www.glennhughes.com
February
7, Club Quattro, Tokyo, Japan
It was the night!! They smoked… No No they burnt down the whole
house to the ground!!! It was the very best show ever from the beginning
till the end (even amongst the shows I have ever seen). The
set list was the same as previous nights BUT! HTP was so hot tonight
and they also loved the audience so much!! Glenn’s bass was like
thunder roaring and Joe was singing like hurricane. Glenn attracted
the whole audience by his super performance on Mistreated and the whole
band was ignited. I can not have any other words to describe the show
but I felt some sort of super chemical tonight. Glenn seemed to be very
happy not only because his bass was fine today but the audience reacted
to his every sing and move. Unfortunately due strict protection, I could
not take any pictures either tonight but I took some pictures of the
town Shibuya before the show started. Hope you can feel the atmosphere
there.I can not forget about the gig tonight forever. HTP will land Nagano tomorrow
to finish their Japan tour and the target will be locked on to Europe
next. Beware. They are getting hotter and hotter.
Tony Takano
February 8, Macana, Sendai, Japan
The HTP Japan Tour Report of 8th Feb, SENDAI-MACANA
SENDAI , you may not have heard of it before, but it is one of big city
of
Northeast part of Japan. And it is about 2 hours by Shinkansen-train from
Tokyo.
SENDAI -MCANA is the most smallest hall oh this Japan tour, it has only
250
capacity. BUT this last-day of tour, 8th Feb was VERY HOT night!
We could see our stars within only half a meter from them mic!
Sure the venue was fully occulted and I heard thunder-screaming by audiences
before our HTP and usual TOKYO-MAFIA appeared on the stage.
The show started with HTP 2's speed tune " Hold On"and "Can't
Stop Rock'n
Roll" from HTP1.People were going crazy with perfect duo from the
start.
The next was Rainbow's famous song " Death Alley Driver",
this song had been
loved so much to Japanese fans, I heard so gig chorus from audience.
Next 2 songs were from HTP2, " Losing My Head" and "Alone
I Breathe", with
JLT as side guitar. " Losing My Head" is one of my favorite
song of HTP2 and
I was sure that I could hare it on Live! I was so happy to sing this
song
with JLT and GH, Sure they were JUST standing and singing front of me...They
seemed so happy too.
Then JLT took some small break. the lead went to GH and AKIRA's guitar
part,
GH attacked to us with him super tune " Mistreated".This song
always shuck
me with his unchanged god voice.
Next the lead went to JLT with masterpiece of the RAINBOW in 1984 ,"Street
Of Dreams".Most of Japanese fans could sing this song in English,
perfect!
So we loved so much this song. JLT's voice was so tender and powerful.
When
I listen this song on live. I felt that he look me in the dream world
of
Rainbow's promotion video.
JLT took a break again, GH said to us that Do you remember California
jam??
YES! we have never forget it! GH dictated to sing to Tommy Bolin with
next
song, " Getting Tighter". Deep Purple has many many masterpieces,
we were
very lucky to get this best selection with YOSHIHIRO's powerful drum
solo.
Also we can sing "You keep on moving, far way far way...."
YES next song was
"Keep On Moving" It seemed that GH enjoyed to hear the hamming
from
audience.
HTP went to JLT's RAINBOW again. Also we have never forget JLT's first
RAINBOW tour in 1981, The audience really got louder with " I Surrender"
Then they gave us last-song of the show from HTP2 " Ride the Storm",Is
this
the end? NO ! Sure we want more!
We could take them back on the stage as soon as them small break. And
we
enjoyed 2 encore songs " Devils Load" and " Spotlight
Kid".
Now, the HTP Japan tour was end... During few years, we Japanese fans
saw 4
times of GH& JLT shows. In 2000 JLT solo tour with GH, in 2001 HTP
tour,
2002 VCR tour and this HTP 2004 tour...Luckily we can enjoy so many
shows,and they gave us something strange in every times. But I'm sure
this
HTP tour 2004 is the very BEST show in the past few years. We had very
best
time with HTP.
Thank you very much our JLT and GH. I'm sure that this Europe tour get
BIG
success!
Kaoru Hoshino
Joe Lynn Turner Official Fan Site in Japan
February 26, Opera and Ballet Theatre,
Chelyabinsk,
Russia
Prices
I
have bought cheapest tickets for my friends and me. The price was 17 USD
(or 14 EURO) per ticket. Then I have such tickets I always remember John
Lennon with the famous: “Those in the cheaper seats clap, the rest
of you rattle your jewellry.” But I never think so about real fans
that want to see stars from short distance.
Place, venue and date
Show
was made in Chelyabinsk City, Russia. The frontier Europe-Asia passes
along Chelyabinsk region and city with more than 1 million inhabitants
is situated behind it for about 100 km to East, I mean in Asia. Should
we add to “2004 European Tour” the words “and Asian one
too”? As
it was planned show was in local Opera and Ballet Theatre, which can accept
about 900 spectators, but I think show had seen about 800 people. Opera
House is very acceptable if you want enjoy sound but absolutely no acceptable
if you want to dance, because it has orchestra pit instead of dancing
pool.
Time
Show
was planned at 19:00 local time but was started as usual at 19:22. It’s
time for waiting, whistling, shouting and may be drinking. Show had
ended in 21:05. So we have total duration about 1:45.
Description
First things were as obvious and the openers were "Hold on" and "You can’t stop rock and roll" which go on one sigh. But the next song had changed ordinary order into setlist and the third song was "I surrender". It's very powerful and melodic song from distant past. Fourth song was "Losing my head". Joe Lynn Turner put guitar on his chest and was playing during the song. I don't know why he was doing it. I don't doubt he can greatly handle with guitar but I never, never (during all the show) heard any sound of his part. Nevertheless I saw that he had tune sound (may be volume or may be timbre of guitar) on amplifier. It seems that only him heard his guitar's part. Firth thing was "Along I breathe". Joe Lynn Turner shortly spoke something about mean of this song just mention something about terrorism. Here I should notice that sound during all show was awful. Yes, there wasn't clear sound. I should notice conditions were perfect - they gave the gig in Opera House, which has perfect acoustic conditions. I don't why - whether it was bad apparatus but I can't complain - it was Marshall or there was fault of the sound-engineer or technicians but sound was poor quality. In very short pauses between songs there was even 50-Hertz jitter.
Next song was number six. Joe Lynn Turner took the rest. Glenn Hughes changed his bass guitar. It was long awaited "Mistreated". It's awesome thing and Glenn Hughes demonstrated us what he could as musician and what he can as rock-actor. It was perfect performance his role as guitarist. Also I should mention brilliant play of J J March. It was absolute perfect performance. When it seemed the song had ended Glenn Hughes start to perform the slow solo and the song was continued. Joe Lynn Turner was getting back and show was lasted with "Street of dreams". After light-shining song Joe Lynn Turner leaves stage and it sounded Deep Purple's "Gettin' tighter" with perfect performance Glenn Hughes's bass and Tomas Broman's drums. Here I should mention that line-up was great. Thank you all guys for excellent play.
"You keep on moving" was ninth. It’s one more brilliant song. Joe Lynn Turner returns to the end of song and presents Glenn Hughes. Next song is "Death alley driver" and Joe Lynn Turner demonstrates us brilliant voice possibilities and voice conditions. After this song he put on guitar and eleventh was "Stormbringer". Duo was perfect. The answer for this song was "Ride the storm". After performance they put of guitars, leave their instruments and wave us - far away. But you can't fool us. We had known that it's just a trick. They return and encore is started.
Joe Lynn
Turner offers public in stalls put on their feet because public on balcony
already has vertical position and is waving their hands. Public from
the stalls rush to orchestra pit and two songs "Devil's road"
and Spotlight kid" passed quickly as one. And at last the third
encore tooooo-long-awaited song shoots - "Burn". It was fifteenth
song. It was fat and great point for the show. There were loud applause,
shouts, whistles and exultation. We will never forget you, guys! We
go to the show once more if you will visit us.
Some
fun
I
am always amazed our rules working on shows. Why can’t I take photo
as a souvenir? It everywhere has been written ”Strictly prohibited
video shooting and audio recording”. I read somewhere that Ian
Gillan considers that if person have paid for show that he can take
a photo during concert. It’s obvious that can’t make acceptable
gig’s phonograms from spectator’s seats for sale but it could
be the great memories for fans. On this show I saw as so-called “security”
prohibited to use palm-computer which belong young man. You can use
cigarette lighter but you can’t use palm-computer. It’s great.
Joe Lynn Turner pronounces words “Thanks” and “I love you” in Russian without any accent, especially the first one. It’s really very impressive.
Glenn Hughes was dressed in blue shirt with deep-blue jeans, which had light-blue inserts. He was without hat and the first songs sang in dark glasses. Joe Lynn Turner was dress in black trousers and dark shirt. The blond, JJ Marsh was dressed in black suit, he is very handsome man. The hard worker, Tomas Broman was dressed in blue T-shirt with Great Britain flag. The long beard, Kjell Haakan Alexis Haraldsson was dressed in black shirt with light trousers.
Glenn Hughes
was in very cheerful mood all show long. He is very serious on photos
but very laughing on stage. It’s very strange but there was no
police around and inside theatre. No one frisked spectacles in order
to find glass bottles etc. It’s really strange.
Conclusion
I
wish to fans keep on rocking and take pleasure from shows. Take it easy
Europe!
Pstranger
February 29, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey
This is
the third visit from purple camp to Turkey. IG in 1992, DP in 1998 for
two nights and HTP in 2004! So this is something very exiting for us.
And this time Deep Purple-Rainbow together! And after some very satisfying
albums, HTP gig was the most important events in those days.
Sunday was also the date of the biggest soccer derby and the promoter
arranged a wide screen TV for the game. So the gig delayed due to the
game. There was also a support act whose a talented guitar player of
a local band. He played all intrumental Satriani-Malmsteen style half
an hour set.
After some minutes for arranging the stage, the boys started with Hold
On.Then Can't Stop R'N'R. Audice participated during chourus and this
motivated boys and they showed that they like the participation! And
then they played all the old our hits with our participation! Then they
played all what we expected from them. The Purple/Rainbow songs played
like their original studio or live versions except Mistreated. The intro
for Mistreated was very much like to Difficult To Cure intro from Finyl
Vinyl, and the middle solo section was similiar to the On Stage version.
And the boys, we especially waited for Glenn Hughes. He amazed us again.
What a voice? What a performance. He especially shined through Mistreated,
Gettin' Tighter and You Keep On Movin'. And JLT. I had always doubts
for his live performances! But this time, his singing was excellent.
My friends also noticed this. We discussed this after the gig. He also
amazed us.
I do not have many to say for the drummer and the keyboard player. But
J.J.Blondemore , I think is quite good choice for the Richie's part.
And for the downpoints, they still play the same set after two years.
This time their first visit to Turkey and we were ready anything they
would play but for the next time they better do some changes in setlist
such as inclusion of Sail Away, Can't Let You Go, Stone Cold, Hold On(From
Strombringer). Also their playing was little bit under rehaersed! And
lacks improvisation. Also the role of keyboard was minimal. But you
are coming from Jon Lord's band and that point has to be considered!
So we enjoyed while listening to them and they enjoyed while playing
to us. Thanks boys. Hope to see you during next tour.
Tarik Burcoglu
March
21, Zeche, Bochum, Germany
Ok, I did not have a camera, so I cannot submit any pictures, but here
are my views on this night:
As soon as the roadie on stage gives a sign to the FOH mixer he immediately hits stop on the CD player - no fade out, just a harsh stop and switching off the lights at the same moment. Are Joe and Glenn that desperate to hit the stage? No - the audience first has to listen to a complete HTP song played from CD...at GIG LEVEL. A truely strange kind of beginning for a show that I have waited for for a long time (since I missed the HTP one tour) and wasn't sure that I'd see it since Joe had suffered from a bad cold and the previous concert had to be cancelled.
I was kind of prepared to see a weak performance from Mr. Turner. I haven't seen him perform live before - but to cut a long story short - he wasn't giving anything less than 100% that night. The man is truely amazing. (or the Czech drugs are, I don't know)
The gig itself was a blast. In the beginning the audience seemed to be a little bit reserved and hesitant - it was a cold rainy day outside - but as the show got tighter the fans started to "lose themselves and watched the band...."
I guess it was pretty much the same set list as in other HTP2 shows with all the "hits" we wanted to hear and sing. Mistreated had the most wonderful Stevie Wonderish soul stuff in the middle. While Joe is a superb rock vocalist, Glenn really has the gift to strike a chord inside of me - I don't know how he does it, but while Joe's voice is the flame Glenn really is the spark itself. I woke up feeling terrible for all different sorts of reasons that day and now I'm still electified and excited about Glenn's performance. And while delivering seriously amazing performances he does not take everything too serious. When Joe handed over to Glenn for some "stuff that's gonna kick your ass" Glenn replied that he prefers "look at some arses...but not kick them" these days.
JJ played some fantastic and very explosive guitar solos. His sound was amazingly fat and strong. Very cool performance indeed. The keyboard player used some sounds that got onto my nerves, though. Sometimes his sounds were VERY loud - yet still it was alost impossible to hear WHAT he was playing. I don't like modern synth sonds very much in rock and roll music and I truley believe that some good old analog style synth sounds would have suited better. In "Spotlight Kid" for example I saw many guys in the audience cover their ears. The synth solo was just so ear piercingly loud. Still, I couldn't tell you if he was playing the original solo or something completely different. I liked the drum sound, though. Apart from the fact that Glenn's timing keeps on moving (especially in "You keep on moving" - it's a slow song and therefore harder to play!) and the poor drummer having to keep up with Glenn. Although technically it was on the edge of a bad performance it doesn't really matter that much in a live situation I believe.
I just hope that Glenn will take the chance to play some solo gigs again soon in Germany. I really enjoyed all the Rainbow/Deep Purple stuff but I'd also love to hear some of his solo work, especially from SITKOR.
Oliver
Lucas
April
4, Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany
I am a
Purple-Fan since many years but I had to get 40 years old to see Glenn
live on stage. And I have seen many concerts and many of the musicians
were "heros". I do not often mail my opinion to the contact-adresses
but this time I must say that I am really surprised. Glenn is not only
a dynamic and gifted musician but a very sympatic and "catchy"
guy too !! I enjoyed the show (which was sadly short, but this appearance
was able to satisfy in a short time !!). Glenn's show is among the best
things I have seen. Joe Lynn Turner was not able to reach this level
- and this was surprising for me, because I was always very lucky with
his records. I think there's a gap between the aims and possibilities
of Glenn and Joe in terms of music. Glenn - keep on rocking !! There's
no more to say.
Best wishes from Germany and a big "thank you" for a great
show !
Frank
April 4, Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany
Wenn zwei
sich zusammentun...
...freut sich der Dritte - und der Dritte war in diesem Fall das begeisterte
Publikum. Kein Wunder, wenn zwei Rock Ikonen, zwei Heavy-Metal Pioneers,
ja Legenden wie Glenn Hughes und Joe Lynn Turner beschließen,
gemeinsam dem good old Rock zu huldigen, kann ja eigentlich nichts schiefgehen.
Ich will jetzt gar nicht auf den alten Zeiten ‘rumreiten, Glenn
als Deep Purple Bassist und Sänger, oder Joe’s Zeit als Rainbow
Frontmann. Das haben die Beiden auch gar nicht nötig. Obwohl, die
Klassiker... aber dazu später.
Am 4.4. spielte HTP in folgendem line-up auf:
Glenn Hughes Bass, Gesang
Joe Lynn Turner Gesang
Thomas Broman Schlagzeug
JJ Marsh Gitarre
Kjell Haraldsson Keyboard
Zunächst erschienen Glenn und Joe ein wenig reserviert, aber nach
wenigen Minuten hatten sie sich warmgesungen und die Barriere zum Publikum
schnell eingerissen. Starter des Abends war "Hold On", ein
Titel des neuen Albums "HTP2", gleich danach "Can’t
stop Rock’n’Roll" von "HTP" als Einheizer.
Es folgten "Loosing my head (HTP2)" und "Alone I Breathe
(HTP2)". Wem jetzt noch nicht die Knie zuckten, dem konnte nicht
mehr geholfen werden.
Es donnerte "Mistreated", die Häärchen springen
hoch zur Gänsehaut. Wie schafft er es nur, so alle Saiten in uns
zugleich zum Schwingen zu bringen? Es ist diese Mischung aus Funk, Rock
und Soul, diese begnadete Stimme. Dieser Song ist der pure Liebeskummer
in Musik. Womit wir bei den Klassikern sind. Der Titel durfte auch einfach
nicht fehlen. Meisterhaft ließ JJ Marsh dazu die Gitarre weinen,
das war absolut perfekte Performance. Spätenstens jetzt waren alle
Arme oben. Glenn spielte mit dem Publikum, genoß seine Soli, wer
kann pure Gefühle besser vorbringen als er?
Danach gleich ein weiterer Klassiker, "I surrender" aus Joe’s
Rainbow-Tagen. Im Übrigen trugen sie jetzt nur noch ältere
Stücke vor. "Getting Tighter (Deep Purple)" , "Death
Alley Driver (Rainbow)", "Stormbringer (Deep Purple)".
Sind es nicht doch die Klassiker, die uns melanklöterisch werden
lassen? Obwohl, die beiden gemeinsamen Alben HTP und HTP2 sind absolut
empfehlenswert, da wären bestimmt auch noch mehrere Titel gut für
diesen Abend gewesen.
Beide Frontmänner suchten innigen Kontakt zu ihren Fans. Joe auf
den Knien, Kopf an Kopf mit einem weiblichen Fan - da fällt waschen
wohl die nächsten Wochen erst einmal aus.
Glenn verteilte fleißig Plektren, drückte einem Rollstuhlfahrer
extra eines persönlich in die Hand, nachdem er ein geworfenes nicht
erhaschen konnte. Suchte gezielt Blickkontakt zu den Fans.
Dann war erst einmal Kunstpause vor der Zugabe.
Diese bestand aus "Spotlight Kid (Rainbow)" und "Burn
(Deep Purple)".
Das Konzert ging exact 90 Minuten. Genauso stand es an der Eingangstür
der Fabrik. Dauer 21.00 - 22.30 Uhr.
Warum "Street of Dreams", "You keep on movin’"
und "Ride the Storm" in Hamburg fehlten (sie wurden bisher
jeden Abend dieser Tour gespielt) bleibt mir verborgen. Es war trotzdem
ein toller Abend und ein unvergeßliches "Mistreated".
Wer’s nachempfinden möchte, dem sei die CD "HTP - Live
in Tokyo" dringend empfohlen.
T. Luthe
(Daz Verlagsgruppe)
April 4, Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany
I write this just to let you know how thrilled I am seeing Glenn performing
live for the very 1st time. It turned out that I had to reach the age
of 50
to experiance this. I had the opportunity to come to the Fabrik in Hamburg,
being the nearest
place in Europe that I could reach from my home town in the Netherlands.
It still was a 400 km drive but , allthough the performance was a bit
short,
(90 min including extra tracks) it was worth every km driving.
I followed Glenn from his early days in Deep Purple through the years
and
the many things he did are without a doubt outstanding.
On each and every album he reaches that high quality of music in combination
with that characteristic voice. Examples? The album he sung for John Norum
(the one track with Joey Tempest
we always skip). The Black Sabbath album (seventh star). The album with
Pat Thrall, a smashing piece of hardrock with a beautiful ballad (Coast
to coast). The Blues anthology album not to forget and his many other
solo albums.
(From now on, SITKOR, too much to mention in fact) And now then the HTP
project.
It was good to see that the band was enjoying the gig and the 2 lead singers
left each other all room for both a brilliant performance. After the gig
we had the chance to meet Glenn and Joe and I honoustly can say that they
both are very sypathic guys without any "superstar"attitude.
Once again, Glenn and Joe, thanks a lot for touring in Europe and please,
do not skip Holland when touring in Europe next year, OK?
All the best
J. Zegeling
Holland
April
7, JB's, Dudley, England
Setlist:
Hold On / Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll / Losing My Head / Alone I Breathe
/ Mistreated / I Surrender / Street of Dreams / Getting Tighter / You
Keep On Moving / Death Alley Driver / Stormbringer // Devil's Road / Spotlight
Kid / Burn
Eighteen months ago I came to JB's to see HTP for the first time. On that night they rocked the house to its foundations with a set comprising not only new HTP recordings but also a generous selection of Rainbow and Deep Purple classics. Indeed, it was a setlist that couldn't fail to impress and send the audience home with a warm, fuzzy feeling. So, as I arrived for Wednesday's gig, I did wonder whether this would be a repeat performance, just a repeat, or maybe not quite as good the last show. I mean, when you've seen one show that packed in King of Dreams, Mistreated, Highway Star, Stormbringer and Burn, as well as Death Alley Driver, Spotlight Kid and I Surrender, what can you expect them to do the next time around? More of the same, just in a different order; that's what usually happens, isn't it?
Well, I was really way off the mark on that one! I should have had more faith and not been so fat, hairy and cynical. The setlist was different, varied and contained the old, the new and one or two surprises.
First off, let me say that this is one hell of a backing band that GH and JLT have pounding away behind them. Whilst JJ Marsh has to be one of the most laid back guitarists I've ever seen, he can certainly do a fine Blackmore impersonation too. Well let's face it, Richie isn't doing it anymore! I even noticed a smidgeon of Stevie Ray Vaughan creeping in there at times.
Generally, 'the band' was so tight you couldn't have slid Victoria Beckham between them and the playing was as good as you'll see on any stage in the world. Glenn Hughes may well be 'The Voice of Rock', but he is also one of the best damn bass players on the planet. As for Mrs Turner's little boy, he is a fine singer in his own right and on the HTP material his vocal and Glenn's integrate seamlessly with harmonies to die for. The 'new' songs seemed much stronger this time around and it is almost impossible to see the join between these and the older classics.
It could have been my imagination but this gig seemed much heavier than the last one and better for it, in my opinion. It has become difficult to think of Stormbringer and Burn without seeing them as Glenn Hughes songs, they sound so right performed by him. As for Mistreated, Davo Coverversion probably still lays awake at night desperately hoping that he'll wake up the next morning being able to sing it the way Glenn Hughes does.
The big surprise of the night for me was the inclusion of Getting Tighter and You Keep On Moving. Come Taste the Band has always been one of my favourite Deep Purple recordings and I'm a big Tommy Bolin fan so this was a big plus. Of course, This Time Around would have been a welcome addition to the set, but I'm not greedy, I was more than happy with what was delivered.
As for my daughter, who accompanied me to the gig, it isn't often I see her speechless, but as JLT dragged her towards the stage and sang a verse of Spotlight Kid to her, it happened; she blushed and was lost for words. She was truly gobsmacked. Her mother and I have always said that that song was about her - not that she'd listen to us - but now she has now taken it as a sign from the Gods of Rock 'n' Roll. Well, she is a Capricorn.
The songs are way beyond criticism, as is the playing. The only thing you can moan about is the idea of having two lead vocalists of this calibre sharing the limelight and, essentially, when you go to see HTP what you get is two Legends of Rock on one stage. Really, if you thought about it, having two lead vocalists of this quality is as impractical as Iron Maiden's three lead guitarists, the Grateful Dead's two drummers, or King Crimson's two-of-everything, double trio line-up. Nevertheless, in all of these situations, it all meshes perfectly. JLT and GH don't clash, they are complimentary and, although, it appears that Glenn Hughes gets the lion's share of the stage time, Joe Lynn Turner delivers, as only a New York Italian can. Both singers have still got the pipes and it is a joy to see such experienced performers still treading the boards. Nevertheless, there is a part of me that asks why they are playing JB's (fine venue that it is) when they should be playing Apollos, Odeons and City Halls, at the very least. Then again, I wouldn't be able to get so close and get such a good view in the larger venues and my photos would be of very little people. It is the way the live music scene in this country is these days and I, for one, can live with it. But, I've got to complain about something and I cannot find anything else to whinge about.
You can't
stop rock 'n' roll.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
10th April 2004
April 7, JB's, Dudley, England
Glenn Hughes and Joe Lyn Turner.
Two voices I'd grown up listening to; Rock legends I'd heard since the day I was born. In fact, if I trawl through my early memories, I can remember quite clearly that Joe Lyn Turner was the first singer I ever heard. From the age of 18 months, I bounced around in my Pampers to Deep Purple, Rainbow, Aerosmith and all manner of Heavy Metal. Even then, Dad joked that Spotlight Kid was about me. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact that I got even worse and I'm now a self-confessed Drama Queen with a serious adrenalin habit.
But anyway! Having missed them on previous occasions, there was no stopping me from undertaking this rite of passage, and into the deepest, darkest, depths of Dudley we ventured; Dad with already one such gig under his belt, me, with a respectable memory of the Deep Purple and Rainbow back-catalogues to tide me over.
I've been to The Limelight, The Robin, Central Station, various arenas, theatres, halls, but never JBs. I knew the crowd would be cracking because Brummies are always excellent people to rock with. Team that with a super-cool, sweaty, dark club and you've got a winning combination. Add an awesome band on the stage and you have people exploding with excitement!
As HTP took to the stage, I wasn't quite sure what to make of Mr Turner at first. I found his style a little too flamboyant for my liking, and yes, I know this sounds a bit rich coming from a Bruce Dickinson fan. But I soon got used to it and realised that it actually complimented Glenn Hughes' no nonsense, take-no-prisoners style of performing. The first number, Hold On, bowled me over with some absolutely sublime harmonies and Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll induced some serious yelling from the crowd.
By the third number, I was convinced I'd got my money's worth already. Then Hughes rendered me speechless with an absolutely storming rendition of Mistreated. Nothing I say will ever express how amazing his voice was during that number, no superlative would do it justice. Besides playing some truly mean bass lines, his ability to pick notes seemingly out of thin air is a wonder to behold. If I were Prime Minister, I would make every single person in the world sit down and listen to this song…. especially David Coverdale.
At this point, with Glenn Hughes' discarded plectrum tightly in my grasp, JLT bounded back on stage for a raucous sing-a-long version of I Surrender. This was the first time I'd really heard him in his own right, and I have to say, I was very impressed. He's got a great set of pipes and his control in long and high notes is enviable to say the least. What was probably the most impressive about both these singers is their ability to re-create what they do on the CD, live at a gig; so many singers don't possess the talent to do this but Hughes and Turner pull this off effortlessly.
Street of Dreams was a nice surprise and although I would have preferred my all time favourite, King of Dreams, this was a good substitute that enabled the crowd to get in on the singing action. The three songs that followed caught me out as I wasn't familiar with the material, but it gave me the chance to watch the uber-cool lead guitarist, JJ Marsh, who couldn't have looked more laid back if he'd have been taking a leisurely stroll through the park.
And just as I thought it couldn't get any better, they rolled out Spotlight Kid for an encore. I thought this was quite fitting anyway, considering the family joke and all, so blow me down with a feather when JLT spotted me, took my hand and sang a verse to me! How's that for a sign from the Gods of Rock and Roll???
With Yours Truly grinning from ear to ear, the band finished with a blistering version of the ever-scintillating, Burn, rounding off a most enjoyable night of musical entertainment.
Can't Stop
Rock 'n' Roll? You're damn right you can't!
Lauren Potts
