REVIEW: Deep Purple / Yes @ SPAC, 9/4/2024

Words and Photos by Timothy Reidy.

The opening intro for Yes was a classical piece but one not known to me. Yes themselves opened with their newest song of the evening, “Machine Messiah,” and it might have been the longest. The group was Steve Howe on the left side with Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Jay Schellen, and Billy Sherwood from left to right. “Machine Messiah” had a quiet vocal at the start. Geoff got some Kaleidoscope organ going, Jon was on the bongos and Billy was starting to warm up to the song. Steve was hot-dogging it on the solo and was the main focus for the night. On this number, I did miss Chris Squire in the middle vocal sections. During the concert, there was lots of Roger Dean art in the background on a large screen. Jon was also playing guitar during “Machine Messiah.”

Steve gave a callout to Saratoga, and the next number was “I’ve Seen All Good People. Steve Howe with a mandolin, followed by Jon and Billy with good harmony. We got some V signs for peace. The sound was muddy for this tune and was also muddy for the next act. The song had a light ending.

“Yours Is No Disgrace” had some good organ by Geoff, and Jay woohing it up on the drums. It also featured some stereo wah in the concert hall by Steve Howe; afterward he followed it up with fine picking and soloing towards the end of the song.

Steve Howe took over the stage for an acoustic break with “The Clap.” It took a while for the crowd to clap to that number.

“Going for the One” was an all-slide guitar number for Steve. Sadly, you could not hear the vocals from the others well on this number. The bass was getting better with Billy and Steve was sliding along with his slide guitar.

There was another shout-out to Saratoga before “Siberian Khatru.” Billy was poorly lit at the start of the song but did get brighter later on this number. There was a good river chorus followed by mellow chanting and good guitar licks from Steve, even more so in the latter parts. This song was given a standing ovation.

Yes started the encore with “Roundabout,” with Jon walking around. Some standees, but not a lot of dancing from the crowd. Da Da Da. “Starship Trooper” was the final song, with light singing from Jon. Steve seemed to get drowned out at times early but came back with some good solo picking throughout the early and middle sections. This song was best sung along to. The crowd started clapping to the last section, “Wurm.” On stage during “Wurm,” Steve and Jon were on either side of the stage with Billy in the center. It turned out to be the best “Wurm” I ever heard, and made this a special show and Yes a special band.

Deep Purple came out and stayed mostly a five-piece through my time watching the band. The stage had a bigger screen, which was made by a low-rise keyboard, and the drums on the stage floor. There were good cameras placed to see the drums and the organ. “Highway Star” got the crowd to remain standing. The sound did start off muddy with lots of reverb in the hall. The guitarist dominated the show with him playing modern guitars. The lead singer came on and off stage.

The next song “A Bit on the Side” had good lighting on stage. The vocals came out muted but were sung strongly. The crowd began to sit. The next song was a dark number with a punchy guitar solo.

The next song had a bass solo afterward, with a crying organ that meandered. The singer brought out a gong. Then it went to a jam session with some smashing drums.

“Into the Fire” brought out some more classic rock. Then. after calling it a beautiful evening, the lead guitarist Simon McBride took over the stage for a guitar solo which started out speedy, then slower, then went a little metal. The band came back on with a soft solo and the organ section. The singer was shaking while belting out the number and finished with a psychedelic organ solo.

The next song “Uncommon Man” was dedicated to Jon Lord, followed by “Lazy Sod.” The next number was an old song about a guy who could not put up a tent on a wet Sunday morning. It started out with an organ solo and had good storytelling about drinking red wine. It went into some swing blues and the singer laid down some harmonica. The crowd went on their feet.

My last song reviewed was a wayback song, “When a Blind Man Cries,” a ballad. I think they tried to play some of their newer songs, and sadly I had to get ready to exit. Both bands made for an interesting night of rock.

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