[% META title = 'Tour Reviews' %]
New stuff, please!!
Greetings Highway Stars,
I just caught the show at the Coors Amphitheatre here in San Diego. We had excellent
seats in the front of the second section, center.
Dio treated us to a fantastic set of old favorites. I swear this guy must really take care of his voice because I've never heard him sound anything but flawless. I could have done without the drum and guitar solos (some things never seem to change). The guitarist played fantastic during the songs, but his solo seemed so cliche it was boring.
Intermission found us taking a walk and I could not believe the crowds lined up at the concession stands, waiting to shell out $5.50 and up for Coors beer. I've got to wonder, do the bands get a cut of this? They should in my opinion. Big money trading hands.
We went up to the back of the amphitheatre to rest our ears (and test our lungs) during the Scorpions set. They actually surprised me with some oldies. We'll Burn The Sky sounded great, as did In Trance.
At last came the moment that brought us here. Deep Purple hit the stage and rocked our world. The boys seemed in good form, Glover is undoubtedly The Man. The bass solo for me was the most exciting part of the show.
I enjoyed the cuts from Perfect Strangers, particularly "sweet Lucy the Sam-yu-rai" and the chills I received during the line "A strand of silver hanging from the sky..." with Gillan bathed in white light from directly overhead. I swear, the light was so intense, you could see it reflecting off of his shoulders and up about six inches! Great moment.
I must admit that I was very disappointed with the lack of newer material in the set. I mean, Steve Morse joins the band and they write two albums of music so incredible, it's almost possible to forget that there was a Deep Purple before Purpendicular (almost!). As for the one song that was played from these, Ted The Mechanic, is it just me or does Ian consistently sing a little sharp during the verses live? (Sorry Ian, that's nitpicking isn't it.)
That said, I understand that deciding on a set list is tough because you can't please everyone, but hey, some of us are huge fans that buy everything you guys release. ( I mean, throw us a bone here!) It's my humble opinion that Purple would impress a lot more people by playing their hot new music instead of playing it safe with a 'Greatest Hits' set. But what do I know, obviously these guys are doing something right to be successful all these years.
It was indeed a treat to see the boys, exciting as always. Don seemed to fit in nicely. I enjoyed the snippets he played from his stint with Ozzy during his solo.
Definitely a fantastic evening. Superb!