Well done!
The Garden State Arts Center show was the second of the tour for me, and was even better than the first! Jones Beach was great, but this was something else! Purple came on just after 8pm, and again got a great response from the crowd with "Woman From Tokyo". Things progressed nicely from there, with "Ted The Mechanic" and Lazy going down really well.
Purple had a trick up their sleeve, and instead of "No One Came", they went into "Knocking At Your Back Door". Apart from Paicy coming in a little late (though he treated us to a nice fill when he did start!) and a little confusion at the end, it sounded great! Including this song was a good move - it kept the momentum going where it had dropped a little bit at Jones Beach, and pleased the diehards as it hasn't been played in a long time. Well done!
All the songs were very tight, and Gillan's voice was again in great shape. "Highway Star" has never been played as good as it's been sounding on this tour. It's been far from being just a golden oldies set when the songs sound this good! Purple sound is also very clean after the Ted Nugent bombast that precedes them. Ted's voice was low in the mix, and the overall sound very muddy, where Purple's sound was perfect, with Gillan's voice high in the mix.
I look forward to catching the tour again in Hartford. Hopefully their promise of spending more time in the states comes true!
[ reviews | the highway star ]