Bonner Springs ? Deep Purple reminded audiences that you don’t have to be an angst-ridden, pierced 20-year-old to know how to rock.

The veteran English band performed to a modest but zealous crowd Wednesday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, despite a torrential downpour that drenched the sets of openers Thin Lizzy and Joe Satriani.

The revitalized quintet has put out records since 1968, and still boasts three of its original members, including influential singer Ian Gillan. Barefoot and dressed in a loose, all-white outfit, the gray-haired frontman looked like he was just going back to the cabana after a swim. But his trademark vibrato remained an appropriate match for the hard-rock material.

Deep Purple launched into an hour and a half of its hits from the late ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s. The straight-ahead numbers “Woman From Tokyo” and “Knocking at Your Back Door” highlighted the early portion of the evening before the band made a sonic detour. Thanks to the guitar wizardry of Steve Morse (who replaced original member Ritchie Blackmore a decade ago), the ensemble often divorced itself from its heavy metal legacy and veered more into progressive rock territory characterized by artists such as Yes and Kansas.

This was especially apparent on a number of tightly arranged jams, such as Morse’s five-minute guitar showcase, “Contact Lost,” which the band “dedicated to the Columbia Space Shuttle victims.” Bolstering the artsy atmosphere was new keyboardist Don Airey, who favored more orchestral patches than the distorted organ sounds typified by former member Jon Lord.

However, when the group chose to lock into some of its signature grooves, such as the hammering “Highway Star” and sludgy “Space Truckin,'” there was little doubt that this was an act born to rock.

Considering the core members (who also include bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice) are nearly 60 years old, it was refreshing to see the amount of energy and enthusiasm that went into their performance. The bandmates smiled and joked as if they were having the time of their lives on stage, despite the fact that they were probably running through “Smoke on the Water” for the 2,000th time.

Deep Purple proved that even though it is one of the founding fathers of heavy metal, that wasn’t any reason to scowl.