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

Atlanta review

For those of you who are old Purple fans, prepare to be ecstatic. For those of you who are going for goings sake, prepare to be ecstatic.

I went to the show not knowing what to think. I've been a Morse fan for years, but have never seen him with Purple. I was preparing to be underwowed, but was very pleasantly surprised. From reading this webpage, it seems that the last few years w/ Blackmore were painful.

There seems to be no pain in the band anymore. Each one of them seemed that there was no other place they wanted to be except playing with each other on a stage. The energy and happiness they had while playing was phenomenal. It was almost like watching a brand new band still discovering what they can do.

As stated earlier, I am not a long time Purple fan. Hell, I still don't know all the abbreviations used on this website, nor do I own 457 bootlegs of Purple in their various stages. However, there were many diehards there, and I saw nothing but smiles. For those worried about someone else stepping into the Blackmore spotlight, fear not. No, Morse doesn't play all of Blackmore solos note for note, but, yes, what he plays is tasteful, from the soul, and distinctively his own style. All the diehards seemed to be happy with what he played. I heard no boos, no cries for Blackmore, or no "Get off the stage."

What surprised me about the gig were the other band members' musicianship. Jon Lord can play the hell out of the Hammond, Paice and Glover provide a great rhythm section, and Gillan can still sing great. (He is playing the bongos on stage as well, but I have no idea if he's any good b/c they were inaudible in the mix.)

Anyways, the point of this review is to say if you're thinking whether or not you want to see this show, go. You will see some great musicianship from a band that is nothing but 100% into what they are doing. Myself and Atlanta was floored.

Keith Cocking


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