On Wednesday night, we had the great pleasure of catching a solo performance from Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, The Dead Daisies) at Jergel’s in Warrendale, PA. He received support from local act Modern Fossils, however, Enuff Z Nuff was unable to perform as scheduled. But that didn’t seem to hurt attendance as the room packed in before Glenn and his solo band hit the stage.
This show took a departure from the Glenn Hughes co-headline tour with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, who visited Jergel’s on August 20th for a very special master class show, allowing fans to get up close and personal question and answer session. And, fans lined-up that afternoon to secure a spot in the front row for that same type of up close and personal experience that only a club like Jergel provides.
Hughes was joined by Soren Anderson on guitar, Ash Sheehan on drums, and Ed Roth on keyboards, who played a set focusing on classic Deep Purple cuts, with an emphasis on 1974’s Burn in advance of its 50th anniversary.
Had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Glenn Hughes before the show, and discussed how he wrote “Burn” as a member of Deep Purple in a castle back in 1973, and later recorded the classic in Switzerland. And now, amazingly, he is celebrating the 50 year mark of the song and the album with this current tour.
While one might take a glimpse at the set-list and see that they only performed nine songs, I can assure you that this was by no means a short set. As is customary when you break out a Hammond organ, the jam sessions were lengthy, and song were epic. The band kicked things off with “Stormbringer” and included favorites like “Mistreated” and “Highway Star.” During the later, which began the band’s encore, they shifted to a five-piece where long-time tour manager Jimi took over bass duties, and Glenn had some fun simply fronting the band with a surge of energy.
As you’d expect, the final song was an equally energetic performance of “Burn.” We were called to feel the music that evening, and I can honestly say that I was without a doubt lost in the rhythm once I stopped working and put away my camera and my phone to finally take it all in. What a show! While lost in the shadows, Ash sure packed a heavy punch, Ed brought the kind of sound we’d expect from a guy who also performs with Robby Krieger, and Soren kept us entertained with his quick fretwork and beaming smile. Of course, speaking of smiles that charismatic frontman was hitting the high notes better than ever. In fact, Glenn blew us away even more than he’d done a few year back when he was with the Dead Daisies. Absolutely legnedary!
After the performance the band gave at Jergel’s, we are certainly looking forward to catching them again in 2024 on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, which runs from March 2-7 next year out of Miami, Florida as the band with continue with soon to be announced additional dates into the new year with Enuff ‘Z Nuff and Bad Marriage.
Follow us @ThePureRockShop for lots more captures show recaps, news, and interviews from of local and regional concerts and festivals including, Bowling for Soup, Kurt Deimer, Buckcherry, Skid Row, The Guess Who, and Geoff Tate with Mark Daly and The Ravens.
Live Photos by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen for The Pure Rock Shop. Posted on 9/24/2023 (updated 9/25/2023).
