Sterling Heights,Michigan(August 22,2024)-Time stood still for a few hours Thursday as Deep Purple along with special guest Yes, two of the most prolific heavy weights from the album rock era, stopped in at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre to entertain a near sell-out crowd during the “1 More Time Tour!”
Deep Purple and Yes have both been around since 1968 and reigned among rock’s elite during the 1970’s album oriented rock era. Fifty years ago a concert like Thursday’s would have been a stadium-sized affair had they ever toured together, with tens of thousands turning out to hear the hits of the time like of “Smoke on the Water” and “Roundabout.” Unfortunately that isnt the case anymore as a little matter called time and the ever changing musical taste of the discerning fans have taken a toll on the two British Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists popularity.
But on Thursday both showed that there’s still a formidable crowd draw between them along with a thunderous musical potency when they take the stage, years past their “glory days.”
Deep Purple, the heavy metal rockers, were at the top of their game during a blistering one hour-and-45-minute assault that belied the ages of frontman Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover, both in their late 70s, and lone remaining founding member Ian Paice, who is still a beast on drums at 76. The band, in its first Detroit area appearance in almost five years, delivered their heavy set list laced with the kind of ferocity bands half its age struggle to achieve.
There are reasons for that energy, of course. Guitarist Simon McBride, is the “kid” at 45 and has only been with Deep Purple since 2002. The group also has a new album, “=1,” from which it drew five of the show’s 16 songs. The combination has clearly reinvigorated the band into a new era of excitement and commitment, which was both audible and visible throughout the show. Deep Purple kept things tight on stage much to the delight of the age diverse crowd. McBride and keyboardist Don Airey both had solo sections where they both could stretch out and show their chops, but the song performances themselves, whether 70s favorites such as “Highway Star,” “Hard Lovin’ Man,” “Space Truckin’” and “Smoke on the Water,” were kept to mostly faithful lengths rather than hewing to Purple’s previous tendencies to “jam” out each cut. That didn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of instrumental firepower, though. McBride in particular toed the line of adding his own flair to Ritchie Blackmore’s well-ingrained and even iconic guitar solos. Gillan was in strong voice and sharp wit throughout the set. A story about setting his house on fire while introducing the new “Lazy Sod” was his best and “Uncommon Man,” with its lengthy intro, was, as usual, dedicated to the band’s late founding keyboardist Jon Lord.
Deep Purple did cut loose during the encore, seguing a bit of Booker T & the MG’s “Green Onions” into a sizzling rendition of “Hush” that featured extended guitar riffs between McBride and Airey. “Black Night” brought things to a thunderous close and made it perfectly clear that Deep Purple isn’t ready to close the book on their career just yet.
Due to limited time and their long, elaborate play-throughs, Yes stayed away from newer material(It is called the Classic Tales of Yes Tour,) in favor of more crowd-pleasing favorites during their one-hour and twenty minutes on stage. If you have been a fan of the band throughout their career, you could relate to the oddity about seeing a band known for its elaborate light productions performing in the broad daylight and “only” playing eight songs. Once the fans got past that there was still more than enough time for the quintet, who ironically played a local, low key venue just 10 months prior, particularly virtuoso guitarist Steve Howe to show off their abundant chops and intricate arrangement sensibilities in the limited time slot.
Yes began as the sun started to wane with “Machine Messiah,” the 12-minute prog opus from its transitional 1980 album “Drama” then focused mostly on its numerous progressive hits including “Your Move,” ”I’ve Seen All Good People” and aggressive takes of “Yours is No Disgrace,” “Going For the One” and “Siberian Khatru.” The encore was almost like a separate performance unto itself with robust renditions of “Roundabout” and a “Starship Trooper” that, like tour mates Deep Purple, showed Yes is not near any sort of finish line just yet.
Both these legendary acts performance Thursday would make most of todays “modern” rock bands blush with envy. Providing health and well being prevail, dont be surprised if a year from now the both cross the pond for one more go round. Remember you read it here first.
Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre:
