{"id":8212,"date":"2024-07-09T18:32:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T23:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=8212"},"modified":"2024-07-09T18:33:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T23:33:00","slug":"deep-purple-makes-history-by-performing-smoke-on-the-water-on-lake-geneva-shore-at-montreux-jazz-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=8212","title":{"rendered":"DEEP PURPLE Makes History By Performing ‘Smoke On The Water’ On Lake Geneva Shore At MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We all know the riff. DEEP PURPLE<\/strong>‘s “Smoke On The Water”<\/strong> is no doubt one of the most iconic tracks in rock history, inspired by the fire at Montreux Jazz Festival<\/strong>‘s Casino venue during a Frank Zappa<\/strong> concert on December 4, 1971. That day, DEEP PURPLE<\/strong> were in Montreux to record their latest album, which would go on to be 1972’s “Machine Head”<\/strong>, using THE ROLLING STONES<\/strong>‘ 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last night at the 58th edition of\u00a0Montreux Jazz Festival<\/strong>, the band returned for their 10th show in Montreux, but this time, they performed on the festival’s brand-new Lake Stage \u2014 constructed in a breathtaking setting on the surface of Lake Geneva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DEEP PURPLE<\/strong>\u00a0opened with the scintillating track\u00a0“Highway Star”<\/strong>, with its long, classically inspired guitar and organ solos. The set moved to explore other classics including\u00a0“Space Truckin'”<\/strong>,\u00a0“Anya”<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0“Into The Fire”<\/strong>, plus others from their forthcoming album,\u00a0“=1”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the iconic riff of “Smoke On The Water”<\/strong> 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<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in the festival, the band hosted an exclusive question-and-answer panel where they discussed their memories of the 1971 fire and shared the unheard stories behind their most famous track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roger Glover<\/strong>,\u00a0DEEP PURPLE<\/strong>\u00a0bassist, speaking about the Casino fire: “It burned all afternoon, all evening, all through the night. We went and looked at it the next morning and there it was, gone. It was a frightening thing. The following morning, I was in my room alone and I woke up with those words on my lips, and I said them out to an empty room. And then I kind of really woke up and I said, ‘What did I just say? Smoke on the water?’ No idea what it meant. I mentioned it to\u00a0Ian<\/strong>\u00a0[Gillan<\/strong>] and he said, ‘Yeah, sounds like a drug song, we better not do that.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On recording the “Smoke On The Water”<\/strong> riff in Montreux: “Our roadies were keeping the doors shut because the police were trying to get in to stop us because we were keeping the entire town of Montreux awake.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On receiving praise from Luciano Pavarotti<\/strong>: “We worked with Luciano Pavarotti<\/strong> a couple of times, and once he said, ‘I’ve heard you sing ‘Smoke On The Water’<\/strong> six times, and I’m very jealous, because every time it’s different. If I changed one detail of the original interpretations of any of my famous arias they’d crucify me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montreux Jazz Festival<\/strong>\u00a0continues until July 20, with this year’s eclectic lineup spanning across all genres and eras of music \u2014 including\u00a0THE NATIONAL<\/strong>,\u00a0RAYE<\/strong>,\u00a0MASSIVE ATTACK<\/strong>,\u00a0TEMS<\/strong>,\u00a0DURAN DURAN<\/strong>,\u00a0Janelle Mon\u00e1e<\/strong>,\u00a0Sting<\/strong>,\u00a0KRAFTWERK<\/strong>,\u00a0Lenny Kravitz<\/strong>\u00a0and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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