Celebrating 50 years of their legendary hit “Smoke On The Water” and the recent release of a brand-new album, Deep Purple brought the house down at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre on Thursday, August 22, 2024.
“What a great welcome,” vocalist Ian Gillan told the Sterling Heights audience. “It’s lovely to be here.”
The veteran rockers recently released their brand-new studio album “=1” on July 19, 2024. Produced by the iconic Bob Ezrin, “=1” is the 23rd studio album in Deep Purple’s storied Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame career.
“You’re sending such good vibes down here, which means a lot to us,” Gillan said. “We’ve got a couple of songs off the new record, which is called ‘=1’. This is an old-fashioned love song, like ‘I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours’ kind of love song. You know how it goes,” Gillan added before the band performed a song off their new album called “Show Me.”
Gillan, who had his dynamic vocal range on full display all evening in Michigan, also shared some background and a humorous story about another new track, “Lazy Sod.”
“Some people think this song is about global warming, but the truth is, I was a bit too relaxed one night at home and set fire to my house,” the frontman told the crowd. “It was irresponsible and very hot.”
After performing the song, Gillan added: “It was the first day in my new house, about 17 years ago. I was very relaxed and I suddenly couldn’t see. The house was full of smoke. I wasn’t wearing any clothes. I was on my own. So I climbed up the stairs and got out onto the front terrace, looked up—yep, the house is on fire for sure. Flames were coming out of the chimney. I looked down, and the whole village had turned up. ‘Hey guys, how are you? Oh, sorry’.”
The newest member of Deep Purple, Simon McBride, turned heads and captivated the audience throughout the Michigan performance. Most notably, McBride rocked a searing guitar solo featuring snippets of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica and “Misirlou,” which was made famous as the theme song from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
McBride also soaked in a moment late in the set, stopping to smile at the crowd before blasting the iconic opening chords of “Smoke On The Water.”
Also grabbing the spotlight during the set was keyboardist Don Airey. A member of Deep Purple since 2001, Airey appeared to wander off into his own world while adding several psychedelic solos throughout the set. At one point, he enjoyed a glass of red wine, which was delivered to him on stage by a server.
During one solo, Airey’s playing felt like he was taking a Disney soundtrack and swerving it through a nightmarish ride through hell.
The last remaining original member of the band, Ian Paice, kept the beat on drums, while fellow veteran bandmate Roger Glover masterfully handled bass guitar duties.
“Bloody amazing, absolutely amazing,” Gillan said before thanking the crowd late in the set.
Here is the full Deep Purple setlist from the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre performance:
1. Highway Star
2. A Bit on the Side
3. Hard Lovin’ Man
4. Into the Fire
5. Guitar Solo (including “Misirlou”)
6. Uncommon Man (dedicated to Jon Lord)
7. Lazy Sod (with keyboard solo of “Remission”)
8. Lazy
9. Show Me
10. Portable Door
11. Anya
12. Keyboard Solo
13. Bleeding Obvious
14. Space Truckin’
15. Smoke on the Water
Encore:
16. Green Onions (Booker T. & the MG’s cover)
17. Hush (Joe South cover)
18. Black Night
SWOMP was in the pit at the show and captured these photos of their performance:
There simply aren’t enough superlatives to capture the immense contribution Deep Purple has made to rock music. Having sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for decades, it’s no wonder that the respected British radio station Planet Rock named the group the “5th Most Influential Band Ever.” The band was also presented the “Legend Award” at the 2008 World Music Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Deep Purple truly are “rock royalty.”
With a body of work spanning seven decades, Deep Purple has helped pioneer and define the hard rock genre while progressively moving into new areas, keeping their sound fresh and attracting new fans to the legions who have remained loyal since the band’s inception. The celebrated MKII lineup of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, and Ritchie Blackmore was responsible for creating many of the defining rock albums of the early ’70s, including *Made In Japan*, universally accepted as one of the most important and influential live albums of all time.
Known as one of the hardest-working bands ever, Deep Purple has continued to release No. 1 albums and tour globally since forming in 1968, with little rest. In 2007 (almost 40 years after being formed), the band performed 40 dates in France to award-winning audiences, and they continue to sell out arenas around the globe year after year.
Deep Purple has stayed true to its musical roots, drawing from an eclectic mix of styles to create a distinctive sound that defines the band today—a legacy that few bands could ever hope to replicate. The band has written and produced so many classic, well-known songs that its audience ranges widely in age and background—something the band has readily embraced.
Deep Purple’s last studio album, *Whoosh!* (2020), follows their worldwide chart-topping albums *inFinite* (2017) and *NOW What?!* (2013). For the third time, Deep Purple joined forces with producer Bob Ezrin, who has worked with the likes of KISS, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, and Alice Cooper. In *Whoosh!*, the band and Bob Ezrin created the most versatile album in the history of their collaboration.
Furthering their collaboration with Ezrin, in 2021, and during the pandemic, the band recorded a collection of cover songs from their own homes—normal for most bands nowadays, but revolutionary for a band that records everything together in the studio—creating an eclectic and celebratory history of their roots in music in the shape of Turning To Crime.
In 2022 came the sad news of Steve Morse’s departure due to personal circumstances. Moving forward, Deep Purple sought out the masterful skills of guitarist Simon McBride and played the year out in style, exciting crowds with a new energy and excitement.
In 2024, Deep Purple announced a brand-new studio album, “=1,” with Ezrin once again at the helm. The record is said to evoke the pioneering band’s classic sound without relying on nostalgia, with its enigmatic title “=1” symbolizing the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one.
The upcoming year sees Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride embarking on another global arena tour with renewed vitality, continuing to push the boundaries of hard rock for audiences around the globe, proving that Deep Purple are very much here to stay.
Follow the band at https://deeppurple.com/.