For the first time in almost 10 years the Steve Morse Band is back on the road with a short 5 date east coast tour. Now that Steve’s tenure with Deep Purple is over, we can all hope to see and hear more of Steve Morse in the coming years.

Albany’s Sywer Theater at The Egg was the first tour stop for the band, but one would never know it from how they played. Steve was all smiles, and the band was on fire, which should be no surprise to anyone. The band kicked things off with “Relentless Encroachment� and went right into “The Introduction� which is a personal favorite. Steve was smiling throughout the show which was great to see, and repeatedly thanked the fans a number of times for coming out. Dave LaRue (bass) and Van Romaine propelled the music with boundless energy and precision. These guys are the consummate professionals, playing such complex music and making it look easy just blows my mind. The fans were completely engaged, shouting out favorites which made the entire band chuckle on occasion. They played the Dregs “Ice Cakes�, and covered the Steve Morse Band catalogue quite well. Steve brought out the acoustic for “Highland Wedding�, and all members got little solo spots to shine. They closed their set strong with “Cruise Missile� and returned for an encore of “Simple Simon� and “Cruise Control�. The only thing more the crowd could have asked for would have been for the band to keep playing.

The band and audience were connected, and you could just see how genuinely happy the band were to be playing together again. An amazing night of music, and the experience was one of the best I’ve had at a concert in recent memory. You rarely see an artist so engaged with both the music and the crowd, it was a night to experience a true legend; Steven and his band did not disappoint.

Eric Porter