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North America 2

Marcus Amphitheatre, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Aug 23, 2004

We made it to Milwaukee Wisconsin for the outdoor show on Monday, not much of a crowd at 7 o'clock when Thin Lizzy came on stage.
Credit all four of those guys they played like they had a huge crowd cheering them on, John Sykes smiles and sounds good, Michael Lee on drums is fantastic, he drives the band thru each song.
Have now seen them twice this year warm up for Purple, I would like to see them do a few Whitesnake songs [Why? Rasmus] and maybe do Ichykoo Park from Marriot/Blue Murder.
Don Airey came out and watched the entire show from the side of the stage and seemed to really dig the show. He then came out and hung out with the crowd until Satriani came on.
Joe Satriani then came on and played a perfect short set, first time I have seen him I would have loved to see how it would have worked out if he had joined Purple full time. Joe has always said he knows all the old Purple songs note by note, maybe they could do a special tour with him to play all the old forgotten stuff!
John Sykes came out and watched the show, really nice to see these guys all give each other respect.
Deep Purple came on and played the expected greatest hits/Bananas set as before. Crowd filled in somewhat and got into the show quite well. We had great seats 3rd row center right in front of Steve Morse. Steve played as well as I have ever seen, his guitars sounded like chainsaws gone wild, he smiles and still seems to enjoy the band just as when they first got together.
I myself would love to see the Purpendicular songs featured and lose the oldies but I think they fear they would lose the crowd, but they really need to play on the edge again and let themselves call the shots. You need to stop and think of the back catalog of songs that goes unheard, could you get into a show with Flight of the Rat, Chasing Shadows, Our Lady, Place in Line, A2000, Stormbringer, Drifter, Bad Attitude, Anya, Fire in the Basement, Wicked Ways and a encore of Hey Joe, Kentucky Woman, then Steve would finish with the 'guess the riff' intro then Smoke. Take that setlist and add the Bananas/Perpendicular songs and I think you have a live CD that would sell! I already want one for Christmas.
Back to the show. They played fantastic as always, Ian looked a bit exhausted from trying to scream over Steve's guitar. Very nice solo from Don leading to Perfect Strangers, these guys really look like they could play a two hour set and still be standing. So as always the setlist gets hardcore fans like myself frustrated but a great show that you still love to hear. Get out on the road and support these guys!!
Jack Benedik & Chris Wentworth

I first saw DEEP PURPLE in June of 1973 and although they were welded to my brain before that, I could not believe how great they sounded live.
When I heard they were coming to Milwaukee I told everyone I knew where I would be August 23rd. My son got me two tickets so I could go with my girlfriend and I was shocked. These guys are still excellent. Even with the changes in members, the spirit if the old DEEP PURPLE was still there with new interpretations.
I have always been a big fan of keyboards and what Don Airey brings to the group puts him right next to Jon Lord on the pedestal of all time greats.
Ian Gillan still has his voice and that surprised me when he hit the high screams in the older songs. Roger Glover can still beat up a bass just as Ian Paice can drum. Steve Morse played with the enthusiasm of Ritchie Blackmore but did it his way that set up an excellent battle between his guitar and Don and his keyboards.
I am not a writer and don't pretend to be. I am a DEEP PURPLE fan and will have either Highway Star or Lazy playing in the back of my head when my last day arrives, but hopefully Highway Star will have nothing to do with the timing of that event.
My two complaints of the concert are:
1 - the keyboards were drowned out most of the evening, taking away from the fullness of music and
2 - the band didn't play for 24 hours straight. I realize that is an impossibility, that's where my home library and sound system comes in, but I can still complain about things that can't be.
I told my son the next time Deep Purple comes to this area, I am getting four tickets so he and his girlfriend can hear some of the best music out there the way it should be heard, live.
In closing, all I can say to Deep Purple is thank you.
Jim and Bambi, New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA

The show was great it was everything that I heard all those legends about
Mike Kapzynski