Dream Theater, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Deep Purple all performed on this day in 1998 at the New World Music Theatre in Tinley Park, Illinois.
The three bands were at the time on a tour together through North America. During this tour, Dream Theater served as the opening band. ELP was the second band to perform, and Deep Purple closed out the nights.
Reviews for this night are particularly interesting. A great many in the Purple corner went out of their way to praise Steve Morse. While many nostalgic fans these days would have newcomers believe Morse is the worst thing to ever happen to the band, this opinion did not seem particularly prevalent in 1998! Rather, he was celebrated as a great addition to the sound.
Another interesting point is the apparent camaraderie between the three members of ELP. The band was a matter of months away from essentially splitting up for good amidst some rather unpleasant statements; after this tour they would perform a single one-off concert in 2010. All three members of the group were also noted as putting in strong performances; this is notable given Greg Lake’s apparent vocal decline and disinterest would be given as reasons by Carl Palmer and Keith Emerson that the band split up.
There is no known recording of Dream Theater’s set. ELP’s set and Deep Purple’s set were both recorded, and are in circulation online.
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