TORONTO -- Despite the band being more than 35 years in existence, Deep Purple were still able to deliver the goods. Some might go so far as to say they were mauvelous.

Horrible pun aside, the British hard rock legends performed a two-hour show last night before a sold out crowd of primarily forty and fiftysomethings at Massey Hall.

With three of the five core members present in singer Ian Gillan, drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover, the group kicked things off with Silver Tongue from the band's latest album Bananas. But for most of the evening, it was guitarist Steve Morse and keyboardist Don Airey that owned the show.

"Thanks for a great welcome! Nice place you got here," Gillan said early on. Looking as if he just got out of bed in loose white pajamas but minus the bed head, the singer struggled early on not with his voice, but with his mic. Fortunately the third mic was the charm.

After the hoopla of the opening numbers, the group settled into the set playing something old and then something new, including Strange Kind Of Woman and Bananas, both having big guitar riffs, big vocals and oozing classic rock radio.

During this time, the crowd also settled into their seats for some of the ensuing tunes.

The middle portion, containing three instrumentals, seemed to bring the show down somewhat. Contact Lost, dedicated to the astronauts who perished in the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, was quite pretty. Don Airey's lengthy keyboard solo, which contained a snippet of O Canada, was far from it.

But the group, who have gone through so many lineup changes it would make Spinal Tap blush, got a second wind during the second half, performing their 1972 classic album Machine Head in its entirety.

Having completed Perfect Strangers, a video screen dropped and turned back the clock. Images of Muhammad Ali, Janis Joplin and other '60s icons were shown as the band tore into Highway Star, creating a horde of air guitarists all around.

Describing briefly the history of each song, Gillan saved his best for When A Blind Man Cries, a soulful tune recorded alongside Never Before and Maybe I'm A Leo but not released on Machine Head. Clinching his fists and digging deep to hit certain notes, his performance resulted in a standing ovation.

And although there was a brief encore, the trio of hits closing out the main set were the highlights for all. The toe tapping Space Truckin' had the crowd dancing in the aisles while the boogie blues of Lazy had nearly the same effect.

Finally, the opening notes of their signature hit Smoke On The Water resulted in Gillan often drowned out by those singing along.

Opening for Deep Purple was Thin Lizzy. The group, whose lead singer Phil Lynott passed away in 1986, did a rather lengthy set opening with Jailbreak and closing with The Boys Are Back In Town.

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5