| stateside fan 02.04.2006 04:58 |
c'mon folks lets here the note by note description of the show please! |
| YourValentine 02.04.2006 05:02 |
I support this request... |
| Megamike The GREAT 02.04.2006 12:21 |
Rumor has it that they all were abducted by aliens and wisked away to another planet to live their lives listening to nothing but Britney Spears, Beyonce and Pink sing thier version of We Will Rock You, OVER AND OVER AND OVEr and over... for eternity.. Those aliens sure know how to torture someone |
| rockyracoon 02.04.2006 13:35 |
LIke the other shows, the San Diego show was OUTSTANDING. I just don't know enough superlatives to describe the experience. Their harmonies were great, the audience was enthusiastic and electrified, and the encore songs (as well as Bo Rhap) just raised the roof. Attendance was excellent, with probably 90% of the seats filled. A couple of things worth mentioning -- As Brian said a few words before Hammer to Fall, he mentioned that the tour had not been without a few mishaps. He described how he had fallen into the piano pit, and mentioned that Paul had recently sustained an elbow injury and was in pain. He asked us to extend a warm welcome to Paul and show our appreciation for him being there tonight. Roger performed flawlessly. His drumming was perfect, and his vocals were amazing especially while singing I'm in Love With My Car. He did a great job on These Are the Days of our Lives, and also on Radio Ga Ga. And the audience did a good job with the hand clapping. Brian, as always, was great. He looked a bit tired, but that didn't stop him from giving 100%. It seemed that he was having some kind of electronic problem with his guitar at the beginning of Last Horizon, as the volume on one of the strings (probably the b string) was very subdued. Maybe a problem with one of the pickups. But he fiddled around with his controls and got it working the way he wanted. While I didn't feel he played the song quite as well as other times I have heard him perform, it was still strong enough to move many to tears, including no shortage of grown men. Maybe it's because the song seems so moving after his lengthy guitar solo. It's impossible to describe what Paul Rodgers brings to the show. The man is a first class stud. Great voice, always smiling, and his range seems to be getting better all the time. He fits in beautifully with Brian and Roger. Without his involvement, we wouldn't be hearing Queen in concert. Thank you, thank you, Paul. It's hard to pick out a highlight of the evening, but Under Pressure would have to be near the top of the list. It just plain sounded great, and the crowd was really into it. Brian introduced it as a song they pirated from Vanilla Ice. And Brian did a fabulous job of singing the high parts in the middle of the song. Overall, Queen does an excellent job of getting the audience involved in the show. Spike, Jamie and Danny don't get enough credit for what they add to the power of the music and the show. They are great talents and it's obvious that the chemistry among all six performers is really great. At this point, as excellent musicians, they know how to complement each other in each of the songs. Their musicianship is just outstanding. My wife and I bought tickets up front, on the right side just even with the end of the catwalk. Brian and Paul were frequently within 10-15 feet. While it was an incredible experience to be so close to the performers, there's a bit of a disadvantage in not being able to see the reaction of the entire crowd. Small price to pay for great seats. :) At the end of the show, following God Save the Queen, it seemed that the audience just didn't want to leave. |
| Donna13 02.04.2006 13:58 |
Thanks for the great report. I've seen concerts on TV where they used a catwalk but it had railings. I think those spot lights can be temporarily blinding. |
| likecats 02.04.2006 14:05 |
Well,...a splendid time was had by all. My wife and I had seen them at the Hollywood Bowl last October, but the Cox Arena actually seemed smaller and more intimate. Maybe that was my imagination, or maybe it was because we had better seats. The arena looked nearly full and the audience was pretty enthusiastic, although people further away tend to sit on their asses more. No surprises in the setlist. It's too bad that '39 and I Want It All have been dropped, but it was good to hear Dragon Attack and Under Pressure. I'm still disappointed that they didn't add anything from their '70s repertoire. That said, the show rocked for two hours and the band seemed to be having a good time. I had seen the original line-up a couple of times and even after all these years there's still an underlying sadness to the whole event without Freddie, but the show is damn good anyway. Before he sang Love Of My Life, Brian thanked everyone for coming and especially all the young people. This time my wife and I brought her daughter. The ticket was my Christmas present to her and it was her first rock concert ever. After the show, standing in the T-shirt line, and all the way home, I heard nothing but "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" |
| Donna13 02.04.2006 14:46 |
likecats wrote: Before he sang Love Of My Life, Brian thanked everyone for coming and especially all the young people. This time my wife and I brought her daughter. The ticket was my Christmas present to her and it was her first rock concert ever. After the show, standing in the T-shirt line, and all the way home, I heard nothing but "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"This is so great to read. |
| stateside fan 02.04.2006 16:31 |
this arena is perfect for this tour and sold very well which is great.medium arenas or sheds if they ever come back |
| Atomic Dog 02.04.2006 16:58 |
JUST FANTASTIC Between 3 England shows, Wales, and the Hollywood Bowl, this was the best night yet. The crowd was great, and Brian and Paul really had it going. The energy and the set list all worked together for alot of great moments. Let me list some highlights. First off, Paul kicked butt last night. Rock solid vocals with a lot of playing with the crowd. Right side of the catwalk had 10 girls with jeweled crowns on and black tank tops that said Rest In Peace Freddie. Paul and these girls kept talking back and forth all night, and had a great time. Every one in the building really took Paul under their wing and made the night special. We lucked out and got tickets second row right in front of the right side upper catwalk. We had Paul come up and sing directly to us three times during the show, shaking hands, and playing with us. What an amazing moment, and I think Paul was having a very good time with it all. Under Presure and Dragon Atack the best songs of the night. Dragon Atack was sooooo clean and un cluttered so that the grove was right up front. Rodger and Brian really brought this one home, and Paul's vocal cut thru the heavy rythem like a knife. A+++ on this one. Under Presure shot the roof off the building. Brians vocals on the high notes sent shivers they came thru so clean. Made you feel like Freddie was playing along on this one. A+++ as well. Highlight for the night was having Brian play the lead for WWRY on the upper right catwalk and smile and play with us the whole time only being 3' away. My favorite lead with my best Queen moment. Great night, great place to play, and great over all show. This one is in my all time top five best shows. See You All at the Anaheim Pond and the MGM in LV Cheers |
| All I Hear Is Radio Gaga 02.04.2006 17:07 |
Your going to Anaheim? I'll see you there look for me! |
| likecats 02.04.2006 18:50 |
Donna13 wrote:Thanks. I reckon she has the rest of her teenage years for her mom and I to be a source of embarrassment for her, so it was great to be the cool step-dad for one night. :)likecats wrote: Before he sang Love Of My Life, Brian thanked everyone for coming and especially all the young people. This time my wife and I brought her daughter. The ticket was my Christmas present to her and it was her first rock concert ever. After the show, standing in the T-shirt line, and all the way home, I heard nothing but "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"This is so great to read. |
| SaveMe09 02.04.2006 19:31 |
Absolutely an Amazing show...I'm still speechless somewhat...this is going to be an amazing week...I'm going to Anaheim as well..front row...then San Jose. But I have to disagree with the statement that the hand clapping was good...it was good in some parts but it was almost non-existent during we will rock you and radio ga ga...but none the less one of the best shows ever! It rocked! -Jen |
| DreaminQueen 02.04.2006 22:04 |
SaveMe09 wrote: Absolutely an Amazing show...I'm still speechless somewhat...this is going to be an amazing week...I'm going to Anaheim as well..front row...then San Jose. But I have to disagree with the statement that the hand clapping was good...it was good in some parts but it was almost non-existent during we will rock you and radio ga ga...but none the less one of the best shows ever! It rocked! -JenAMEN! (although i wasnt at this show, i was at the Buffalo one) But the same happened at the Buffalo show... not enough Audience participation IMHO... But i was going crazy! So i didnt care about anyone else... lol We should get a petition going asking them to compe back to the states!!! |
| SaveMe09 02.04.2006 22:41 |
I think everyone who's going to the last few shows, should take a look at the dvd of "return of the champions" and see how audience participation is done.....We all want them to come back here and we need to show them. -jen |
| NoOneButMe 03.04.2006 01:09 |
Great, great show from the beginning to the end. It was just awesome. I went from Leon, Mexico and all the trip was worth it with this show, now I just can die in peace. I was in the fifth row, right behing these 10 girls dressed with the black shirt and the crowns, in the back they have "We Will Rock You" and were simply amazing. At the end of the show, Brian and Paul were in the catwalk and read the lips from Brian saying: "GREAT SHOW", and, of course, I agree with him. I should say in my opinion the the attendace to the show was over 90% and very introduced with the whole concert. When they play the WWRY track before Roger starts with drums, I feel all the place was hitted with the sound. Can feel the drums in my chest and stomach. Hope someone has recorded it and share with all of us, as well as their pictures. GOD SAVE THE "QUEEN". Rafael |
| Wiley 03.04.2006 10:06 |
PERFECT SHOW! The Best Ever! Me and my friends had the best time. We were next to the catwalk in the 5th row, on Brian's side. The best seats I've had in my 5 Queen shows (4 last year and this one) and we were surrounded by lots of pretty girls. I have fond memories of Vienna and Prague in Europe; Munich was not that memorable for me because I was on the benches; I was close to the stage on Leipzig but the show was not that great; San Diego rocked like hell! There were like two or three older people seating on my side of the catwalk, we were all standing. I didn't see more than 20 or 50 empty seats in the whole arena. It sure qualifies as a sell out. The band was on fire! And these pretty girls on my side of the stage really contributed to the energy of the band and the overall show quality. Some of them were cheering for Paul and at the end of the show he threw them a kiss and they went crazy! Brian was very excited about it, I could see a tear coming out of his eye when he played the final chord of We Are The Champions as he said "That's all folks" (I read his lips), when he walked away HE THREW HIS SIXPENCE AND MY FRIEND GOT IT!!! :D It's a 1956 sixpence and it's an actual coin, not the ones they sell in the shop. The setlist was PERFECT! The last 5 or 6 songs before the encore were pure magic. Last Horizon was beautiful, Bad Company rocked (many PR fans over here); I never thought Another one bites the dust could rock that much, and then Dragon Attack, just perfect, a crunchier version. Days of our lives and Radio Ga Ga were a nice change into the nostalgic side. Under Pressure was introduced as being based on a riff stolen from a guy called Vanilla Ice, hehe :). And that was a highlight for me. Show Must Go On and Bohemian Rhapsody were INTENSE! I could have gone home before the encore and it would still have been the best show of my life! I saw these guys 4 times last year. It was magical, a marvelous time but I thought it was something for the fans. I couldn't see a regular Joe going to the gig and enjoying it at the same level as a Queen fan but San Diego changed my view about it. My friend who got the sixpence summed it up pretty well for me, he said "... and I thought U2 was going to be the best show in my life". I saw U2 and enjoyed it a lot (I knew all the songs). Before this past weekend I thought "Oh well, Queen is better but U2 is more current, they play stadiums, they have a huge screen, there's a lot of hype, blah blah" I just couldn't say the Queen show was better than the one I saw from U2 because the ones I saw in Europe weren't. Now I can say it without a shadow of a doubt, this saturday Queen and Paul Rodgers rocked better than anyone I've seen in my life. I almost don't want to see them again, fearing that the show would not be as good as San Diego. Perfect, just PERFECT! Wiley |
| Dynamite With A Laser Beam 03.04.2006 10:41 |
Great review Wiley! I'm glad to read that you and your friends had such a good time at the gig. When I saw Brian throw the sixpence, I thought "I hope it goes to someone who will appreciate it." It sounds as though it did. Good things happen in San Diego. (I was born here!) :) |
| ElleInnuendo 03.04.2006 12:21 |
link Here's the link to my pix.... There's alot of blurry shots (I was having problems holdiong still, go figure) but a couple gems. I was on the opposite side of the catwalk from the tiara girls. |
| Wiley 03.04.2006 12:44 |
Nice pix. I was right behind the tiara girls and next to other very nice girls who seemed to enjoy the show a lot, and I mean nice in a good way. Me and my friends are almost in one of your pictures but we're nowhere to be seen. I saw many people taking pictures on the other side so maybe we're in one?... We can only hope, hehe :). We took some pictures ourselves but my friend has the camera. We'll upload as soon as possible. Regarding the fan meeting, it was impossible for me and my friends to make it. I had already figured out what bus to take to Effin's, the trolley routes and all that but it was not possible. Hope you had a good time. Actually, we barely made it to the start of the show. We entered the arena while the last beat of Lose Yourself was fading (Will Call was taking a looong time, many people were still buying tickets at the last minute). We went down the stairs to our seats as Reaching out and Tie your mother down were playing. I saw the curtain fell from the stairs and then continued running, hehe :). From that moment on, we didn't stop jumping and screaming. The band was on fire and so was Cox Arena! Wiley |
| AmeriQueen 03.04.2006 12:53 |
BEST SHOW YET!!! I've been to Birminham(May 6th) and L.A.(Hollywood Bowl, late October) and now the SD show. This was the best of the three! Los Angeles audiences do suck ass, but I will leave that title with them and not all of California because San Diego's crowd kicked ass! Take Love is getting a lot better! The band is so tight with just about everything! Under Pressure rocked! But, as usual, it was Brian May's guitar solo that stole the show! Roger's drum solo helped as well! |
| The Stealer 03.04.2006 13:18 |
Nice photos--especially the full shot of brian in the smoke and golden light. Beautiful |
| Wiley 03.04.2006 13:23 |
Oh crap, I forgot to mention about Take Love, hehe :). I was singing it so loud and I swear that in a moment Brian looked in my direction and looked genuinely surprised that I knew the lyrics. Well, he might have been looking at the tiara girls, but that's not what I want to believe, hahaha :). Wiley |
| ElleInnuendo 03.04.2006 15:34 |
The tiara girls had a cute gimmick but were pretty clueless as to the music except for the big hits. I thought it was a little offensive to Paul to be wearing shirts that say RIP Freddie, but I guess we were all wishing he was there anyway. I was next to the tall bald guy who got Roger's sticks at the end. (he had made a shirt he held up that said "Dear Roger, Can I have your sticks?" hehe) The best part was the people next to me who kept asking me questions: What's the drummer's name? What was the name of Brian's solo? Who wrote "Radio gaga"?" They could clearly tell I'm over the edge hardcore) I even saw myself on the big screen during "We Are the Champions"-- Brilliant! |
| likecats 03.04.2006 17:00 |
ElleInnuendo wrote: link Here's the link to my pix.... There's alot of blurry shots (I was having problems holdiong still, go figure) but a couple gems. I was on the opposite side of the catwalk from the tiara girls.These are great! Thank you! It was a great show! |
| ElleInnuendo 04.04.2006 00:11 |
Thanks for the pix compliments, all :) My pleasure! Keep an eye out for them on BrianMay.com, they might show up there. I doubt I'll be able to weasel my way into those kinds of seats ever again... My ticket was NOT for that spot! ;) |
| johnroxx 04.04.2006 01:14 |
ElleInnuendo wrote: I doubt I'll be able to weasel my way into those kinds of seats ever again...My ticket was NOT for that spot! ;)Well, I wasn't going to say anything...your secret would have been safe with me, lol! ;^) |
| Lisser 04.04.2006 01:28 |
Erin, Pieter, and I did the same thing in Jacksonville. We were not sitting/standing in the seats that we paid for. But we did pay for floor seats, top ones at that. There was no way we were going to let the seats smack dab at the end of the catwalk go empty!!! Good on you Ellen and great pics. Thanks for sharing. :) |
| NoOneButMe 07.04.2006 21:15 |
Hi, aren´t there any more photos from San Diego??? Any audio or video recordings yet??? Let us know, please!!!! Rafael. |
| NoOneButMe 10.04.2006 20:45 |
Still waiting for somebody else to post photos, reviews, video clips, audio clips or even the whole show....... See you!!! |