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Deep Purple and Yes were in Montreal last Tuesday and it was funny to see all the older fans come out of their concert retirement to see these old guys on stage one more time at the Bell Centre. It was even funnier to see that Yes was getting on stage at 18:30 and the estimated end time for tonight’s event was 21:45, like everyone had a curfew!

With such an early start, it was not surprising to see that most fans were still getting to their seats when Steve Howe and company started the evening with the song "Machine Messiah". By the end of that song the Bell Centre was about half-full but the ones that were there reacted loudly when they heard the lyrics of "I've Seen All Good People". This is where the show really stared and you could see that signer Jon Davison really got things going on stage. His voice is powerful but I would have liked to see him interact more with the crowd. After "Yours Is No Disgrace" Steve came back on stage alone to perform "Clap" and you could see all the finesse of his playing and he basically gave a guitar lesson with that song.

The band uses basic lights for their show and uses the huge the big screen in the background to show artwork related to the songs. The fans really enjoyed "Roundabout" that was played as an encore and you could see the musicians really loving this. Their set ended with "Starship Trooper" and fans loved every second of it.

By now the place was more packed but you could still see a lot of empty seats when Deep Purple got on stage with the massive hit "Highway Star". The band now took full advantage of the back screen and displayed animated sequences or videos that went along with the songs. They quickly followed with "A Bit On The Side" from the new album and its crushing riff played by Simon McBride. I must say that =1 is their best offering in 30 years.  The band then went off the deep end and played ‘Into The Fire’ and Ian Gillan dedicated it to Jon Lord. Ian belted some of the best screams I have ever heard him do in concert and that blew me away that he could still do that at his age. 

It was now time for one of many Ian Gillan breathers and this one gave newcomer Simon McBride the chance to showcase all of his talent on the guitar and he is really impressive. He took command of the stage like he had been in the band for a long time and did not hesitate to show what he was made of and you could see fans staring at him in awe.

The band played "Uncommon Man" but that did not really reach the fans. The song acted like another short breather for Ian before they played another new song that really felt like a classic Purple song, this one was called "Lazy Sod". The song "Lazy" got a little rework and it was really pleasing to see the band modernize this song, it gave Don Airey a little freedom on keyboards and even time to drink a sip of wine during a sustained note. 

By this time, the band was firing on all cylinders and fans were loving every second of it even if the band played a few new songs before playing "Anya", another deep cut from The Battle Rages On... album. Don followed up with a new keyboard solo that included bits of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and his traditional hat. He also included a portion of Gilles Vigneault’s "Gens Du Pays" and the immortal keyboards part of Ozzy Osbourne’s "Mr. Crowley". I must say that including those local bits of music to his solo is very thoughtful and was really appreciated by the crowd.

It was now time for the big guns and everyone got on their feet as soon as the first notes of "Space Truckin'" were played. This timeless gem simply gave goosebumps to everyone. This was followed by one of the most popular guitar riffs ever, the one of "Smoke On The Water", but sadly for Simon, he had guitar issues and had to swap his six strings rapidly. The band kept pushing like nothing happened and did not miss a beat. Fans sang the words very loudly during the chorus and impressed Ian. The band came back for the traditional encore with the song "Hush" and this was another crowd pleaser that got everyone on their feet.  It was surprising to see so many fans leaving the venue about halfway thought this classic. 

I did not talk about the rhythm section, but that is for a good reason, Roger Glover and Ian Paice did nothing flashy, but made it look so damn easy during the whole night that it was pure joy to watch them smile during the whole night while they were working. 

I was expecting another song during this encore, but sadly, "Hush" would be the last song of this short night. I think the band chose a shorter and more intense set for tonight’s concerts compared to previous dates, or like I said, maybe there was a curfew that I was not aware of.

That being said, Deep Purple can still bring it after all these years and it was a joy to watch them on stage once again. Go see them for the first time or maybe for the last time…