A return to Manchester Arena for another big one, as Deep Purple and Blue Öyster Cult roll into town. A night of blues, guitar and keys wankery, and some good old-fashioned fun lay in wait as I circumnavigate a busy train and then tram to reach my seat just before the cowbell kings take to the stage. The walk around the arena seems a lot longer than it used to these days, but that just adds to the anticipation of what’s to come.
It’s pleasing to see that a lot of the all-seater show is filled by the time Blue Öyster Cult take to the stage. There’s definitely a good level of appreciation for their efforts as they rip through their set, the hour zipping past almost in the blink of an eye. We get crowd pleasers such as ‘That Was Me’ and ‘Burning For You’ only a couple of songs into the set, before getting to marvel at some pretty intense guitar solos, masterfully played out by the blues-rock legends before some heavy crashes ring out… go go ‘Godzilla’! Just as we reach the crescendo, what better way to close their set than ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ – minus cowbell, these days – which draws a partial standing ovation for an expertly played set from the veteran rockers.
- Blue Öyster Cult return to the UK to headline the Stonedead Festival on 26 August 2023.
It’s not often that the headline act of many decades is not the oldest band on the stage but they are bested by a year by their support – time to get the whippersnappers of 65 years onto the stage! Steve Morse may have had to sadly move on to provide family care, but they have the sublime skills of Simon McBride formally at the guitar helm now and the Belfast boy is absolutely on fire tonight. While we all know the phenomenal skills of the rest of Deep Purple, tonight serves as an excellent introduction for me to his ability, although having played with The Don Airey band, it should be no real surprise. Glover, Paice, and co are smoking hot themselves and it’s good seeing McBride integrated so well already.
Slightly surprisingly, ‘ Highway Star’ rings out as our opener, and before long – 5th song ‘Uncommon Man’ – dedicated to late former member Jon Lord – we get our first real taste of McBride’s abilities as he absolutely nails the jaw-dropping opening to this track. With ‘Lazy’ following just after, Airey decides it’s his time to shine with the intro, even taking the time to stop and pour himself a beer during it, before giving a cheers to the crowd and continuing on.
At this point, the seats on the floor aren’t even really being used, as practically everyone is standing to sing along. A few songs later and it’s time for Airey to shine again, this time with his solo which contains excerpts of classical tracks and a couple of themes before giving way to ‘Perfect Strangers’, as we return to the bigger hits. We get into the encores and McBride and Airey take it upon themselves to have a private duel during ‘Hush’, once more delighting the crowd. A bass solo and ‘Black Night’ later, we are finally at the end of a fantastic night of music all around, featuring some phenomenal musicians in both acts.
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