[ d e e p P u r . p l e ) The Highway Star

A memorable performance

A thick fog hovered over the stadium, giving the night an eerie feel. Being an animal lover, I skipped Nugent and instead hung around the concession stand. How can the world's greatest heavy rock band have such lame tour merchandise?

Deep Purple hit the stage near 8pm and there was no deviation in the set list. The sound was outstanding, with Ian sounding better than he has in years. Steve Morse's guitar sound was especially big, and he eventually won over the largely Skynyrd crowd. Every song was well-played, but highlights for me were "Ted The Mechanic", "When A Blind Man Cries", "Perfect Strangers" (this one really got the crowd going), "Lazy", Steve's FM classics and, of course, "Highway Star". "Fools" was an interesting choice for the tour. Based on fan reaction, I may have been the only person in the audience who recognized it. Maybe they should replace it with "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming". [What's wrong with a bit of education then? Rasmus]

Like everyone before me, I was disappointed with the length of the show and the resulting lack of newer material (maybe I need to move to Sunrise, Florida. :-)

It was a memorable performance by a truly great band. I just wonder about the wisdom of touring with Skynyrd and Nugent. Like many DP fans before me, I didn't stick around for Skynyrd.

Steve Guidice


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