| Queenman!! 14.06.2016 13:47 |
I saw a lot of the concerts on youtube latest weeks and clearly see the chemistry between them but that setlist is so fucking boring last years. Correct me if I'm wrong but when looking at the latest setlist: It's just a Greatest hits1 and 2 show. How do you keep motivated each night? Never make me boring.... |
| MercurialFreddie 14.06.2016 17:10 |
When they dropped "The Hero" I hoped that they will replace it with another song... |
| Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira 14.06.2016 20:45 |
This cicle tends to exhaust itself, IMHO. Then what? New Album, hopefully. New gig shape, maybe. Retirement is my deepest fear. Cheers, Ogre- |
| Mr Mercury 15.06.2016 05:47 |
Queenman!! wrote: I saw a lot of the concerts on youtube latest weeks and clearly see the chemistry between them but that setlist is so fucking boring last years. Correct me if I'm wrong but when looking at the latest setlist: It's just a Greatest hits1 and 2 show. How do you keep motivated each night? Never make me boring....I completely agree. There is no excuse for not doing more obscure songs from their past that they havent done live before. And what tops it off for me is Brian and his selfie video's..... what a waste of time that is. |
| Vocal harmony 15.06.2016 07:40 |
As I've said before, its great that they are touring but, the set list has become very predictable. Although the US tour with Lambert provided a better show, and setlist then they had done with Paul Rodgers it does seem a bit lazy for them to have fallen into a tried and tested formula. it was great to hear some older songs and it's still great to hear some unexpected additions make an appearance each time they tour with Adam but those songs just seem to be added to an inbuilt default setting they seem to operate on. This isn't the first time, if you think back to the Magic tour although their were one or two "older" surprises the majority of that set was a live greatest hits show. The largely stagnant nature of their live set goes further back than that in as much as from Late 77/ 78 to late 1980 the main structure of the setlist was kept while individual songs were added or removed depending on the album they were touring I can understand this approach to playing live because it cuts down on preparation and is easier on all concerned, band and crew but for a band that went to such lengths to make each album so different its a shame that live many of the shows spread over the years were? are so similar. in fact during the big years, late 70's to 86 the one tour that really stood out setlist wise as being different was Hot Space, during which they tried different running orders early on and added and took out songs at different points. Also those shows had a different energy and feel to them because they were structured differently to what was the expected Queen live experience at the time. |
| scottmax 15.06.2016 10:57 |
I'd of thought with them doing festivals as opposed to a Q+AL tour, the set list has to be songs that are well known so that non Queen fans can sing along etc.... Don't think Drowse or Long Away would've went down particularly well at the IOW Festival.... |
| Mr Mercury 15.06.2016 11:20 |
scottmax wrote: I'd of thought with them doing festivals as opposed to a Q+AL tour, the set list has to be songs that are well known so that non Queen fans can sing along etc.... Don't think Drowse or Long Away would've went down particularly well at the IOW Festival....That's fine for those types of shows, but when it is their own shows then they should mix it up and do songs they have not done before and be adventurous. |
| The Real Wizard 15.06.2016 22:13 |
mr mercury wrote: And what tops it off for me is Brian and his selfie video's..... what a waste of time that is.It's all about connecting with the majority. Look at the response - people love it. Queen are all about the hits. That's been the case since the 80s, and that's what it forever will be. The people who appreciate the albums are a very small niche. It's not like Beatles fans who know Rubber Soul and Abbey Road. Most Queen fans' favourite album is Greatest Hits. It's the path the band have chosen, and that was long before Mercury died. It's amazing that they managed to create Innuendo after what they'd become in the 80s, come to think of it. Back to the present - they do occasionally throw in a rarity (like Love Kills or Las Palabras), but after 45 years in the music business Brian is just more interested in other things now. He loves playing the hits, and that's probably where it's going to stay. |
| stevelondon20 16.06.2016 01:06 |
I doubt that most Queen fans favourite album is Queen's Greatest Hits. |
| cmsdrums 17.06.2016 03:00 |
It's so frustrating that having brought them into the set for a show or two on the last tour, they have even ditched 'new' tracks like The Hero, Keep Yourself Alive, Love Kills, I Was Born To Love You, Save Me etc.. I agree that (based on the show I saw at the o2 in London last year) the energy and vibe in the room was great from the kick off, but really dropped during the overlong solo/acoustic/selfie session, and never really recovered. I notice that Brian's solo is really late in the set now too - that can't help?? |
| Sunshine 17.06.2016 07:56 |
I attended the Jelling show on May 29th 2016. I am and always have been sceptical about Adam Lambert as a front man. Actually, he does a fine job and no, he isn't a Freddie Mercury, or even a Paul Rodgers by any means. He misses seniority and authority on stage. That being said, does a great job and he is full of talent. I hope he has the skills to write songs and play an instrument, that divides the good from the great. My biggest problem with the set is the fact they abbreviate a great part of the songs. Let's look at the Jelling set: One Vision Full Hammer to Fall Short Seven Seas of Rhye Short Stone Cold Crazy Full Another One Bites the Dust Full Fat Bottomed Girls Full Play the Game Short Killer Queen Short Don't Stop Me Now Full Somebody to Love Different but full Love of My Life Short These Are the Days of Our Lives Full Drum Battle -/- Under Pressure Full Crazy Little Thing Called Love Short I Want to Break Free Full I Want It All Full Who Wants to Live Forever Short Last Horizon -/- Guitar Solo -/- Tie Your Mother Down Short Bohemian Rhapsody Full Radio Ga Ga Short Encore: We Will Rock You Short We Are the Champions Short So you see that of the 22 Queen songs (Drum solo, Last Horizon and guitar solo i don't count), 11 songs of the set were abbreviated. In fact, that abbreviation in itself isn't bad thing per se, it can be done intelligently in a medley. But it is laziness for me, the ending of Seven Seas of Rhye is ridicilous in my opinion, Play The Game ends when the best part of the song should start and many of the songs missing a verse or a whole section. So that was the main downside of the set. I don't mind if they play the same set every night, this set is in fact quite solid. The energy is there and the performance is great. |
| dudeofqueen 17.06.2016 09:49 |
Sunshine, re: >My biggest problem with the set is the fact they abbreviate a great part of the songs. Please don't get me wrong as I will NEVER defend the decision to tour as they are at the moment, but as Queen in their heyday, they based a huge part of their set on medleys - its a good way of getting more value out of the set and keeping the musicians themselves on their toes. I completely agree with you, but its a formula that is familiar to Brian and he's going to stick to it as Queen+ is his to do whatever he wants with...... |
| Sunshine 17.06.2016 10:32 |
Yes i agree. Queen did those medleys intelligently back in the day. Examples are on Live At Rainbow and A Night At The Odeon. This tour they just STOP playing In the middle of Seven Seas Of Rhye and STOP playing when the guitar solo of Play The Game starts. Also, Queen with Freddie never did short versions of songs. They either played it decently or mixed it intelligently in a medley. This type of abbreviation is just laziness. |
| Oscar J 20.06.2016 14:25 |
"The energy is there". What energy? Please point me towards an energetic performance they've done recently, I'm genuinely curious. |
| Sunshine 20.06.2016 16:06 |
I think I Want It All and Don't Stop Me Now are full of energy. |
| The Real Wizard 22.06.2016 23:21 |
Sunshine wrote: Yes i agree. Queen did those medleys intelligently back in the day. Examples are on Live At Rainbow and A Night At The Odeon. This tour they just STOP playing In the middle of Seven Seas Of Rhye and STOP playing when the guitar solo of Play The Game starts. Also, Queen with Freddie never did short versions of songs. They either played it decently or mixed it intelligently in a medley. This type of abbreviation is just laziness.And they know it. They also know that for every one of you there are another thousand who don't notice or don't care. That said - it's always kind of been a thing with them. They always cut down tunes like Killer Queen and The March Of The Black Queen, but unnecessarily stretched out songs like Liar and Brighton Rock. Their technical prowess has never been their forte. That's the case with just about all the classic rock bands. Studio musicians can play circles around them, but they can't write the great songs - and that's all that really matters in the end. |
| Viper 24.06.2016 05:10 |
The setlist is very good I think! |
| Viper 24.06.2016 05:11 |
Especially the more recent ones! |
| Vocal harmony 25.06.2016 07:39 |
^^^ yes it is and Mr Wizard has hit the nail on the head. My problem with the setlist is that, like in the late 70's, they seem to be sticking to a basic structure and adding or dropping songs but making no real effort to make things sound very different from last week, lad month or the lad tour. I completly understand the play the hits approach, especially on these dates, but they've been playing a lot of these songs for a long time. There are a lot more hits they could include, and they have a singer who can do those songs |
| Oscar J 28.06.2016 12:54 |
Wizard: I doubt they would have had any trouble performing Killer Queen in its entirety, they just chose to incorporate it in a medley. They did much trickier songs like Leroy Brown, Sweet Lady and The Prophets Song live without problems. The full version of March Of The Black Queen was probably excluded because it just wouldn't work well as a live number due to the large amount of overdubs etc. needed. Still a tricky number of course, but nothing they couldn't have sorted out on their respective instruments with enough rehearsal IMO. I think they just decided the rock part was the section that worked best live. About the "unnecessarily" stretching of those songs - I think some of their best musical moments live might be in those extended instrumental sections of Liar for example. For sure they were far from the most technical band live, but I'm not sure that explains cutting down songs, especially not numbers like Play The Game and Seven Seas Of Rhye. |
| Raf 29.06.2016 23:53 |
Oscar J wrote: Wizard: I doubt they would have had any trouble performing Killer Queen in its entirety, they just chose to incorporate it in a medley. They did much trickier songs like Leroy Brown, Sweet Lady and The Prophets Song live without problems. The full version of March Of The Black Queen was probably excluded because it just wouldn't work well as a live number due to the large amount of overdubs etc. needed. Still a tricky number of course, but nothing they couldn't have sorted out on their respective instruments with enough rehearsal IMO. I think they just decided the rock part was the section that worked best live. About the "unnecessarily" stretching of those songs - I think some of their best musical moments live might be in those extended instrumental sections of Liar for example. For sure they were far from the most technical band live, but I'm not sure that explains cutting down songs, especially not numbers like Play The Game and Seven Seas Of Rhye.I'm not saying March Of The Black Queen would've worked... But listen to The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke and Leroy Brown live. They nailed both songs live, especially TFFMS. After they released Rainbow, I couldn't help but wonder if they don't miss being so daring on stage. I know they've been playing safe since much before Freddie was even sick, but damn, Adam's brought some new life into the band, he's young, he's technically capable, they've got more musicians on stage nowadays than back in the day, and they've even done a few "experiments" both with Paul Rodgers and Adam, not to mention Brian's gifts to Queen fans on his concerts with Kerry Ellis. Just one or two unexpected songs or a different arrangement (even if as part of Brian's acoustic medley, as he did on Hammersmith recently) and we'd certainly be really happy and excited. |
| The Real Wizard 10.07.2016 17:26 |
We can sit here hoping they'll get it together some day. Or we can watch musicians who are actually doing it. This is two members of Yes (Alan White and Tony Kaye) in a side project called Circa less than a decade ago performing a 40 minute chronological Yes medley - featuring at least one song from every album between 1969-99: link Watching videos like this make me feel all the things (besides "damn, they still have their chops!") - pride that the members of Yes continue to forge new and interesting musical directions, and disappointment that our boys in Queen have long ago decided that this isn't really for them. But it's their choice, and it's totally cool. They could've chosen the more artistic theatre and club route, but they went with the safe novelty act for the masses. You guys are just setting yourself up for disappointment if you're hoping they're going to do a bunch of songs that 98% of the people paying to fill a stadium aren't going to know. Yet they're still selling out most of their shows, so they're clearly doing something right. |
| The Real Wizard 10.07.2016 17:41 |
Oscar J wrote: Wizard: I doubt they would have had any trouble performing Killer Queen in its entirety, they just chose to incorporate it in a medley.In the 70s, yes. But the transition into I'm In Love With My Car after they'd dropped Bicycle Race was pure laziness. We can do an in-depth analysis if we want - but the bottom line is, after 1978 Queen's shows more or less stopped being musically innovative. Even just shortly after their creative peak, their show began to migrate to the visual at the expense of the music. The best (worst?) example is their setlists in 1980-81, which were basically a scaled back version of the Jazz tour set plus some Game songs. But they were selling out stadiums, so it just didn't matter. This is when they learned the lesson that they could get away with anything with the majority of the public, especially when they were treading new ground around the world. Even in the Mercury era (never mind now), nothing compares to the musical breadth of their show in 1976-77. But in later years they clearly discovered other joys that superseded it. |
| Vocal harmony 11.07.2016 06:44 |
^^^ absolutely agree. I have the feeling that they didn't enjoy rehearsing so from 78 to 81 they used a basic template for the set list, so probably only spent time rehearsing the new songs which were added for each tour. Having played the rest so often they quite possibly spent little time runninr through them. The 1982 tour in a way was a breath of fresh air because they constructed a setlist from scratch which changed, especially early on in the tour. Of late they seem to have returned to the template idea, with little change. It would be nice if they got bored and felt they had to change either the setlist or the way they choose to perform the songs. I completely understand the need to play the hits, especially at festival type gigs, but they still have a much wider pool, or deeper well then most bands to choose from but seem unwilling to put the work in. The version of the set they played on the US tour was much better than what they're playing now. Time for a change. |
| Holly2003 11.07.2016 07:11 |
They haven't grown as musicians as they've got older, and certainly not after Fred died. Brian had an opportunity then to create a solo career but gave up on it when it became evident it wasn't going to be as successful as Queen. As a duo they could've created new music under a new name but it seems that was too much hard work. They're just hanging on to past musical glories. It's a bit sad really. |
| The Real Wizard 11.07.2016 10:11 |
Holly2003 wrote: Brian had an opportunity then to create a solo career but gave up on it when it became evident it wasn't going to be as successful as Queen.I'd say he and Roger both grew plenty as artists in the 90s - their solo albums were huge steps away from the Queen formula, and I'd say they were generally happy with the way things were going. In the moment, I'm sure all three of them would've said that No-One But You was the end of Queen. So I'd bet my right arm that had Cozy Powell not died, whatever Queen is today would be a much different thing. One has to wonder precisely where John Deacon leaving the band rests on that timeline, and what precipitated it. The things we'll never know. After a few missteps in the early 2000s, they found Paul Rodgers and have more or less coasted from there. |
| Holly2003 11.07.2016 15:10 |
Good point about Cosy. Never thought about that. I'm also intrigued about Deaky's decision to retire. It would be interesting if he chose to spill the beans, but it probably never will come out. |
| The Real Wizard 13.07.2016 12:02 |
Methinks he's the Don Felder of Queen. But indeed, I don't think anyone's ever going to talk about this one. |
| cmsdrums 28.07.2016 02:24 |
The Real Wizard wrote: So I'd bet my right arm that had Cozy Powell not died, whatever Queen is today would be a much different thing.Absolutely agree. I've posted in the past that Brian very much saw Cozy as his musical collaborator and sounding baord when he was starting to launch a 'proper' solo career, and that if Cozy hadn't died my hunch is that Brian may never have stepped back to Queen, other than to oversee the odd release from the archives. They're a victim of their own success really - because they were/are(?) one of the biggest bands in the history of pop music they see that they have to live up to those standards with how they are perceived and how they tour. It would be lovely however if they did a mix, whereby they could do the 'hits' tour as per the current trek to the masses, but also then do some smaller shows delving into the catalogue for the long standing and true fans. If only the 'VH1 Storytellers' show in New York that was planned for 2001 had come off (I think 9/11 put a stop to it at that point), as it seemed that coudl have seen different interpretations of songs, with them performing with various other artists and by themselves in a smaller theatre. |
| Vocal harmony 29.07.2016 08:13 |
cmsdrums wrote:[/ |