DEEP PURPLE, TED NUGENT

DEEP PURPLE, TED NUGENT Crank It Up At Rock The Park IV In London





The following review is courtesy of Kathy Rumleski from Sun Media:

The veteran rockers put on a memorable - and loud - show.

The only thing DEEP PURPLE and TED NUGENT really needed to update last night were their clothes.

The aging rockers proved they can still draw 'em in and blow people's minds last night at Rock The Park IV.

As the hot sun gave way to a moonlit night, a record-setting, cheering crowd of 10,500 at Harris Park heard a memorable but extremely loud concert on the first day of the three-day event.

Purple and Nugent were billed as co-headliners, but Nugent's 85-minute set came before the British metal supergroup, which some felt meant he was second fiddle.

"(Nugent) should be the headliner, definitely," said Garret Nephew, who came from Toronto for the concert. "He's so much better. He's got better riffs, better everything."

I guess Nephew hasn't heard Deep Purple's Steve Morse, who turns 53 today, play his guitar.

Bathed in purple light, Morse lit it up in a solo and paid tribute to the other acts on the bill, playing Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever and Love Hurts from NAZARETH.

Nugent and Purple date back to the 1960s and both have had mega hits over the years.

Plenty of those hits were played with Purple pleasing fans particularly on Hush, Smoke on the Water and Strange Kind of Woman.

Nugent, 58, is often praised for his guitar work as well and he sounded good, especially doing his Wang Dang licks.

It was a party atmosphere on the grounds. A woman smoked marijuana in the open. Pot was in the air all night.

Some fans at the front of the security fence were squeezed tight against the rail by the crowd pushing forward. A man was rushed out by security and taken to an ambulance, but later was walking on his own.

The only other trouble of the night was when amps blew three times on the first few Purple songs. Singer Ian Gillan would get a couple of lines in and then his power would go.

Afterward he thanked the crowd for their "vibes," which "really mean a lot to us."

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