Live Review : Glenn Hughes + The Damn Truth @ Academy, Manchester on October 29th 2023

To be referred to as ‘The Love Child of Janis Joplin and Robert Plan’ brings with it a weight of expectation that for some bands could be considered too heavy of a burden to bear. For The Damn Truth however, they don’t want to just meet this expectation, they want to blow it out of the water, doing so with their dreamy, crushing and at times emotionally jarring blend of hard rock & Blues.  

The rise of The Damn Truth has been no accident. It has instead been as a result of hard work through countless tours and live performances, ensuring that every member of every audience they play to leave their show wondering what they have just witnessed. Tonight, I was one of those audience members. It’s no secret that myself and Classic Rock don’t get on, however, I am always open to having my opinions challenged. For me, The Damn Truth are the perfect example of how it should be done. Lee-La Baum is the epitome of a superstar. Her exceptional vocal performance along with her likeable nature as a front woman add a level of star power that most bands wish they had. Every note was sang as if her life depended on it and her raw, emotive appreciation for being able to perform in front of a crowd that was so receptive, was about as authentic as it comes in a scene full of ego and desire for superstardom.  

Behind her, the trio of Tom Shemer, PY Letellier and Dave Traina were experts at producing soundscapes that massively complemented Lee-La Baums vocal range and adaptability. All bases of Classic Rock were covered, from delicate and raw blues, to Beatles-esque pop rock to massive, stadium ready hard rock. It’s no hyperbole when I say that they had it all. The Damn Truth over the past few years have become one of those rare bands here at ROCKFLESH Towers who are unanimously loved amongst all of our writers and photographers and whilst I may be the hardest of us to please when it comes to this style of music, I can happily say that they were absolutely phenomenal.  

Whilst The Damn Truth represent the present, Glenn Hughes has already cemented himself as being a bona fide legend. After having a career lasting over 50 years, with a CV that can rival any other of the best musicians out there, the appeal of Glenn Hughes is as present today as it was back in the 70’s. 

His current tour is marked as a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Deep Purple Mark III Album, “Burn”. Hughes himself was present on this album as a Co Lead Vocalist alongside David Coverdale. As a result It was to be expected that Hughes would lean heavily on this album when constructing the setlist for this tour, and therefore those who are fans of this particular album were not left disappointed.  

In my opinion, what separates Hughes from a lot of artists from this era who are still going in 2023 is that there has been no piece of him that was left behind. His vocal range, his musical ability, his charisma has not at all faded and whilst I can’t speak for previous performances, only through recorded footage and audio, it seems like it could be as authentic as it was all those decades ago.  

Despite touring under his own name, and this undisputedly being “A Glenn Hughes Show”, the abilities of his backing band are nothing to be scoffed at. Each member of Hughes’ band provided a level of musical virtuosity that allowed each passage of music to crescendo into these massive sweeping movements that could sometimes last 8 or 9 minutes before the power of Hughes’ voice gets the song back on track, the results of which were mightily satisfying.  

The perfect example of this masterclass in building tension and anticipation through instrumental passages was during the track ‘You Fool No One’. This wasn’t just a performance of a song, this was raw technicality and brilliance brought to life. Lasting approximately 20/25 minutes, it acted as a statement piece of the first half of the set, allowing each musician to grab a piece of the spotlight, whilst never losing the focus or direction of the track at hand. Despite enduring long instrumental sections, a staple of rock music that I usually hate, this time it just made sense. The Drum Solo was actually rather humorous, there was a sense of self deprecation and irony in it. Drummer Ash Sheenan knows full well that drum solos mark the point of the performance in which people go to the bar or to the toilet, and he leaned into this using call and response and engaging gestures to the crowd to keep them involved whilst he did his stuff.  

In between songs, Hughes wasn’t shy to tell a few anecdotes about his time recording and performing “Burn”. As someone admittedly unacquainted with the deeper history of Hughes and Deep Purple, these short stories allowed me to connect with songs I was previously unfamiliar with. It also allowed me to establish a deeper level of appreciation to these songs as a result of understanding the process and origins of how they came to be. Usually I much rather let the music do the talking and often think that long spoken passages can stall a set, however I found Hughes to be a mostly captivating orator who knew how to keep the audience in the palm of his hand.  

It was safe to consider this show as a true celebration of “Burn”, we had the songs, we had the history lessons, we had stunning display of musical and vocal ability. It would’ve been more than enough to satisfy the most hardcore of fans, whilst also being accessible and captivating enough for those lesser established fans, such as myself, to walk away with at least one highlight of the show, if not more.  

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Glenn Hughes, The Damn Truth