![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse1.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan.jpg)
Paicey forgot his roll
See all of Daniel Purrone’s photos.
Always a thrill to see the band in my hometown of Atlantic City, and had a great time with my older brother warming up at the Bar at the HOB. Last Purple show we saw together was reunion tour in ’84. I’ve lost count but I believe this was my 21st Purple show, and about 15th of the Morse era, and it was very enjoyable, especially at such an intimate venue packed with Purple fans.
They hit the stage at exactly 9:00 p.m. and raced through a blistering set in 1:40. I wish they played a bit longer, but to their credit, they played non stop through out, with virtually no between song banter, and with an energy that kept the crowd on their feet through out.
Set list was the same as recent shows in Boston and Connecticut. Big Ian was in pretty good shape vocally. Always better to see them after a night off in that regard. Found it interesting that Steve began playing The Beatles “Blackbird”, then broke into “Smoke” immediately. Was expecting another run of famous riffs that didn’t happen.
That said, the musicianship through out was tight and energetic as always in recent years. Both my most enjoyable and disappointing moment were provided by Ian Paice. One of the advantages of a smaller room is the opportunity to watch him and see just how incredible he is. However, as I have said before, an Ian Paice solo should be just as big a part of a Deep Purple show as a Gillan scream, a guitar solo or keyboard solo. There was nothing close to it.
That said, thanks to the band for another great show, and hoping to make Radio City Tuesday.
Eric A. Eisenstein
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing