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Great choice double bill
Radio City Music Hall is perhaps the nicest venue in all of New York City, and a perfect place to see two outstanding and long-standing rock groups, (the original) Vanilla Fudge and Deep Purple.
Fudge was in great form as they celebrate 40 years together. Their set included a number of the covers that they’ve played over the years including “People Get Ready,” “Shotgun” and the song that paid for the house, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”
They also did a searing version of “Dazed and Confused” from their most recent release, “Out Through The Indoor”, a bunch of Led Zeppelin covers. Terrific vocal harmonies and a tight sound. Carmine Appice was particularly sharp on the drum kit as well as his vocal spots. A great choice for an opening act.
Deep Purple hit the stage at 9:15 and banged through the same set list as the most recent shows – including a first encore of “The Battle Rages On.” Having had a few days to rest seemed to serve Ian G. well, although he strained at times during “Into the Fire.”
I admit I was a big Steve Morse fan long before he joined DP. He had great tone on this night and his playing was crisp and exciting. With that said, it would be great if he could occasionally be a little more subtle with his solos. Every solo comes at you at two hundred miles per hour when, sometimes, one or two notes with a little vibrato can be much more interesting. I guess that’s nitpicking.
The audience was very responsive to DP’s set, maybe the best New York audience in years. Like many reviewers before me, I would love for more Steve Morse era songs to find their way into the set list. Bottom line – a great performance by a great band!
Steve G.
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