[% META title = 'Tour Reviews' %]
OK, but not the real deal
I sat with a diverse crowd that loved Dio, Scorpions and Deep Purple and each group came mostly to see 'their' band. I came to see Deep Purple.
If this was any other band I would have probably thought it was great. But it isn't any other band. It's supposedly Deep Purple. And I was disappointed. Steve Morse is technically good - but Ritchie was glaringly missing. Don Airey is very proficient but Jon is already noticeably missing. And the songs were only shadows of the originals. Not one that I heard was done "differently but creatively better." I really found the absence of Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord to be major subtractions. And Ian is really getting to be an old man - he moves like an old man.
Compared to the Scorpions the Deep Purple I saw last night were just another opening act, and only a decent Deep Purple tribute band. The Scorpions had a better show, more energy and made the crowd react louder and way more often. Most people were leaving before the encore even started. Deep Purple played last - the encores were Hush and Highway Star.
I'm glad I went though. Now I know for sure that Ritchie Blackmore is forever THE guitarist that was made for Deep Purple and Jon Lord cannot be replaced so easily. This is not Deep Purple to me anymore. An OK band, but not Deep Purple.