I went to the Queen+AL show in Toronto last night. A few disjointed thoughts:
- I don't listen to Adam Lambert, so I went figuring I could focus on Brian and Roger (I had Row 14 seats, so had a good view). However, AL was very much a frontman in terms of stage presence, and did an exceptional job. I went to the Queen+PR show as well, and have the DVDs, listened to bootlegs etc. and always felt a bit disappointed whenever Paul Rodgers came back on stage after letting Brian and Roger take over for a while, because his voice (albeit great!) changed things so that the overall "Queen" sound was modified. The same effect didn't happen with AL. It's not that he sounded like Freddie; rather, his voice made for less of an incongruous pairing with the band. I guess Queen+PR felt like a mash-up, but Queen+AL felt more of a complete unit. PR seemed uncomfortable with some Queen songs but sounded great with his songs ("All Right Now" was a huuuuge highlight for me), but AL was very confident about every song he sang.
- They did not play Don't Stop Me Now. I avoided reviews and setlists so I didn't know until after the show that they had played this earlier.
- I accidentally found out about Love Kills online, so I'm upset with myself because that would have been such a huge surprise and killed what would have been a great moment. Upon hearing it once, it was fairly forgettable, and it felt like the audience wasn't feeling it.
- I'm a huge, huge Queen fan, but Brian's guitar solo still felt long to me, even though I know Last Horizon and the Brighton Rock Solo, and appreciated his snippet of Ogre Battle. If it felt long for me, I can't imagine how it felt for more casual fans.
- The band screwed up the big finish to Under Pressure. I think it was AL who missed his cue, which led to an awkward few seconds of instrumentalization until Roger jumped in with vocals to get the song back on track at the very very end. AL laughed about it and gave a high-five-handshake-thing to Roger.
- The audience felt loud to me, but I would be interested in hearing how people compare it to some of the earlier shows. Love of My Life fell flat (I seem to recall the audience singing loudly at the Q+PR show 8 years ago), but in general the audience sang along when they could.
- No mention of the World Cup final, which wrapped up hours earlier. Saw one big German flag in the audience.
- I loved the Don't Try Suicide and Body Language bits in the bass solo. Along with the Procession intro, Ogre Battle in the guitar solo, and White Man before Fat Bottomed Girls (I think), there were a few shout outs to lesser known songs.
- Roger started We Will Rock You, then stopped, started, then stopped, and then finally continued. It also seemed like he was checking with Rufus... is this a new thing? I just checked WWRY from the Chicago show, and it started smoothly, so it makes me think Roger/Rufus messed up.
- Brian was in fine form, but I felt like a certain part of the solo in Bo Rhap was slowed noticeably.
- Roger seemed to take more of a secondary role in this show, compared to the Q+PR tour. He sang lead on one song only, didn't do I'm in Love with My Car, and shared the drums with his son.
Overall, a fantastic show!
The tease start to We will Rock You was played that way in all three shows I saw in Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary.
Love of My life varied in each city. In Saskatoon the crowd seemed uninterested and Brian made a comment about someone being so interested in his cell phone. The next night in Edmonton we didn't sing much, but reacted strongly and emotionally between versus and when Freddie appeared. Brian got emotional on this night. In Calgary the next night, Love of My Life went over ok.
But I would totally agree about the PR comparison to AL. It feels more like a Queen show as opposed to a 75% Queen 25% PR show.
the dude 1366 wrote:
The tease start to We will Rock You was played that way in all three shows I saw in Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary.
Love of My life varied in each city. In Saskatoon the crowd seemed uninterested and Brian made a comment about someone being so interested in his cell phone. The next night in Edmonton we didn't sing much, but reacted strongly and emotionally between versus and when Freddie appeared. Brian got emotional on this night. In Calgary the next night, Love of My Life went over ok.
But I would totally agree about the PR comparison to AL. It feels more like a Queen show as opposed to a 75% Queen 25% PR show.
I was at the Detroit show...........thought LOML went over awesomely there..........
I thought it was an awesome show. I've been a die-hard Queen fanatic and Freddie -worshiper since 1978. I definitely missed Freddie's power and presence, but thought Adam did a good job. He just sort of misses the mark on the rock songs though, like "I Want It All" and "Tie Your Mother Down" … even "Fat Bottomed Girls" and the like … not nearly enough power to his voice. He does have a great set of pipes, but he's missing the sheer rock power that Freddie had that brought those songs into the stratosphere. That little bit of a snarl in the voice that makes it rock.
Had tears in my eyes during "Love Of My Life" and also "These Are The Days …" every time they showed Freddie on the screen. They paid tribute to him very well.
I'm not entirely sure, but I think Adam messed up the lyrics in "Tie Your Mother Down" as well. Would love to hear a playback of this.
I agree with Brian's solo … he's my favourite guitarist, but it was far too long, especially the initial section where nothing much is really happening before he launches into "Last Horizon".
I thought the father and son drum duel was prefect. Roger's playing all night was right on the money, and Rufus is one heck of a drummer.
I could tell Roger's delays on the beginning of "We Will Rock You" were intentional, as he smiled and laughed after each break.
Great visuals throughout the show. One thing that stuck out to me tough is that, the catwalk is lit up on either side all the way down to the circle, but the circle itself did not have a circle of lights on it. It seemed unfinished in that way. I also thought it would have been a nice touch to have the crest printed on top of the circle. But otherwise, a great stage and light show.
I can't wait to see it all again on the 28th !!
Loved the show but have to comment if the band seemed tired to me. Sort of going through the motions at moments.
Anybody else spot ( who I believe ) the guitar player from Scorpions on the floor ? Also saw Randy Bachman in passing.
Loves the show.