Glenn Hughes • York May 2011

Glenn Hughes – York / Grand Opera House / May 23rd 2011

Set-List

Muscle and Blood – Touch My Life – Orion – Sail Away – First Step of Love – Medusa – You Got Soul – Keepin’ Time – Can’t Stop The Flood – You Keep On Moving – Stormbringer – Soul Mover – (encores) – Addiction – Burn.

Another week, another historic old theatre and another Glenn Hughes gig (and in this theatre there was even an usherette selling those little cinema-style tubs of ice cream after the support act finished!).

Glenn’s set list was the same as last week’s, but the enthusiasm and vigour with which the whole band attack the material shows that whilst they’re a well-oiled machine, they are in no way ‘just going through the motions’.  With excellent sound again (give that sound engineer a medal!) the whole set bristles with energy, injecting new life into the old Purple and Trapeze numbers, as well as showing the quality of more recent material.  The Hughes-Thrall track ‘First Step of Love’ has been elevated to classic-status courtesy of a heartfelt new vocal intro from Mr Hughes whilst the title track of the ‘Addiction’ album appearing as it does as the penultimate song of the night is quite amazing – a tough, aggressive vocal which Glenn blasts out in note-perfect fashion …unbelievable that he’s already been singing for 90 minutes by this point!   ‘Orion’ has a crazy echoplex-style solo courtesy of guitarist Soren Andersen, evoking memories of Tommy B, whilst  ‘Burn’ has the old Mark III concert-opening ‘wall of sound’ reinstated at the start (quite right too) and sends the audience home happy.

Roll on the Black Country Communion tour!

Tim Summers