From: davek001@aol.com (DaveK001)
Newsgroups: alt.music.deep-purple
Subject: REVIEW: (Cleveland, Ohio USA, JUNE 7, 1973)
Date: 15 Apr 1994 23:25:07 -0400
My first Deep Purple concert was during the Machine Head tour. I was in High School and had been a fan for a year or two at that point (although I distinctly remember hearing "Hush" on the radio in the fall of 1968 (I was 11 then)).
The concert was outdoors at the Cloverleaf Speedway, an auto racetrack in Cleveland, OH. Three of us went to the concert at the last minute, hoping to get in for free. We ended up walking in through a broken fence. Ted Nugent was the opening act. He was already done by the time we arrived.
Deep Purple was very late due to a broken down equipment truck. I don't remember a whole lot about the show, but I do remember that as soon as they finished "Smoke on the Water" (a huge hit at the time), most people started leaving, probably because they had to get to work or school in a few hours! Ian Gillan kept telling people to "hold on" and not leave. I enjoyed the show, but I wish I was more familiar with their music at the time. I saw them again in December 1974, with the Mk III lineup. It was a good show, but it wasn't the same...