![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse9.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey.jpg)
A band ON!
A band ON!
San Francisco: To begin, this was the 8th time I’ve seen Deep Purple in concert. 3 times with MKII, 2 times with MKIII, and 3 times with MKVIII.
The show at the Warfield was one of the best shows I have ever seen with the band. From the beginning of Pictures Of Home, to the closing Hush. The band was full of energy, and they went all out playing just under 2 hours.
There were some highlights for me that gave me goose bumps, and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up! Ian Paice’s drum roll intro to Pictures Of Home, and Roger Glover’s bass line were awesome. Ian Gillan’s vocals on Into The Fire took me back to 1970. Don Airey’s solo before Perfect Strangers took me back to the Jon Lord days.
Now about Steve Morse. I can only imagine the comparisons that have been made between Ritchie Blackmore and Morse through the years, including myself. I don’t believe there is a bigger fan of RB, than me. From the first time I saw DP in 1973 (see review in Much Older Tours) RB has been my favorite guitarist of all time. He might be arrogant, and we always had to wait for him, but he can play!
Last Wed, at the Warfield, I finally accepted Steve Morse as being a true leader of the band. His solo during Lost Contact brought me to tears. Not an easy thing to do for an old rocker like myself. He threw in a few licks from Dazed and Confused, Led Zep, Sweet Home Alabama by Skynyrd, and Sweet Child Of Mine by GNR. His leads on Highway Star were note for note perfect! He was also having FUN!
The last 2 times I saw MKII, RB was not having fun. Morse really inspired the whole band, which is the sign of a great leader. I was also impressed when they played Speed King for an encore. The playing between Airey and Morse, during the middle bridge, was awesome.
They really are a BAND! I’ll go see them the next time they come around.
Mark Zimmerman
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing