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North America 2

Erie County Fair, Hamburg, NY, USA
Aug 20, 2004

Silver Tongue, w
Woman from Tokyo
I Got Your Number
Strange Kind of Woman
Knocking at your Back Door
Bananas
Contact Lost
Well Dressed Guitar
Perfect Strangers
Highway Star
Space Truckin'

Speed King
Hush

Wow! What a show!After all these years, they still have it.
Before I get to the good stuff, let me just say I hope the Thin Lizzy boys never come back to this town - and Joe Satriani is one hell of a guitar player. The crowd really did enjoy both bands even though it rained while both bands performed.
Now for the good stuff. The rain stopped and Deep Purple played a magnificent set that highlighted many new tracks from the new album Bananas as well as the old classics like Hush, Speed King, Space Truckin', Highway Star, Strange Kind of Woman, Knocking at your Back Door, and Perfect Strangers.
The crowd rose to their feet the minute they took the stage and never sat. Ian Gillen stated "We are getting a great vibe from you all," and proceded to thank everyone.
Musically, they sounded fantastic! The entire evening Glover and Morse threw picks into the audience. I was on the far left of the stage and raised my hands to get Roger's attention. I did and he threw a pick to me but it hit the speakers. He was cool enough to throw me a second pick and I got it. Thanks Rog. At the end of the show he asked if I wanted his bass, then his shoe. I never got either but liked the humor. Speaking of humor, Mr. Gillen sang of his little "wee-wee". The band really seemed to be enjoying themselves as well as the crowd.
On a final note, I saw my first Deep Purple show on the same date in 1985. August 20 in Rochester, NY. Best show I ever saw.
Please come back to western New York.
Chad Robertson

Another cloudy and eventually rainy day, in this part of the country, but the show must go on and it did. Thin Lizzy opened, with Joe Satriani playing next. It was the first time I had seen Joe, and I was pleasantly surprised. Truly a master of the guitar. It was raining very hard during his set, but I enjoyed it anyways, which says a lot for him and his band. Besides I had my protective garbage bag on, that a frowning employee issued to me, thank you very much.
Then came Deep Purple. Big Ian Gillan in his sage outfit, looking very comfortable. His voice was excellent and clear and powerful. Roger and little Ian were solid and really into it. They seem to be having so much fun, its a joy to see people having such a good time, it shows in the quality of the show too. Steve and Don were great as well. An excellent show.
The highlight for me was Perfect Strangers and the new numbers went down very well. Also good was a slightly different rendition of Strange kind of Woman.
Ian also had some hilarious lines during Speed King about his little weeny. The guy is delightfully mad, as Jon Lord once said.
Well, we all had a great time, even with the bad weather. Deep Purple is a class act and the rock and roll hall of fame is a farce for not inducting them, in my humble opinion.
Rick Woodhouse

Attending a Deep Purple concert is an exodus for my family. I was online buying our tickets 15 minutes after they went on sale for the Erie County fair concert. We drove 9 1/2 hours to Hamburg, NY, the night before the concert and drove home again after it ended. Given the effort that we made in getting to the concert, and the length of time that we had for anticipation to build up, there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind that there was no way this concert was going to be good enough to justify all of this effort. As blasphemous as it sounds, in essence it is just five guys with musical instruments. Would it, could it possibly be worth the exhaustion and expense endured? No. It was worth three times that - at minimum.
As I reflect on the experience, the word 'enthusiasm' keeps popping up. According to the dictionary, the archaic definition of the word means "ecstasy arising from supposed possession by a god." I think that effectively and efficiently summarizes the experience. We wait with bated breath for our next opportunity to be enthused by the Deep Purple gods.
We enjoyed Thin Lizzy, despite only being familiar with two of their songs. They were good. Joe Satriani's performance was enthralling and exuberating. I was amazed at his talent, his jovial personality that infused his performance and his music. I had assumed that he would be talented - one must be in order to step into Blackmore's shoes in the middle of a tour - but was unprepared for the realization that I had truly been missing something worthwhile in not exploring his music.
Virtually every member of the audience was on their feet before the Deep Purple gods walked onto the stage. From the first strains of the music until the final echoes of the encore faded from our ears, they rocked. By the end of the concert, we were dancing in front of our seats and sharing our enthusiasm for the set list with those standing near us. Our children, ages 11 and 9, reveled in the experience as much as we did.
As for the band, they seemed to be having as much fun as we were having. Their performance was top-notch and, by far, one of the best I have had the privilege to encounter. Gillan's voice was crisp and robust. Paicey confirmed my husband's opinion that he is the best drummer to ever walk the planet. Don proved (again) that he is more than capable of filling the enormous void that we were expecting after Jon's departure. Roger and Steve jammed, neither to be outshined nor to outshine their mates.
Our only disappointment was our inability to get our names on the 'short list' and gain access to the gods backstage. Maybe next time we'll be able to afford the $400 a seat price tag for that guarantee. That said, our 10th row stage center seats were wonderful; the venue offered the sound of an outdoor concert with the intimate feeling of a small concert hall.
Ami D. Shroyer