Well, I have to say, it was great. I was really looking forward to seeing a Queen tribute band for the first time. Overall, I was happy with the show, and had a good time there in third row from the front. The 2500-capacity hall was about half full, but the audience was still very enthusiastic and gave a great reception, nonetheless.
First of all, the Freddie was just outstanding. He had the voice, the moves, the personality, everything. He was constantly getting the audience into the show, and came across incredibly well. He made it worth the money alone. What a great performer! Clearly he has listened to his live stuff intently, judging by many of his comments towards the audience. Many made me smile. And his Day-O with the audience was excellent, as he combined about 4 different versions from throughtout Queen's career. I'd love to see anyone who could do a better Freddie than this guy could. He was just something else. He changed his outfits throughout, and even had falsies for Break Free.
The lights were also outstanding throughout! The stage was a similar to the Magic tour stage (much smaller, of course!), but there was plenty of room for Freddie to roam about.
The setlist had nothing obscure, although songs like One Vision, Hammer To Fall, and I Want It All may have been unknown to many people in the audience, because they were not really hits here. In terms of getting the audience going, the best songs of the night were Fat Bottomed Girls and the fast WWRY in the encore.
They opened with One Vision, and I was expecting this exciting energy from the band. The drummer looked half-awake (which was often the case throughout the show), and the guitarist just kind of stood there. His tone was very much unlike the beautifully clean Vox tone of our beloved Brian May. He was playing out of a Marshall stack! There were honestly no more than two or three moments where he actually sounded like Brian May. Clearly he was very talented, but he wasn't anything like a Brian May clone. And clearly the drummer was very talented as well, but he just didn't have the body language.
The guitarist, drummer, and bassist were no doubt very talented musicians, but they sounded like a band who were playing Queen songs, not a band who were playing songs similarly to the way Queen did. The solo spots showcased the members' talents. The guitar solo sounded more like Joe Satriani, the drum solo sounded more like Neil Peart, and the bass solo included licks from some other bands (well-appreciated by the audience). They were great solos in their own right, but seemed a bit out of place at a Queen tribute show.
The above points can be relative to taste, so it can be said that this next one is the only true criticism: The use of vocal overdubs all over the place was an insult to the real Queen. I had doubts at first, but they completely gave it away during Somebody To Love when you could hear them turn the tape off, as this background hiss suddenly disappeared after "one day I'm gonna be free Lord....."
The guitarist, although clearly an excellent one, was a bit of a show-off at times. The real Brian May was nothing like this, so I saw this as a slight insult as well. However, he was still a wonderful guy to talk to after the show, and I still did compliment his guitar playing. Regardless of my own tastes, there is no denying he was an incredibly talented musician. I spoke with all four musicians afterwards, and they were all extremely nice people.
Aside from all this, I can still say they are a great band. However, in short, with the singer aside, they just don't sound like Queen. But with that in mind, the songs do have a certain freshness to them. You must see these guys if you get the chance, as the frontman is worth the money alone. They will be coming back next year, and I will definitely see them again.
They are coming to Ottawa on Oct 2.
Do you really recommend I should go see them? and do you remember how the setlist was like? any songs beside the hits?
I've seen just one Queen cover band in my life and I was quite pleased... I must admit I don't like cover bands that much, but that was really outstanding... I don't remember the name (it was something like three or four years ago - it must have been just "Q"), but the players were truly good... The singer was not bad and, even if his range was not wide enough (he obviously had problems with the highest notes), he performed a nice show.
The only thing I really didn't like was the tracklist choice, too stuck to the Magic Tour era, and so not one of my favourites...
... By the way, Bob, have you received my mail?
:-)
Albyboy
deleted user 01.10.2004 13:02
There isn't much tribute bands here in the US, is there? This ignorant nation (as I have come to know-i'm just an immigrant) has much to learn...
Albyboy wrote: ... By the way, Bob, have you received my mail?
Yes I did, and I'll reply tonight.. I'm heading off to work now.
Oh, and another thing... it was a really amazing feeling to be in an audience doing the Radio Ga Ga clap-clap thing!
I missed this one and I feel kind of bad. Well I don't know if it would have been worth the drive. We did have one Queen tribute band which played up in this area about five years ago. They were pretty good but three quarters of the night in they turned into a bar band and started playing Tragically Hip and Green Day among others. At that point it was time to go home.
Hey Sir G.H., Love the review. I agree with the Neil Peart comment about the drum solo, but hey, as a wannabe great rock drummer, I enjoyed it!!
That "brian may" guy on guitar was bad I thought and like everyone else has said, sounded NOTHING like Brian.
And like everyone else, I too was in the third row!!!
mike
I thought it was great (this is going on me seeing it over a year and a half ago). 'Freddie' didn't manage to get the 'day-o' right (he cracked half way through but kept on going) and the comments that he made were very 80's ("Show of hands anyone who has a bit of English in 'em?" *hands fly up* Well anyone want a little bit more!?) and 'Deaky' and Brian were talking..tut, tut, tut.
But amusing at the same time.
Too bad I missed them when they were over here last.
First tribute band I saw were "Magic - A Kind Of Queen" or should that be "Awful - A Kind of Butlins" ? The band were pretty good, but the frontman was really poor. Only good bit was hearing a live version of Innuendo. All in all it put me off going to see Queen tribute bands. Shame, cos I'm sure there are some really good ones out there.