George, there isn’t a bootleg from the 1970-71 period that ever contains “Bloodsucker” or “Hard Loving Man” played in concert by MKII. Are you sure they played those? Especially on a triple bill? If yes, this would be one of the holy grails to hear for sure.
Thorsun, I cannot say for sure about “Bloodsucker,” but I distinctly remember Jon quoting his dissonant “fire alarm” effect he used so well on “Hard Lovin’ Man.” I suppose it is possible he used that while soloing on another song, but I definitely remember getting pretty psyched up at the time, since “Hard Lovin’ Man” is maybe my favorite Jon Lord solo on record. “Speed King”, “Child in Time”, “Wring That Neck” and “Into the Fire” are no doubters - I have distinct memories of each of them. I also vividly remember Ritchie’s solo on “Child in Time,” as he used a strobe light to great visual effect while simultaneously playing/“Juggling” his guitar. I also remember that my seat was angled such that I could see Paicey watch the Faces’ entire set from just behind a curtain at the back of the stage! The set was quite improvisational (as you would expect), and it is possible they “quoted” from one song while playing another. I should have written down the set list, but I was just a 21 year old kid who didn’t know enough to think of posterity at the time. But I can still see - and hear - them in my mind.
the only CD I know and own of that contains Hard Lovin’ Man is “Rarest at the BBC”, featuring the famous introductions by DJ John Peel, but let’s wait for the experts’ opinion.
https://www.discogs.com/it/release/8429947-Deep-Purple-Rarest-at-BBCs-1971
George,
That’s pretty fascinating as, according to records, that show happened the very next day after “Fireball”'s US release!
May I ask, what was your awareness of DP based on? Did you discover them via “In Rock” or you remembered from “Hush” all those years ago?
Regards,
Julio.-
Is it possible that the “dying elephant” Hammond sequence happened during the “Mandrake Root” rave up perhaps? (similar style passage, but faster)
Just wondering…
Cheers, J.-
Julio, I was quite interested in Purple right from the first album and their MKI lineup. As a piano player who started at age 5 and is still playing, when I was in my late teens/early twenties, any band that had a decent or better keyboard player got my attention. I bought all of the first 3 MK II albums - Shades, Book of Taliesyn, Deep Purple - and was quite impressed with DP and Jon, even though I also thought Purple at the time was a bit too much psychedelia and not enough rock and roll. That all changed with In Rock, which I absolutely devoured - it’s still my favorite studio rock album. Based on In Rock, a friend and I went to the '71 concert with high expectations, but even so we were just blown away. What so impressed me at the concert was the musicianship - I had heard jazz keyboardists who were fabulous musicians, but the rock groups I had heard up till then were definitely one or more notches below my jazz faves. That '71 concert was the first time I heard rock musicians performing at a level that rivaled (or surpassed) the live jazz I had previously heard. You could hear the obvious musicianship on the IR album. But the live performance, the group interplay/tightness and especially, the quality of the improvisation - it was just off the charts. I was (still am) a huge Keith Emerson fan and his incredible technique in the Prog genre, and saw ELP live at the same arena 6 weeks later (also saw the Who and Vanilla Fudge in between), and those were all terrific concerts. But Purple’s evening in Cleveland (and particularly Jon’s performance) was absolutely transformative for me. BTW, I didn’t remember that “Fireball” was released that close to their '71 gig in Cleveland, as there were no “Fireball” numbers played. Thanks for adding that detail to my memory of the evening.
And now that you mention it, I will concede that it is possible that Purple was playing “Mandrake Root” where Jon did his dissonant “dying elephant/fire alarm” effect. Not quite willing to concede that it wasn’t “Hard Lovin’ Man” - but I can’t really rule out “Mandrake Root” either. What isn’t an issue is that Jon definitely used that effect that evening - I remember a very visceral response when he did it. Boy , thinking about the concert in this detail again is hugely rewarding. Such a spectacular experience!
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George,
Many thanks for your recollections, it is incredible for me to get “first hand accounts” such as this - one of the magical traits of this dear community. 
Those dudes were clearly in their prime around that era, so one can only imagine the impact and magnitude…
As is well documented, the band deemed the “Fireball” material largely unsuitable for live performance, so much so that only a couple of months later they would be debuting the future “Machine Head” material on the road.
The crazy Hammond effect I suppose it was Jon switching the motor on and off while playing minor seconds or similar - magnified by brutal volume and those screaming Marshalls (at least that’s my theory).
Anyway, thx again,
Best regards,
Julio.-
A well spent fiver! 
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That tour broke Mk II in America, did they ever open for someone again after it?
I have a hunch, Ritchie wanted to repeat the exercise in 1978 when Dio Rainbow opened for REO Speedwagon on like 30 dates, but no such luck. Had it worked, I think we would have seen RJD last a good deal longer in the group.
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My pleasure! As I said, it’s been great to revisit those memories.
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I have the poster in my piano room!
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An interesting theory Uwe!
Very Blackers-like reasoning, indeed, but he couldn’t fight that feeling anymore…
Nice!
Finally, to assist nostalgia, here’s the recording of - I believe - the penultimate gig of that tour, some three weeks later
(This one has Mandrake, but as they kept varying the setlist, anything is/was possible in that regard)
Best, J.-
I disagree with some here that Jon was sloppy - as a keyboard player myself, I never found that to be the case
Jon’s feel was certainly much looser and flowing with the groove and pocket with the song. He wasn’t perfect, certainly, but he never reached a level of looseness I’d consider sloppy.
Loose and relaxed in his playing? Absolutely.
But sloppy? Certainly not!
Ritchie on the other hand was sloppy and for the most part made it flow and work - how he did that, I’ve no idea.
Don, I agree, is the Neil Peart of the Hammond: precise, technical and lots of flash. He’s learned to relax, as did Neil, in recent years, for which I’m grateful, although he’s no where near as relaxed as Jon was!
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Absolutely agree with you Mike.
And Jon not only played the keyboards, he played the band.
Best, J.-
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Neil Peart of the Hammond is a good one, Canuck!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PUKa7tHbrFA&list=RDPUKa7tHbrFA&start_radio
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God, I despise AI “art” but that gave me a good laugh! Vielen dank for your solidarity, Komrade Uwe!
Btw, there was an actual fight between a Canadian goose and an eagle several months back. The goose won, and my people are the reasons for the Geneva conventions. I won’t say more than that, less good ol’ Doug moves this elsewhere
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Yeah, I saw that, it was cute!
American bald eagles are overrated and don’t have much of a social life to speak of.
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It does not matter what I believe or do not believe. Different does not imply something is better than the other. Apples are different from oranges. Are they better than the other? No. Some people may believe one way, others another way. But unless there is an objective criterion for “betterness” the whole notion is nonsensical.
Same with music. One can say that one piece of music is longer than the other. Or more successful commercially. Or certain performance is louder than the other. But there are no criteria for some music being better than the other. There are only opinions.
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But if it’s all about opinions it could be that IP’s performances on this tour are more energetic than at Cal Jam… Or that RB was more fluid as a player on the Memories in Rock tours than during the SIUA era. Essentially, the earth is flat.
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Objection, Daniel, Paicey‘s drumming energy, Ritchie‘s fluidity on guitar and the Earth‘s curvature can all be measured, but there is no calibrated better-o-meter! How do you scientifically verify “better“?
Except when I say so of course, but then Rubber Haddock has explained to me that I‘m an intellectual solstice.
Or was it solipsist? 