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On Wednesday, Aug. 23, former Deep Purple lead singer and vocalist, Glenn Hughes and heavy metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen brought their summer to The Paramount Theater in Huntington, Long Island.
On the rather lively Wednesday evening out on “the island,” rock and roll was in the air as fans found their seats ahead of the show.
As fans settled in and watched the first band, a local band whose name I never caught left the stage as they thanked the crowd and all the United States service members for all that they had done.
Following the live act, the roadies set up for Hughes’ set. I was a little taken aback by this because I thought, for some reason, that Hughes was the headlining band. In this case, as it has been for the entire tour, Malmsteen is the headlining act.
Hughes is currently out on the road celebrating the 50th anniversary of Deep Purples’ 1974 record, “Burn.”
“Burn” was the first of three Deep Purple records to feature Hughes on vocals and on bass.
Despite Hughes touring the 50th anniversary of “Burn,” he only played four songs from the record out of the eight that appeared on the record in 1974.
I think there are some really good songs on the record that he could have played like “Lay Down, Stay Down,” and “You Fool No One.”
I really enjoyed Hughes’ set overall. I loved the work he did with his other band, The Dead Daisies and I hoped at one point to see him play with them but that is no longer the case.
There’s a reason that Hughes is called “The Voice of Rock,” and after seeing him live, I know exactly why.
Hughes has such a magnificent voice and his range is unlike any other. Hughes has kept his voice at the top of its game. Out of all the shows that I’ve seen, Hughes’ voice is the best that I’ve heard live and the competition is not even close.
Hughes’ setlist was this:
- Stormbringer
- Might Just Take Your Life
- Sail Away
- Mistreated
- Gettin’ Tighter
- You Keep On Moving
- Highway Star
- Burn
Following the all-Deep Purple setlist, the Swedish guitarist himself, Yngwie Malmsteen (ing· vay maalm·steen), took the stage to thunderous applause from The Paramount theater that was a solid 85% full tonight.
For a little of two hours, Malmsteen brought the rock and roll energy and spirit to Huntington.
From the minute he walked on stage, to the minute he walked off, Malmsteen was running around, throwing guitar picks into the crowd or at his backing band, kicking picks at the audience, throwing his guitar around his body and at his guitar tech/roadie.
It’s not fair to the audience when the person they pay to see performs phones in a performance or doesn’t give it their all, it’s just arrogant and selfish.
When fans go see Malmsteen, they do not need to worry about whether or not they are going to get their money’s worth.
There was never a moment in the show when Malmsteen wasn’t doing something. For the two hours on stage, he never stood in the same spot for more than two minutes at the absolute most.
I love that he ran around on stage shredding on his guitar and never once lost his smile along the way.
While the whole instrumental rock genre isn’t for everyone, myself included, Malmsteen made up for that with showmanship and skill.
When Malmsteen was playing away, I was in shock at his still and how his picking hand was moving while his fingers went up and down the neck of the guitar. It was simply magical.
Malmsteen was in fact very exciting to watch and he is one of those guitar players that seeing them live does them a lot more justice than listening to their music.
In person, at a concert, you’ll be able to see how hard their craft is but somehow forget about the difficulty since Malmsteen makes it look so easy. He has a skill that I have never seen before in my life from that type of guitar player.
Usually, I include the setlist from www.setlist.fm but for some reason, Malmsteen’s was not added/uploaded so unfortunately, I can not upload it.
All in all, the Hughes/Malmsteen show was very enjoyable and I would recommend seeing this show if you want to see one of hard rock’s most legendary singers play on the same night as one of the last great gun-slinging guitarists of all time. You have to hear Hughes and see Malmsteen to believe it.
