[% META title = 'Tour Reviews' %]
Uncomfortably predictable
Purple sounding as good as ever this evening in Mansfield. Dio and Scorpions opened, saw neither, just went in for Purple.
Set list was the same as the last few weeks:
Fireball
Woman From Tokyo
Ted The Mechanic
Lazy
Knocking At Your Back Door
Well Dressed Guitar
Black Night
Don Airey solo
Perfect Strangers
Speed King
Smoke On The Water
Hush
Highway Star
Big Ian was in fine voice this evening with the usual "superbs" for the audience. Only major disappointment is the packaging of tours the last two years. Purple had made some huge leaps with two great studio albums and headlining tours consisting of two hours of music, and including such gems as Fools, When A Blind Man Cries, No One Came, Pictures Of Home, Mary Long, Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, etc... And also the great orchestra tour which never hit the states.
I for one find the set this year too short (through no fault of Purple's), and starting to get predictable as to what will be played - greatest hits for all the uneducated Purple fans of the States. All I can hope for is smaller venues with two hour shows again for the real fans to enjoy.
Also, how many times did I hear that Blackmore was not in the band anymore?! Christ, he's been out for more than 9 years now.