Aug. 11th Wilkes-Barre, PA review.
Deep Purple was spectacular at the Bud Light Ampitheatre at Harvey's Lake near Wilkes-Barre, PA. They are one of the tightest bands I have ever heard. It was a great night. We were about 9 rows from the stage, center, but a bit towards Steve's side.
The last time I saw DP was in about '84 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. I got to meet the whole band then, except for Lord, and got pictures. Though I was a bit let down that Ian would not let me have a picture... he said it was a bad day.
Ian was just as good as he was in '84.... so was the whole band... except for Steve Morse.
Now, I know some folks are going to be upset, but Steve Morse is better than Blackmore, and I am, and always have been a big fan of RB. But Steve Morse is something special. He's that good. I never really heard him play, but he was amazing. He fits in this band and I hope he stays. I'm now a Steve Morse fan.
The guys all looked like they were having a great time on stage. They did not play Space Truckin or Child in Time... that was the only letdown. But the performance made up for it. The new songs fit nicely with the old ones, side by side. The crowd was totally into it, from opener Hush to the encore Highway Star.
ELP was great. I saw them last time with Jethro Tull, and the crowd really did not dig them much then. But on this night they were excellent. They were a little slow to start at first, but the show built and they had the crowd standing and going nuts! They are very talented. Carl Palmer was just awesome.
I got there late thanks to our local newspaper, who said the show started at 7:30, when it started at 7. So, I only saw a few songs of Dream Theatre, but what I did see was great. A good band with a great sound.
Back to Purple: what else can I say? They were fantastic. I hope they come here again. Ian has always been one of my favorite singers, and did not let me down with his performance one bit. A true frontman in every sense of the word. The whole band was exceptional.
A pal of mine Joe Limongelli sat next to us, he did a nice interview with Steve Morse for a paper here. You can read it online here: http://www.theweekender.com/features/8-6-f.html.
Don't miss this tour! Make the effort to see Deep Purple... a rock legend that still rocks!
[ reviews | the highway star ]