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DPAS
LIVE REVIEW Deep
Purple A very exciting night bringing my sixteen year old drummer son to the first Purple show ever in my hometown of Atlantic City last night. I wont go over the set list as it was basically the same as the previous posted set lists, with the exception of Speed King as the first encore followed by Hush. The Grand Cayman Ballroom is a ballroom, one level, not a theater. I imagine they did not run the films during the MACHINE HEAD portion of the show due to the elevated stage and the low ceiling. The plus side of the venue was the size. Im guessing 1,500 seats at best, every one was good and not one was empty. Mostly people my age (40's-50's) but many like me brought along their kids, and there were quite a few families as well. All were very enthusistic and a good portion of the crowd were on their feet for most of the show. We were in the fitth row in front of Roger. Given the size of the relatively small stage, it felt like we were seeing them in a small club (the waitress service for drinks helped as well). The band made it feel just as intimate as well, constantly shaking hands and acknowledging the audience throughout. Roger must have gone through 100 picks. Musically, the show was great and they really accomplished what they wanted to do here in the state in perfect fashion, weaving the Bananas songs in with the hits. My only disappointment in the set list was the dropping of House of Pain. I thought that would be a great opener, although Silver Tongue proved to be fine. This was somewhere around my 14th show since MkIII and the first one with Don Airey. I thought he was brilliant and couldn't imagine anyone else replacing Jon Lord. He added a nice touch including a snippet of "Born in the USA" into his first solo in honor of being in Springsteen's New Jersey. In this day and age when bands just go through the motions and you're not sure how much of the playing is actually live, this little gesture meant a lot. Steve was great as always. He and the band had a laugh during the 'Speed King' "battle" with Don, when he was caught a bit off guard when it was his turn to play again. My only criticism, and it is a big one, is the lack of a Ian Paice drum solo of any sign signifigance. The fact that IP is regarded as one of the greats of his time makes even a brief solo a must. I thought one might be coming during 'Hush', and that would be appropriate as he is the only current member of the band who played on the original. That said, to see a band that has been around so long put an effort into a show like they did last night was rewarding to say the least. Looking forward going to the tour closer in New York on Monday. review: Eric Eisenstein |