Deep Purple to play Hard Rock tonight

The band once known by many in Sioux City as Tommy Bolin’s band returns to our fair river city for a one-night show tonight.

But this is not the Deep Purple that Bolin knew. With a number of lineup changes, an ever-increasing fan base, regular touring in lesser-traveled destinations and a constant release of new music, the band is still out to prove that decades later, it is still relevant on a changing musical landscape.

There’s no resting on yesteryear, to be sure. Deep Purple has released four studio albums since 1996, but that total is augmented by an abundance of solo work and special projects from all five band members.

They perform at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s Battery Park on Friday, Aug. 7 at 8 p.m.

Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and Don Airey make of the latest version of the popular band. They continue to explore the scope of hard rock — the textures and nuances of recent works are anything but thudding retreads. If you set a random play setting for the band’s entire catalogue, the result is one of the finest musical outputs to grace rock music.

The latter-year Purple has moved progressively into new areas, piquing fans’ interest who were not born when the mighty Purple machine ruled the music world’s money trees. Their holy grail of In Rock (1970) Machine Head (1972) and Made In Japan released in 1973 catapulted Deep Purple to the top in concert grosses and album sales around the world. Smoke On The Water ascended to mega-status — simply a perfect track.

Having amassed so many songs that get coined under the “classic” moniker, setlists have been a never-ending debate among diehards and newer fans. But Deep Purple have been more than in synch with fans’ tastes to remain a powerful drawing force since their formation in 1968.

These days, happy faces reside from both the stage and audience. When the music is this good, smiles reign supreme.