Glenn Hughes - Millennium Music Hall, Cardiff - October 3rd (Live Review)
Wednesday, 06 October 2010
Written by Jon Stickler
Riding high on the success of new rock supergroup Black Country Communion, former Deep Purple, Trapeze and Black Sabbath singer Glenn Hughes “The Voice Of Rock” was in Cardiff last Sunday evening to blast through another hard-rocking set as part of his current UK solo tour.
Playing the intimate venue that is Cardiff's Millennium Music Hall, Glenn Hughes, complete with backing band, a highly talented one at that, delivered a show that consisted mostly of his hard-rocking material. For a 58-year-old, the man can still put on one hell of a gig!
Kicking-off the show with the ear-splitting, foot-stomper 'Muscle & Blood', Hughes immediately grabbed the attention of the ageing leather-clad audience whose headbanging began almost instantly - even if it was a little less vigorous than back in their younger days.
Rocking hard and heavy through 'Touch My Life', 'Orion' and Purple's 1974 'Sail Away' Hughes gave a performance that would match him to the age of his backing band, who were merely pups when up against their legendary frontman. The chemistry between Hughes and Danish guitarist Soren Andersen was incredible too. Taking time out to jam through songs side-by-side, you could be forgiven to think that the pair have been playing for years not months.
Pausing to tell the crowd about the newest, big thing in rock, 'Black Country Communion' (as if we didn’t know Glenn!), The Voice of Rock undoubtedly lived up to his nickname in delivering a moody , atmospheric rendition of 'Medusa'. A song which has been covered by BCC and features on their debut album.
Moving through immense performances of 'You Kill Me', 'Cant Stop The Flood' and 'Crave', we had heard Hughes' extraordinary voice belt out about eight songs so far but nothing came near to the exercise in lead vocals we were about to hear during 'Don’t Let Me Bleed'. Plunging Cardiff's Millennium Music Hall into a smokey blues den, illuminated by just two single spotlights,“The Voice” unleashed wave after wave of screams and howls that ranged from intimate whispers to full-on, passion-fuelled wails. The Voice of Rock, a title no better suited to anyone other than Glenn Hughes, who then received the biggest applause of the night for his efforts.
Keeping the fast pace throughout the show, one song rocked into the next with Glenn briefly entertaining the crowd with stories about his past visits to the Welsh capital. Dedicating an outstanding rendition of 'Keepin' Time' to the late former Trapeze guitarist and good friend of Hughes, Mel Galley, the performance slowed only for a pounding drum solo from the hugely talented beatsmith Pontus Engborg. Providing a quick time-out while the band had a quick drink (water of course), Engborg rumbled through a stunning display that saw him slow down, speed up and rock out under the hypnotic gaze of the house and fellow band members.
Closing the set with the ground-shaking track 'Soul Mover', Glenn Hughes stomped through the track before a sea of hands and camera phones from a crowd that were in no way moving without an encore.
Returning to the stage to play two more tracks, the re-emergence of the band thrilled the crowd before Hughes and Co ripped into 'Addiction' followed by Deep Purple classic 'Burn'. Both performances are superb and even though the youthful flowing locks of the crowd's aged rockers have long gone, the desire to headbang and play some serious air-guitar still remains strong. I’m genuinely worried about some of them breaking a hip.
Appreciative of the crowd's feverish applause, Glenn Hughes and band take their bows and thank everyone for a great night before revealing “we'll see you again”. A fantastic rock-show and a sign-off that undoubtedly fuels the excitement for those long-awaited Black Country Communion tour dates.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Rocking hard and heavy through 'Touch My Life', 'Orion' and Purple's 1974 'Sail Away' Hughes gave a performance that would match him to the age of his backing band, who were merely pups when up against their legendary frontman. The chemistry between Hughes and Danish guitarist Soren Andersen was incredible too. Taking time out to jam through songs side-by-side, you could be forgiven to think that the pair have been playing for years not months.
