The intensity of [Deep Purple] this night was amazing. They looked like 25-year-old rockers, and not like a band that’s been in this game for 35 years
Olav E. Droenen about Deep Purple’s performance at Haugesund. Retrieved from here.
Deep Purple performed on this day in 2005 at Rådhusplassen/Rocktent in Haugesund, Norway.
Deep Purple had been touring in support of their then-most recent album, Bananas, for two years. Their next album, Rapture of the Deep, was about six months away from hitting the shelves. In the meantime, the group finished up their Bananas world tour with four songs from the recent album. “The Well-Dressed Guitar” was the only other Morse-era song to make it to the setlist. This has never appeared on a studio album and appeared in its final form during the band’s 2001 Summer North America Tour. The remainder of the setlist came from the band’s 70s output, with the exception of “Perfect Strangers”.
According to recollections, about 6000 people were in attendance. Most reviews were overwhelmingly positive about the band and note the great energy given off by the crowd. A single review I have found is critical of keyboardist Dan Airy, who apparently was in attendance and played a “silly” medley. Perhaps he was one of the warmup acts?
This concert is known to have been recorded and is in circulation online. A video is available on YouTube.
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