Concert
Review
I
last saw Queensryche at Rocklahoma in 2008 when they closed out the final day.
That day their set had consisted of the songs from the Mindcrime albums. Before
that I had caught them on their first Australian tour (again performing the Mindcrime
suites) which only touched down in the Eastern States. Back in the day I had
seen them virtually every time they visited the UK. Tonight could well go down
as one of my favourite Queensryche shows of all time.
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Geoff
blew some sax that night
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I last saw Queensryche at Rocklahoma in
2008 when they closed out the final day. That day their set had consisted of
the songs from the Mindcrime albums. Before that I had caught them on their
first Australian tour (again performing the Mindcrime suites in their entirety)
which only touched down in the Eastern States. Back in the day I had seen them
virtually every time they visited the UK. On reflection I think tonight could
well be my favourite QR gig.
Tonight they opened up their Australian
Tour in Perth at the Capitol with a less than impressive turnout. Quite frankly
the people of WA should be hanging their heads in shame. For years people have
been complaining that bands never get to Perth and now that there are finally
some promoters out there with the balls to take a punt on bringing out bands of
this calibre it’s pretty fucked up that no one comes out. It was cold, it was a
Thursday and everyone who did attend had a bloody good night’s entertainment.
OK diatribe over.
The Set-list for this tour, which they then
take back to the States next month, revolves around three suites of music: Rage
For Order, Empire and American Soldier. I must admit I had myself reaching for
Rage For Order a week or so before the show as I hadn’t listened to it in a
while, even more shockingly I had bought ‘American Soldier’ when it came out
and misplaced it. Empire of course we all know and love. When I put the other
two CDs on back to back last week I was seriously impressed and knew we were in
for a good night.
Capitol probably had 200 people in that
night and it is the first time ever I have been able to walk to the bar
virtually unimpeded. When Scott walked out and got behind the drums the place
livened up considerably.
The concert was what I would consider one
of the greats. Despite the poor turnout the crowd that was there was pretty
vocal and that seemed to go down well with the band. I Think that there were a
few people there who were less than familiar with the opening Suite culled from
the ‘Rage For Order’ album but songs such as ‘The Whisper’ (only two songs in)
and ‘Walk in the Shadows’ had the crowd buzzing.
To be honest I hadn’t been too sure what to
make of American Soldier but in the live setting the songs just seemed to take
on a new life and it will definitely have me going back to the album for more.
Finally came the crowd-pleasing ‘Empire’
set which topped off a truly memorable night. Queensryche ploughed through all
of the favourites without anyone feeling short-changed. It’s an album that
never really ages for me, just a classic release. I personally thought ‘Jet
City Woman’ and ‘Best I Can’ took the cake. Geoff’s voice really isn’t showing
signs of age and his sax playing stood up nicely. The rest of the band are
pretty much a joy to watch, these guys just seem so in-touch with each other. I
suppose that’s what comes from releasing your strongest set of songs in a good
few years.
All in all it was a great show, and I find
it hard to say that, being such a big fan of Mindcrime, but tonight neither Queensryche
nor the crowd needed it. It was simply a great night out in Perth, a nice long
set and great entertainment. Even Geoff’s ‘interestingly reflective’ mid-song
banter didn’t seem staged by the end of the night. As he said before he left us
“Music is pure, so celebrate it” tonight we did.
Queensryche are currently wrapping up
their tour of Australia. At the start of September you can catch them back in
the States at the Evergreen State Fair in Washington before they kick off the
new leg of their US Tour at the Greek Theatre in Berkley on 25th
September. Their tour continues until November when they round up with a
headline appearance at ‘Shiprocked’.
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