Good to see Glenn Hughes is on the ball, preparing to tour in celebration of Burn’s 50th anniversary, albeit only in sunny Spain so far. As sharper minds than us have pointed out (hi Tim), GH has in fact already played the bulk of the album on previous Remembering DP jaunts. Still he rarely disappoints live so should be a good night out. And maybe he will have a go at A200 to complete the set?! Thanks to Steve Clare for the flyer.
UPDATE – A show in Italy has just been added, Bologna Park, on July 6th.
The first of Deep Purple‘s summer tour shows for 2020 have now been confirmed, with eight concerts in June / July across Austria and Germany (most of which are branded “Summer Nights 2020″). With one exception these all seem to be one day festivals, one of which includes Dweezil Zappa supporting Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. Thanks to Lutz Reinert for the full details (on our 2020 diary page) and sending some of the (sometimes garish!) adverts. Let us know if you spot any more to add to the list.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to look in all the ditches round about just in case there is a politician who can keep his word…
You need a spreadsheet to keep up with some new releases these days and Ian Gillan’s Contractual Obligation album/s which came out at the end of July is another example, with a Blu Ray, triple vinyl and double CD being on offer. Even the label, Ear, got confused. Because each of the three formats is from a different show on the tour, you would need all three if you’re a completist! Whether the title is a nod to Monty Python’s final studio recording or not I don’t know; I assume IG signed a contract for the tour and knew this was part of it?! It is quite easy to get a bit cynical over something like this, and the performances are of necessity a little ‘rehearsed’ to keep on track with the backings, but it’s quite impressive to see the full orchestra kicking off, realising how big a deal it is for the crowd, and also how we have come to accept scenes like this compared to (gulp) fifty years ago. Hang Me Out To Dry even reminded me a bit of PAL chugging along with all the brass. As Tim points out in his comments below the guitar player has been rumoured as a possible deputy should Steve Morse need to rest up, so it’s interesting to take a listen on those grounds as well, and IG does pretty well on what I’ve listened to for my money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL3mGMKhDPc
The tracks are all from the live shows IG did in Europe and cover Warsaw, Moscow and St. Petersburg in late 2016 (Ear calls this ‘recent’ and does not bother to give the recording dates on their site). Set wise, and backed by Don Airey’s group and a local orchestra each night, IG romps through cover versions from solo albums, a few Purple cuts, and etc. So decent marks for not churning out the same old same old, though most of the Deep Purple songs are fairly familiar from recent tours. You might have thought with three different release they could have used a different photo on the front of each one but that must have sounded like too much hard work. The set-list seems to stay the same for each show which is understandable, as follows:
1. Hang Me Out To Dry 2. Pictures Of Home 3. No Lotion For That 4. Strange Kind Of Woman 5. Razzle Dazzle 6. A Day Late ‘N’ A Dollar Short 7. Lazy 8. Rapture Of The Deep 9. When A Blind Man Cries 10. You’re Gonna Ruin Me Baby (z Grace Gillan) 11. Ain’t No More Cane On The Brazos 12. Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth) 13. Anya 14. Perfect Strangers 15. Hell To Pay 16. Demon’s Eye 17. Smoke On The Water 18. Hush 19. Black Night
Tim Summers went the full monty and gives us a few thoughts:
I’m enjoying the ‘Contractual Obligation’ releases by Ian Gillan – three different gigs on three different formats is a gimmick which seems to have even confused its instigators (earMUSIC), as they put up a live video for one track on YouTube, labelling it as ‘Live in Warsaw’, when it’s actually from Moscow (like the rest of the Blu-ray release). Nice to hear/see ‘Brazos’ in particular again – Ian seems better suited to singing it these days, not straining so much to get the ultra-low notes in the middle (“There’s some in the graveyard…”etc). Weird to hear IG introducing ‘Difficult to Cure’ by name (“A song by Airey, Beethoven and Blackmore”…). Some tracks (SKOW/Lazy/SOTW), I’d rather had been substituted for something a little more obscure but the pro-active orchestra (and conductor) lend them a different slant. My one criticism of the Blu-ray is that they seem to have felt that because it was filmed with 28 cameras (or whatever), they had to use all the angles as often as possible – the average length of each shot is less than 4 seconds, which, whilst it holds your attention, can be a bit wearing after a while. They do calm down a bit for the slower tracks (maybe the editing machine was somehow linked to beats-per-minute…). Possible-rumoured-Steve-Morse-live-understudy- (if needed) guitarist Simon McBride sounds good anyway – and actually reminds me of Steve (and his take on ‘Lazy’) a bit, the way his guitar cuts across the orchestra at the start of ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’. In keeping with a bit of a history of sleeve cock-ups, the CD says ‘LIVE IN IN WARSAW’ on the front… Oh and the best song Ian Gillan ever wrote* is included of course – ‘Razzle Dazzle’.
* Tim is I trust being sarcastic at this point. Ed!
With Glenn just a few days off landing in the UK, reports from America suggest he is doing a great set. Vince travelled miles and caught the show in Providence RI the other evening and sent us the pic:
Glenn in fine form despite this being almost the last gig of North America tour. It was a small crowd (200+) and they upgraded anyone sat in the balcony, but still he gave it his all. So good to hear some of the tunes. Keyboardist and guitar not bad, well worth the trip and physical strife. I was worried the Purple tunes would tax Glenn but it was like 1975.
He certainly has extended inbetween song chats – a Bolin tribute before Gettin’ Tighter and the fact he is a citizen of the US now, etc. Glenn did feet it here and there, it is a taxing setlist, but he pulled it off with breaks and did plenty of Purple inspired screams to our delight. Other venues seem sold out so Providence may be odd one that was poorly attended, but great audience. Vince Chong, Canada.
UK dates are on our Diary Page (scroll down!) but some venues are sold out so check first.
Every time we get the diary up to date, new shows keep being added! There are now two more in Finland and an open air gig in Sweden added to the very end of the list, so the band are pretty much busy for all of July, with selected dates in May and June. But they’re not all taking it easy prior to the Purple shows. Don Airey has a lengthy European tour set up, and is even appearing on a special show in Russia by the Tony Carey Rainbow Project, with Doogie White as well. Vince Chong has been in touch with Tony to elicit some details about the show: “this it is sort of a Rainbow fest, I guess, if only because we were all in the same band at one point or another. I’ll be playing nearly every song. Don is doing a couple of Rainbow songs, and Doogie’s doing three (later ones) and songs from Michael Schenker and Tank, as well as his solo stuff.”
Steve Morse has an even longer tour and Ian Paice is also on the road with Purpendicular. Anyway, here’s the flyer for Tony’s Russian gig from Tim Summers (I can sense him checking the rouble / sterling exchange rate right now!) and the Deep Purple & Co. Concert Diary page is moved further up our side menu to make it easier to find.
Thanks to everyone who has been supplying snippets for the diary, credited on the page, and indeed to everybody who has contributed to the site over 2017, whether it be news, comments or emails. And all the best to Darker Than Blue readers here and on the Facebook page for the Solstice and New Year breaks! We’re off to the David Mellor Museum cafe in Hathersage for an ogle at the vintage Porsche on display for Xmas, a quiet cup of tea, a mince pie, a crack at the Times puzzle page and a wind down.
Coda : Purple never cease to provide us with something of interest. Earlier this week I was searching for tracks to play at the local music group. The theme was “clothes” and I was struggling after Rock My Plimsole by Jeff Beck Group (and avoiding the obvious Kinks and Bowie tracks.) The next clear choice was No One Came but I hate playing Fireball for anyone but myself. Then I figured they’d done it live, and spotted Live At Olympia 1996 on the shelf. So I took that version. I haven’t played it for years as I had it in my head that the recording is a bit rough. And it is, but still sounded absolutely brilliant and the performance was astonishing. Everything you want from rock wrapped up in six exciting minutes. And one more to add to the regular playlist!
I don’t think we needed a tarot woman to predict that the audio of Rainbow‘s 2016 NEC show (or whatever they’re called the arena this week!) would appear as a stand alone 2CD release after a suitable window for the set which first turned up as a bonus on the Japanese edition of the 2016 tour set last year. Live In Birmingham 2016 also includes two songs not performed at the German shows, Burn and Soldier Of Fortune. According to people who did all three gigs (and Ritchie!) the NEC was the best of the lot.
1 Highway Star / Spotlight Kid / Mistreated / Since You Been Gone / Man On The Silver Mountain / Soldier Of Fortune / Difficult To Cure / Catch The Rainbow.
2 Perfect Strangers / Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll / Child In Time / Stargazer / Medley: Black Night / Woman From Tokyo / Black Night / Burn / Smoke On The Water
This is by way of the build up to this years concerts and is out the second week of June. I’m not sure if this is the finished cover, but it is the image sent out with the press release.
Lots of chatter suggesting that Blackmore will confirm five more Rainbow shows in Europe during 2017, as was mooted back when the first shows were taking place. His new singer Ronnie Mk 2 has also been talking about looking forward to this. Let’s hope they can spend a little more time rehearsing to allow them to develop the potential shown in some of the set. Blackmore has apparently taken on board, probably not without a little satisfaction, people’s preference for the next set to be more focused on Rainbow’s own catalogue. Meantime there are rumours that once Coverdale and Paice showed him the door, Blackmore tried to get Hughes on board with similar results. Looks like he needn’t have bothered! Still no news at our end on the projected DVD/CD of the 2016 show, has anyone else spotted a release sheet?
Amongst all the chatter and excitement about Rainbow, we must mention that Deep Purple are playing live again tonight and tomorrow, with Ian Paice. They are doing the two Scandinavian shows they had to pull when Ian was taken ill last month. Great news that he is well enough to be back behind the kit. They will then play the 14 scheduled shows across Europe (dates on the site).
It looks like Purple are getting their 2016 shows lined up, and eagle eyed spotters (thanks to Tim and Matthew) have found three Scandinavian shows in June.
Two in Finland, Helsinki on the 10th and Oulu on the 11th, both supported by Urian Heep. They are also playing in Denmark on the 17th at the Horsens Forum. Let us know if you see any more dates.
I would assume this will be to promote their new album, which they are due to start recording in early 2016 in the US.
Graham Bonnet is touring the UK in February 2016. To save my fingers, I’ll attach the official flyer. It’s wrap-up warm time, especially if you opt for the Skegness homecoming show. I’ve been there in the winter and it’s biting! I missed his last UK tour as I was stuck in frozen Cheshire on the afternoon of the Sheffield gig.
Graham is also doing eight shows in Australia in April which might be warmer, I might as well add that flyer as well. This is with his new band, and a studio album is in the works for Frontier Records, which will have a bonus disc of reworked oldies apparently.
His biography is nearly wrapped up and will be out early 2016. There may now be a limited edition in a hardback cover designed by Graham himself. You can read more about this and see some spreads at the publisher’s site.
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