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.

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 25^th September. Their tour continues until November when they round up with a headline appearance at ‘Shiprocked’.

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