Akron show 11/30 E.J. Thomas Hall

As veterans of numerous Steve Morse shows (Steve Morse Band, Dregs, Kansas) and a few Deep Purple shows going back to '84, we (Dave F. & Dave L.) couldn't wait for a chance to see what was sure to be an amazing show. WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED!!!!

To those who have never seen Steve Morse before, you truly have to see & hear this show to believe it. The combination of these five musicians equals that of any top supergroup you could name. As usual the four veterans of the band were in top form. Glover and Paice were rock solid in providing excellent ground for Lord and Morse to do their thing. As for Ian Gillan, he sounded better than he has in a number of years. The selection of songs helped, as Gillan wasn't forced to strain his voice.

The set list was full of surprises as we refused to check out what they were performing before the show. "Hush" seemed to come out of nowhere as the opening song. The crowd loved it. Lord took a killer solo during the middle section and Morse teased the audience with lots of interesting fills and licks in between vocal lines. It wasn't until the 3rd song "Ted the Mechanic" that Morse took a solo. By the time it was over nobody was missing Ritchie Blackmore (or Tommy Bolin).

Deep Purple performed much of the Purpendicular album as well as some older songs that had not been played live before until recently. It was great to see them and not have to worry about whether or not the guitarist was going to play well. When Ritchie has a good night, he is great at what he does. Steve Morse never seems to have a bad night and may be the most well rounded guitarist in the entire world.

Lets hope that this edition of Deep Purple (Mark V or whatever) sticks around a long time. The revitalizing that has happened in this band is greatly apparent.
It sounds like there's a lot more great music waiting to be made under banner of Deep Purple.

David Falck & David Lightman

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