As part of their Desire’s Magic Theatre world tour, Purson hopped upon their magical mystery machine and brought their Technicolor psychedelic face rock extravaganza to Atlanta! Last time around, Purson was here supporting Ghost and it was my first time seeing them. I was so blown away that I couldn’t wait to see them again so imagine my giddiness when it was announced that they would be headlining the Shaky Knees late night show at The Loft.
First off, the whole evening was kind of a clusterfuck. The Sword, Baroness, and 2 other bands in addition to Purson were all part of this show. At first, it was all going to be in the much larger Center Stage Theater room and then at the last minute it was announced that the bands would be split into two different rooms without overlapping sets. Well, all of that just seemed to start falling apart but regardless, this didn’t seem to faze Purson one single bit.
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The room was pretty sparse with maybe about 30 people or so but there was a buzz about the room. Everyone that was present were without a doubt Purson fans so while the numbers were light, the energy was through the roof. As the band took the stage to a hefty roar from the crowd, lead singer/guitarist Rosalie Cunningham smiled and asked, “Are you ready?” The band then launched right into “Desire’s Magic Theatre” which had the band sounding absolutely amazing. Hearing this more stripped down, organic version of this song worked so well and I knew right away I was in for an amazing night. The groove of this song had everyone moving and Rosie’s playful banter back and forth with the crowd set the tone for the evening. This was going to be a very fun and intimate evening.
Things really got cooking when the band jammed their way into “Danse Macabre” which absolutely brought the house down. “Mr. Howard” seemed to be the song that, up to that point, got the biggest reaction from the crowd but it was “The Sky Parade” where I feel like this show took on an epic quality that had everyone in the room completely mesmerized and in awe. It went to an even higher, more stratospheric level as they launched into “Wanted Man.” This is where Purson, in my opinion, shows what an incredibly sonic and unified unit they are. The constant interplay between the band mates is something to take in as they played with what seemed like a sort of telepathic communication. Here, we were being given the ultimate gift of a band that was giving us every ounce of passion and energy that they had in them. As the song came to a close, the crowd roared and the band thanked us all and exited the stage.
Seeing Purson this night made me so happy and proud to be a fan of them. Whereas most bands would have complained and maybe even pouted their way through their set because of the sparse attendance, Purson did just the opposite. Purson delivered a sold out theater worthy performance which made me (and everyone else in attendance) feel like we were truly getting something special. As a matter of fact, I even began to feel bad for all those that weren’t there to experience such a dynamically and musically exciting performance. While I would have loved for many more people to have been present, it almost felt like a well kept secret that only we were let in on and you know what? I was totally ok with that. .
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