In a word ... Awesome!
From reading some of the reviews from previous shows, it seems that the show at the Musical Theatre in Sunrise, Florida was outstanding in many ways.
To start with, Deep Purple were headlining that evening with Dave Mason as the support act. I should mention that it's too bad they will not continue together as Dave was excellent! He still has his voice, and his playing continues to please. He treated the crowd to many of his old favorites, including early Traffic classics and even "Gimme Some Lovin'" from the Spencer Davis Group! The audience was truly appreciative of his performance, and he performed several tracks as an encore.
Now to the meat of the matter... :-)
To set the stage completely, I should mention that the show was being filmed (videotaped?!?) for an upcoming release on DVD. I believe this only contributed to the electric atmosphere that was so prevalent in the theatre last night.
Things started off well with TWO consecutive tracks from "Who Do We Think We Are"; "Woman From Tokyo" and "Mary Long". Although lost on some members of the audience, it was great to hear some of that overlooked masterpiece performed.
I was happy for the gentleman that wrote a review of our last Purple show in December 1997, lamenting the omission of "Lazy" from the set. He got his wish this time with a blistering version of the familiar concert favorite.
As mentioned in a review of a previous show, "Fools" was also a pleasant addition to the live set, with a wonderfully intense middle section from Steve. I should mention that Steve's playing was spectacular throughout, and he won the crowd early with his amazing riffs and winning smile. NOBODY missed the "Man In Black"!
It goes without saying that the playing of Jon, Roger & Ian continues to set a standard most groups can only dream of.
The show went so quickly that I couldn't believe when, after a powerful version of "Speed King", they were saying goodnight for the first time. I couldn't believe that two hours had flown so quickly!
"Hush" and "Highway Star" wrapped up what had been a magical evening from start to finish. I'm very interested to see if all the magic made it onto the DVD. Let's hope!
If they're coming anywhere near you, you MUST go!
By the way, happiest of birthday wishes to Jon Lord who has a birthday coming up on June 7th. All the best Jon!
Take care,
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