On the fire at Montreux Jazz Festival‘s Casino venue during a Frank Zappa concert on December 4, 1971. That day, DEEP PURPLE were in Montreux to record their latest album, which would go on to be 1972’s “Machine Head”, using THE ROLLING STONES‘ mobile recording studio to start on the record. However, the band were forced out of their hotel rooms by the smoke, and the apocalyptic scenes they saw inspired the track.Last night at the 58th edition of Montreux Jazz Festival, the band returned for their 10th show in Montreux, but this time, they performed on the festival’s brand-new Lake Stage — constructed in a breathtaking setting on the surface of Lake Geneva.
DEEP PURPLE opened with the scintillating track “Highway Star”, with its long, classically inspired guitar and organ solos. The set moved to explore other classics including “Space Truckin'”, “Anya” and “Into The Fire”, plus others from their forthcoming album,
As the iconic riff of “Smoke On The Water” came in, the curtain at the back of the stage was lifted, fittingly revealing a glistening Lake Geneva cloaked in smoke. Midway through, frontman Ian Gillan instructed the crowd to take over singing duties on the hook, to which the 5,000-capacity crowd eagerly obliged, getting louder and louder with each rendition until the jolt of guitars and drums came crashing in.
