Queensryche concert review
As I proclaimed in my Megadeth review, I am a metalhead to my last day. I am also a child of the 80's and a die hard supporter of the music from that era. Queensryche had been out for a while before I really had heard anything by them. I remember hearing their name mentioned numerous times and thinking "What a cool name." but it wasn't until Operation:Mindcrime was all over the place that I had heard any of their music. Naturally, I loved it. It was a little more melodic and vocals-oriented than the metal I was listening to and it stood apart from the hair bands of the time like Motley Crue, GNR, Poison etc...At a time where everyone was coming out of L.A. and the Bay area, here is a band fresh out of Seattle, the quiet pacific northwest, and making no excuses for it. That was more than enough to get my support. I still missed the Mindcrime era and wasn't fully on board until Empire came out. I was in at the beginning of that wave and that's when I became a devoted follower. The band released Operation:Livecrime and I bought the VHS version. (Man, I feel old admitting to that. I haven't watched a VHS tape in about five years.) Then I went back and bought Mindcrime. The music critics consider it the best 'concept' album of all time. Concept meaning an album that tells a story and each song is a chapter in the story. Others will say The Who's Tommy is the best concept album but i'll take this one every day of the week and twice on sundays. There's no comparison. Sadly, by the time the hair and mainstream metal wave was obliterated by the grunge movement I had not enjoyed the Queensryche experience live. I have been lucky enough to see almost all of my favorite bands live but they were among the handful that I missed out on.
(Rage Against The Machine, Whitesnake, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam...you're on deck..)
Almost a decade had passed before they reappeared on the horizon with the exception of greatest hits and live collections, then news of the sequel to Mindcrime. Was it true? In April we got our answer as Mindcrime 2 was released along with tour dates and on October 2nd I got my wish as Queensryche came to Phoenix. The story was the band would be performing Mindcrime 1 and 2 back to back in their entirety. Mindcrime is one of my all-time favorite cd's and I had high expectations. I have listened to it countless times, learned every note, every lyric, every sound on that cd. I remember being pretty disappointed upon being told that Geoff Tate's vocals were no more than mic effects back in high school. So, it was with excitement mixed with apprehension that I went to see for myself. I had a great seat in the fifth row. I entered as they has just launched into the first song, Anarchy X. The microphone effects story I soon surmised was not true. Geoff Tate's vocals were good, but not great. Whether it was too much polishing on the cd or the years taking their toll on the singer, Tate struggled to hit the higher notes, dropped a couple of octaves on some lines and sometimes simply spoke the lyric. I was close enough to see him straining to find the notes and even though the effort was there, sometimes the note wasn't. Tate's saving grace came in the form of Pamela Moore aka Sister Mary. Moore, who looks like a young Pam Anderson, bailed Tate out more than a few times with the higher notes once her character gets involved in the story. That part is critical, since those songs are the backbone of the entire story. However, even she looked like she had difficulty with some of the material, not nearly as much as Tate but there were notes lowered on her end as well. Musically, the rhythm section and guitarists were letter perfect and helped overcome the vocal lapses. I don't want it to sound like I hated the show because of Tate and Moore not being able to do it perfectly. I partly blame the band for taking so long to do the sequel and allow the fans to have that pristine recording in our heads upon entering. Similarly, I blame myself for having that pristine recording in my head to use as a measuring stick. I saw that most were there for the nostalgia effect more than anything. Usually I don't feel like the youngest person at a concert but here I did. Those in attendance may have been in my age demographic but they were much older than me. We supported them as teenagers and now we're reliving those years for three hours. I've been spoiled by bands like Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Ozzy and Aerosmith whose recorded material don't do their singers justice rather than the other way around. As the Mindcrime fans know, the band turns this into an onstage movie but they're terrible actors. No one expects them to be great actors and they overact (or underact) as best as they know how. The acting is left to Tate, Moore, the kid who plays Nicky and a few extras, even using intermission to pull fans to act as a jury during one song in the second half of the show. There's a jumbotron showing the movie unfolding. The disc links sex, politics, religion, war, money, murder and control. The fact that these are themes still dominant in today's society makes it all the more relevant to me. The character playing the killer is wearing a Queensryche jacket in the movie. I didn't like that. If you want to make a movie, make it. We know who its by...The onstage character Nicky and Tate wore numerous different Queensryche Mindcrime jackets while acting. Again, I repeat my previous point. As the original Operation:Mindcrime set came to a close and the band paused for a 20-minute intermission I had mixed emotions. The music had been rock solid, Tate's vocals just average, Moore was a welcome piece of eye candy who saved the day during the first set with her voice. The best songs has been her entrance on 'Spreading the Disease' and 'Suite Sister Mary' while the down moment was during 'My Empty Room', one of my favorite tracks. It was deviod of the familiar high notes and extended musically to compensate. Its was satisfactory altogether. Just one more candle left to light...
The second act.
I had not heard a note of Mindcrime 2 but was more optimistic. This was newly minted material, more suited to present day Geoff Tate. Even so, producing a worthy supplement to the original is a daunting task so it would be fun to see if they could pull it off.
They did.
The new material was excellent. Some of the lyrics in the first couple songs got lost but it was a great extension of the original. Even the acting was somewhat better. The new music was just as heavy, delivered with intensity and it may not be just as timeless yet but I do declare it a worthy predecessor and as you've seen already, I can be a harsh critic. The second 'act' redeemed the whole show in my eyes. It was wrong to expect them to deliver the original Mindcrime flawlessly and for those of you who will see them I give you the same warning but go see the show. I will go out and get Mindcrime 2 and when they come back around, I would go see them again. If you're wondering, as I was, if the band does any songs outside the Mindcrimes, the answer is yes. They came back out for an extended two song run through the classics 'Walk In The Shadows' and 'Jet City Woman'. After taking their well-earned bows one of the guitar players flung a pick at me which I managed to snag in a crowd like a free safety. Good times. Next concert: Evanescence. Stay tuned.
(Rage Against The Machine, Whitesnake, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam...you're on deck..)
Almost a decade had passed before they reappeared on the horizon with the exception of greatest hits and live collections, then news of the sequel to Mindcrime. Was it true? In April we got our answer as Mindcrime 2 was released along with tour dates and on October 2nd I got my wish as Queensryche came to Phoenix. The story was the band would be performing Mindcrime 1 and 2 back to back in their entirety. Mindcrime is one of my all-time favorite cd's and I had high expectations. I have listened to it countless times, learned every note, every lyric, every sound on that cd. I remember being pretty disappointed upon being told that Geoff Tate's vocals were no more than mic effects back in high school. So, it was with excitement mixed with apprehension that I went to see for myself. I had a great seat in the fifth row. I entered as they has just launched into the first song, Anarchy X. The microphone effects story I soon surmised was not true. Geoff Tate's vocals were good, but not great. Whether it was too much polishing on the cd or the years taking their toll on the singer, Tate struggled to hit the higher notes, dropped a couple of octaves on some lines and sometimes simply spoke the lyric. I was close enough to see him straining to find the notes and even though the effort was there, sometimes the note wasn't. Tate's saving grace came in the form of Pamela Moore aka Sister Mary. Moore, who looks like a young Pam Anderson, bailed Tate out more than a few times with the higher notes once her character gets involved in the story. That part is critical, since those songs are the backbone of the entire story. However, even she looked like she had difficulty with some of the material, not nearly as much as Tate but there were notes lowered on her end as well. Musically, the rhythm section and guitarists were letter perfect and helped overcome the vocal lapses. I don't want it to sound like I hated the show because of Tate and Moore not being able to do it perfectly. I partly blame the band for taking so long to do the sequel and allow the fans to have that pristine recording in our heads upon entering. Similarly, I blame myself for having that pristine recording in my head to use as a measuring stick. I saw that most were there for the nostalgia effect more than anything. Usually I don't feel like the youngest person at a concert but here I did. Those in attendance may have been in my age demographic but they were much older than me. We supported them as teenagers and now we're reliving those years for three hours. I've been spoiled by bands like Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Ozzy and Aerosmith whose recorded material don't do their singers justice rather than the other way around. As the Mindcrime fans know, the band turns this into an onstage movie but they're terrible actors. No one expects them to be great actors and they overact (or underact) as best as they know how. The acting is left to Tate, Moore, the kid who plays Nicky and a few extras, even using intermission to pull fans to act as a jury during one song in the second half of the show. There's a jumbotron showing the movie unfolding. The disc links sex, politics, religion, war, money, murder and control. The fact that these are themes still dominant in today's society makes it all the more relevant to me. The character playing the killer is wearing a Queensryche jacket in the movie. I didn't like that. If you want to make a movie, make it. We know who its by...The onstage character Nicky and Tate wore numerous different Queensryche Mindcrime jackets while acting. Again, I repeat my previous point. As the original Operation:Mindcrime set came to a close and the band paused for a 20-minute intermission I had mixed emotions. The music had been rock solid, Tate's vocals just average, Moore was a welcome piece of eye candy who saved the day during the first set with her voice. The best songs has been her entrance on 'Spreading the Disease' and 'Suite Sister Mary' while the down moment was during 'My Empty Room', one of my favorite tracks. It was deviod of the familiar high notes and extended musically to compensate. Its was satisfactory altogether. Just one more candle left to light...
The second act.
I had not heard a note of Mindcrime 2 but was more optimistic. This was newly minted material, more suited to present day Geoff Tate. Even so, producing a worthy supplement to the original is a daunting task so it would be fun to see if they could pull it off.
They did.
The new material was excellent. Some of the lyrics in the first couple songs got lost but it was a great extension of the original. Even the acting was somewhat better. The new music was just as heavy, delivered with intensity and it may not be just as timeless yet but I do declare it a worthy predecessor and as you've seen already, I can be a harsh critic. The second 'act' redeemed the whole show in my eyes. It was wrong to expect them to deliver the original Mindcrime flawlessly and for those of you who will see them I give you the same warning but go see the show. I will go out and get Mindcrime 2 and when they come back around, I would go see them again. If you're wondering, as I was, if the band does any songs outside the Mindcrimes, the answer is yes. They came back out for an extended two song run through the classics 'Walk In The Shadows' and 'Jet City Woman'. After taking their well-earned bows one of the guitar players flung a pick at me which I managed to snag in a crowd like a free safety. Good times. Next concert: Evanescence. Stay tuned.
posted by TheLegacyKey | 5:16 PM
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