Universal Ampitheater August 30th

    My wife and I took our seats about halfway through the set of Dream Theater. We were on the right hand side of the stage, which turns out to be the side of the stage that the man in black used to play on. Anyway, (LOL) the members of Dream Theater seemed to be accomplished on their individual instruments, however, none of the songs they performed seemed to be that impressive. Maybe that is why I enjoy Deep Purple so much. Most of the songs that the members of Deep Purple write have a certain touch of brillance that you just can't help but notice.
    After Dream Theater left the stage, it was time for ELP. The stage crew should be commended for the speed and excellence of their set up. It was only about fifteen minutes between acts. This is amazing considering we used to wait for up to an hour in the old days. (Or was that because various members of certain bands were powdering their respective noses before they would entertain us with their presence?) (LOL) I did purchase a couple of ELP records during my younger days, so I must say I did take a liking to some of their works. I really dug "Pictures at an Exhibition" and I was hoping that some of that magic was still in them. In all I honesty I can say this, Carl Palmer is an incredible drummer. When he took his drum solo near the end of the set his hands were moving so quickly that I think that even Muhammad Ali himself would have been impressed with the hand speed of Carl Palmer. So as far as being the greatest drummer of all time, I think that Carl would be right there with Cozy Powell, Tommy Aldridge, and that other guy, Ian Paice. (Remember the drum solo from "The Mule"????) Greg Lake sounded great on the bass guitar, but his vocals sounded a bit tight at times. In all fairness though when you realize that Ian Gillan is coming on after your performance, your voice might have the tendency to get a little tight. (LOL) What can you say about Keith Emerson? He is an amazing keyboard player. However, I think my wife explained it best. Emerson can be compared to Mr. Yngwie Malmsteen, except on a different instrument. Technically he is absolutely flawless. He hits every note on the keyboard but sometimes his dazzling ability casts a giant shadow over the entire performance. For example, his little piano concerto near the beginning of the show was somewhat tedious and really not that exciting. There were moments of absolute brillance, but in the long run it does not appear to me that ELP quite achieved the excellence of some their earlier days. The more I heard of Mr. Emerson the more I longed for the prolific sound of Jon Lord.
    Deep Purple came on shortly after ELP. The Ampitheater was nearly sold out but I could still see some vacant seats in the right corner of the balcony. When Purple came out the sounds of Ted the Mechanic echoed through the arena. The crowd jumped to their feet and would stay that way for most of the show. A nice tight start, Gillan sounded good and the band looked great. Strange Kind of Woman was next and sounded very good. Bludsucker had a terrific sound to it, but I must say in all honesty that Mr. Blackmore plays this song much better than Mr. Morse. Almost Human has a totally bitchin' sound live (I am not even a surfer) this song was better than the CD version, a pleasant surprise. Woman from Tokyo was the first highlight of the show. Ian Gillan was singing beautifully and the crowd was rocking to the ballistic beat. Watching the Sky has an excellent sound live and this was another song for the highlight film. Ian Gillan had a certain bite to his voice on this number and it really went over well, at least with me I should say. ANY FULE was next and I expected the crowd to really shriek and moan on this song. I guess the effects of the alcohol were finally wearing off, but one thing is for certain Jon Lord really played an incredible solo on this song. Steve Morse did his little solo thing next and to be honest with you, it was not that impressive. When they did go into Smoke on the Water the crowd started rocking again. Jon Lord played magnificently on the prelude to Lazy. This was the perfect example of why I prefer Lord over Emerson. Everything was so tight, and it rocked BIG TIME. Perfect Strangers was highlight film quality, and the light show brought an extra mystical feel to the entire arena. Speed King was hot but Mr. Gillan was starting to get a little rough around the edges. The show ended temporarily at that point after Speed King ended. The crowd than sceamed and hollered for about five minutes and before you could wink an eye HUSH was screaming through the speakers. This song still sounds tremendous even after all these years. Deep Purple finished with Highway Star and although I wish they could have played longer, maybe adding Seventh Heaven to the list, I left with a sense of satisfaction. Gentlemen, I am looking forward to your next CD. Superb performance, see ya next time.

Cheers,
Terry Coakley

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