in "Mary Long" among others but that 's the beauty of it all, when you go to a Purple concert you don't expect to hear the album.
About the concert hall itself, I thought the room wasn't made at all for concerts, the sound wasn't that great, it was basically a huge hangar.
I hope to see them soon in a proper concert hall for the promo of the "Bananas" album...after all Deep Purple IS the GREATEST live-band in the world!
Phil Joseph

In Mary Long Ian Gillan started a little late with a verse and as a result the others were a bit confused, Roger and Steve followed Ian Gillan, while Ian Paice continued. After the song Ian appologised to Steve. There was another point during the trade-off between Steve and Don. Steve tried to signal the rest that he wanted one more, but Roger was the only who noticed. I think that these things only happened because it was the first (full) show of the tour and you could see that Steve Morse was really concentrating during the new songs. On the other hand, during Don’s intro for Perfect Strangers Steve made gestures to the audience like he was conducting and playing ‘air’-piano.
I have posted some photos of the show here
Alwin Bastiaansen

What made me VERY happy, as a fan since the early seventies, was to see how the band was enjoying themselves. They were visibly happy with the reaction of the public to the new material as well as to Don as the new "organ-man". The classics as Smoke on the water, Perfect strangers and Black night made an "experienced" (I'm almost 50) rocker jump up and down like in the old days. But I admit I was "moved" by seeing after 30 years (almost exactly) "my band" play with such enthusiasm, the songs and first of all THE MUSIC I love, and have loved my whole life.
Happy to be part of all this
Werner Lefebvre

Hadn't had a "Purple Fix" since Portsmouth Sept 02', so was looking forward to this gig BIG time. It well was worth the drive from the UK - as usual you guys are truly brilliant.
This line-up seems to be reaching places we hadn't been for many years. You can see the enjoyment on stage, and that passes to us folks in the crowd.
Thought about lettin' us have another live album, maybe a DVD ? This gig would have been a cracker.
Can't wait till end of June in Litchtenvoorde, we can truck' some more.
Nigel Bridges

Short but really kicking ass! The highlights were the start-up with a very powerful version of Highway Star, the performance of I 'm Alone, and of course the brilliant two new tracks! Especially I 've got your number impress me a lot; this promises a lot for the Bananas (!) album! (only two months to wait!)
Even if he could never replace Jon, Don Airey is the right guy for DP.
I 'm already impatient for the Paris show with Lynyrd Skynyrd at the end of June.
Didier Descamps (France)

The best show of Deep Purple I ever saw! Some high points:
*I'm Alone was THE big surprise! Very funky.Don absolutely outstanding! Why Ian Paice didn't use his cowbell on this one like on the original song? (it sounded so great)
*Pictures Of Home was linked with I'm Alone. Very good version but shorter than the one on Total Abandon, no jamming.
*Haunted was a great rock ballad with a lot of synth and string arrangements and a superb solo of Steve Morse.
*I've got your number was a new song, this song could have been from Purpendicular, it has a great riff and very great chorus...
*Hush was one of the best songs of the evening! A great solo from Don!
They didn't play any song from Purpendicular - this was a shame I think.
Ian Gillan: I haven't heard him singing so well since the late 80's! It was marvellous!
Don Airey: The only possible replacement for Jon Lord, just superb!
Maxime Cromps

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