Review: Deep Purple headlines but the 2 opening acts are so much better

The scene at Shoreline Amphitheatre was a microcosm of the overall state of classic-rock touring in 2026.

The bands didn’t feature many/any of the original members, yet that certainly didn’t stop them from delivering (mostly) solid sets. And the fans definitely aren’t buying tickets for these shows like they once did.

Sure, there are notable exceptions to that latter statement — as top-tier attractions like AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Eagles and Paul McCartney continue to pack the big houses.

But then you have the triple bill of Deep Purple, Kansas and Jefferson Starship, which some 15 years ago — not to mention some 50 years ago– would have done really good business in an era when classic-rock package tours were still considered top tickets.

That era appears to be over now. And the Deep Purple-led lineup only drew some 4,000 fans on Saturday (Sept. 5), representing one of the smallest turnouts I have ever witnessed in my 30-plus years of reviewing shows at the 22,000-capacity Mountain View venue.

Those folks who stayed home, however, missed a diversely entertaining evening of rock ‘n’ roll from three bands who each hail from different realms of the classic rock world.

Both Jefferson Starship and Kansas were quite impressive, while Deep Purple never really rose above mediocrity due mostly to the deteriorating vocal abilities and stage presence of front man Ian Gillan.

Taking the stage first during this marathon evening of classic rock, which began at 6 p.m. and lasted until around 11 p.m., was Jefferson Starship.

Of course, the whole Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship/Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas lineage is so complicated and confusing — with name changes, players coming and going and different touring entities — that I’m not always sure what exactly I’m about to see when I go to one of their concerts. At times, it seems like it might just be the folks who detail Jorma Kaukonen’s cars are taking a swing at the Airplane songbook.

Yet, the outfit that kicked things off at Shoreline features one original Jefferson Starship member — David Freiberg, a Bay Area rock icon who co-founded both Jefferson Starship and Quicksilver Messenger Service as well as spent a short bit of time in Jefferson Airplane.

Guitarist-vocalist Freiberg, who just turned 88 a couple of weeks back, and his terrific current cast of bandmates delivered a 45-minute showing that ranked as the most overall enjoyable set of the day.

As the current keeper of the Airplane/Starship legacy, the band has access to some of the greatest songs in rock history as well as some of the worst. But nostalgia is a powerful thing and even the latter — yes, I’m talking about the cringe-worthy ’80s offerings “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and (ugh) “We Built This City” — came across as listenable in concert. But they stilled paled in comparison to the first-tier Airplane classics “Somebody to Love,” “White Rabbit” and “Volunteers,” which found front woman Cathy Richardson nicely handling the lines Grace Slick originally made famous and lead guitarist Jude Gold adding plenty of fretboard fireworks.

China Kantner, the daughter of Airplane’s Slick and Paul Kantner, made an appearance at the end of the set, doing a bit of percussion work and backing vocals on “Somebody to Love” and “Volunteers.”

Kansas was up next and, as expected, ratcheted the musical excellence to whole other level. You may or may not like the songs, which rumble about in the space where prog and art rock meet, but there’s no doubting that these guys can play. The only question might be, well, who are these guys?

That’s fair, given that Kansas’ current touring lineup features zero original members of the band — and, really, none that date back long enough to have had any connection with its glory days. On the flip side, however, they are all aces and had no problem conjuring up those classic (and highly complex) Kansas sounds during the band’s 75-minute set.

Fronted by the very capable Ronnie Platt on lead vocals and keys –who joined the band in 2014 and ranks as the longest-serving member of the touring squad — Kansas opened up with the classic-rock-radio staple “Point of Know Return” and immediately had the small, but appreciative crowd up and grooving along.

The group then took us way into the art-rock weeds — causing those primarily in the audience to sing along with Starship’s “Jane” and Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” to sit back down and perhaps check their phones — as it mined its back catalog for such sizable ’70s prog-rock anthems as “The Wall” and “Song for America.” But we’d be all up and crooning with Kansas once again when it rolled out the gorgeous classic rock ballad “Dust in the Wind” and then, to close its set, “Carry On Wayward Son.”

Deep Purple really had no business following Kansas and, not surprisingly, its headlining set felt quite anticlimactic. Even though it appeared (at least on paper) to have the most impressive lineup of the day — with three members dating back to the classic early-’70s “Mark II” lineup of Deep Purple — the band really limped through its 16-song setlist.

Two of those players — bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice (the sole original member remaining in the band) — formed a solid enough rhythm section. But Ian Gillian wasn’t able to hold up his end of the bargain, with his shrill, nasal and highly battered vocals barely resembling those iconic multi-octave lines uttered on “Machine Head,” “Made in Japan” and other ’70s offerings.

Yet, once our collective expectations were lowered quite a bit, after the first two or three songs of the set, then it possible to simply accept what this vocalist still has to offer in 2026 after having weathered so many years of vocal cord issues and strain. But it was harder to accept his between-song chatter, consisting of mostly nonsensical ravings about topics that ranged from piranhas to women in fur coats, which further underscored that he’s become quite a poor front man.

The show was also horribly paced, with way too many pointless and instrumental spotlights that somehow managed to come across as both showy and lethargic at the same time. Every time the musicians would gain an ounce of a momentum in the set — which, to be clear, wasn’t often — they ended up undermining themselves and bringing the show to a dead halt.

The result was anything but heavy. It was ho-hum. And even “Smoke on the Water” couldn’t save it. But, looking on the bright side for the band, at least there weren’t many people in the audience to witness this disappointing performance.

Deep Purple setlist:

1. “Highway Star”
2. “A Bit on the Side”
3. “Into the Fire”
4. Guitar solo
5. “Arrogant Boy”
6. “Lazy Sod”
7. Keyboard solo
8. “Lazy”
9. “When a Blind Man Cries”
10. “Diablo”
11. Keyboard solo
12. “Perfect Strangers”
13. “Space Truckin’”
14. “Smoke on the Water”
15. “Guinnesis”
16. “Hush”

Kansas setlist:

1. “Point of Know Return”
2. “Paradox”
3. “Child of Innocence”
4. “Jets Overhead”
5. “The Wall”
6. “Song for America”
7, “Dust in the Wind”
8. “Hold On”
9. “Down the Road”
10. “Portrait (He Knew)”
11. “Miracles Out of Nowhere”
12. “Carry On Wayward Son”

Jefferson Starship setlist:

1. “Find Your Way Back”
2. “Stranger”
3. “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
4. “White Rabbit”
5. “We Built This City”
6. “Jane”
7. “Jet Pack”
8. “Somebody to Love”
9. “Volunteers”