August 27, 2024 – Bell Center, Montreal, Canada
Montreal, like most major cities, is an absolute nightmare to navigate during rush hour, and that’s when legends like Yes and Deep Purple aren’t in town. Getting to the Bell Center which is in the heart of the bustling commercial sector of town is no exception.
Tonight, two monsters of the prog rock world came to town to perform at a show that started promptly at 6:30pm to an underwhelming number of patrons who were still filing in as Yes were leaving the stage. Among those late comers were a high number of folk sporting Yes tee-shirts that either hadn’t seen the earlier than usual start time or simply couldn’t get to the venue on time.
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For those of us that were in attendance, the night had begun brilliantly with Machine Messiah – a twelve-minute long piece of progressive rock genius.
Yes
Steve Howe, despite being 77 years young, still commands his stage, doing his best to dance about and strut along with his guitar while playing incredible intricate material. Going as far as to throw in a few jumps for good measure, although they were more akin to bunny hops now. Howe’s passion for his trade surely still fuels him and in turn, the crowd showed their appreciation.
The youngest of the current formation, mister Jon Davison, 53, belted out Yes classics such as Siberian Khatru and Starship Trooper, while playing an acoustic guitar, the maracas and occasionally sweeping his fingers through a windchime that hung off his microphone stand.
Celebrating fifty years since the release of their mega-hit, Smoke On The Water, one of the most influential rock bands to ever grace a stage did just that one more time here in Montreal.
Deep Purple
Opening with Highway Star is a bit of a statement on how deep their catalogue is – and although they played five songs off their brand new record which dropped only recently, still had enough time to bang out a slew of hits that the now packed building were craving.
So much of Deep Purple’s repertoire can be considered iconic; tunes that everyone has probably heard at some point in their lives and perhaps without knowing to whom they were listening. Certainly Highway Star falls into that category, as do tracks like Space Truckin’, which had everyone that could be on their feet up and cheering. That momentum continued into Smoke On The Water as the whole building sang along in unison in a display that had the hairs on my arms standing and a shiver slipped down my spine. (Seriously. This isn’t some trash AI hodgepodge automated text)
Following a brief interlude where nobody sat down nor did they stop hootin’ and hollerin’ either – Deep Purple returned to the stage for a single song encore, the powerhouse anthem Hush.
And it was glorious.
The legend that is Ian Gillan spoke to the crowd on several occasions, using his time to clear up a misinterpreted of new song Lazy Sod. Turns out, it’s not about global warming but about himself getting, as he put it, too comfortable at home and nearly burning his house down.
Following this was a keyboard solo – which normally would be the time where one would visit the bathroom or the bar – but this Don Airey at the helm. This man is an absolute legend in rock. Having played with almost everyone under the sun. From Deep Purple to Black Sabbath, Uriah Heap, Saxon… it would be easier to name whom he hasn’t played with quite honestly.
Tonight Airey had a special treat in store. Following playing the introduction to Ozzy Osborne’s hit Mr. Crowly, which he also played on the album, he gave a cheeky wink to the camera that was filming him and reached for a fedora – and promptly won over the entire crowd by playing not one, but two Leonard Cohen songs. (Cohen was a Montrealer in case anyone wasn’t aware of the significance of the gesture) First came Suzane and then Gens Du Pays as the Bell Center erupted – for a keyboard solo!
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Gillan hasn’t lost a stop despite turning 79 years old a week ago, and his voice sounds absolutely incredible. Sure, some of the higher notes aren’t where they once were but after a half-century of belting out Deep Purple – and briefly Black Sabbath tracks (Born Again is criminally underrated I must say) – that is to be expected. Gillan looks in find shape, sounds fantastic, and didn’t miss a beat on the whole night.
Deep Purple as a whole were solid, in perfect pitch and time and as tight as a band as anyone could have hoped for. I was genuinely astounded, leaving the Bell Center as if having witnessed something truly special. Because I had.
