LIVE: GLENN HUGHES – Classic Deep Purple Live – Perth, 24 Sep 2017

Shane | 27 September 2017 | Reply

LIVE: GLENN HUGHES – Classic Deep Purple Live – Perth, 24 Sep 2017
Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Western Australia – Sunday, 24 September, 2017
Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Glenn Hughes is known as The Voice Of Rock, and seeing him live tonight made clear that even that impressive moniker isn’t enough to explain how amazing a vocalist this man is. At 66 years of age what he can do with his voice is unbelievable – most singers half his age can’t touch him!

Tonight was all about the classic Deep Purple Mark III & IV era of his career – including some material he hasn’t performed in 40 years. With doors at an early 7pm and no opening act, the show started not long after which caused me to miss the first ten minutes of the performance.

Mistreated off the Burn record was the first song I experienced, and it was immediately obvious how amazing the Perth Concert Hall’s world class sound was for such an iconic artist. Glenn’s band – Jeff Kolma on guitar, Pontus Engberg on drums and Australian Lachy Doley on keys – are all top notch musicians who more than did justice to the classic material. Engburg even boasts a ’80s Ozzy Osbourne look, with his blonde shaggy hair.

Hughes paid tribute to his fallen friend Tommy Bolin on the funky Gettin’ Tighter. He comes across as a supremely down to earth and genuine guy, coming across as someone who really appreciates the talented people he has worked with, and the people paying to see him. Going in I wasn’t sure if he was gonna to stick to just the material he wrote with Deep Purple or not, and was pleasantly surprised when Smoke On The Water and an outstanding Highway Star were played.

Finishing the night with arguably Hughes’s most well known song from his time in Deep Purple, Burn closed the night out perfectly.

Hughes is without a doubt one of the best vocalists we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, and just being in his presence is a thrill not to be missed.