So now that Ive sorta caught up on some of the sleep I lost in the crazy drive, time for some reflections on the Queen concert. If you dont know, Queen is my favorite band ever. I guess it boils down to the way they convey emotion, whether it be humor, sadness, love, or a nostalgic smile, Freddie gave it all a voice, and the band gave it all the appropriate kind of noise to punch you in the face with. The guitar solo on These Are The Days Of Our Lives still makes me cry every time I hear it 20 plus years later. I even remember hearing it before Freddie died and it just sorta tying me all up in a knot. Well, its not just Freddies state that makes that song touch people. Were all wondering what happened to yesterday. Likewise, Freddie belting ..spreading his HANDS on the MONTITUDE THEEEEAAAARRRRE!!! or So you feel like you aint nobody!!!!!! always made feel like I am all I need to be to do whatever Ill ever need to do in life. From subtle heart pulling serenades, to powerful anthemic triumph rivaling the most powerful Black Sabbath riffage and most fist pumping KISS singalong. I always knew that they brought all of that to the stage. Ive seen more Queen video footage than Ill ever remember. But, I never thought Id get to see any element of that for myself. I was too young to see them with Freddie because America has weird musical tastes and MTV never liked them, so they were pretty much black balled here in the 80s. I suppose Id still be too young in 86 at the ripe ole age of 9 to see their last tour anyway since it wasnt as common for kids to get to go to concerts back then. All that aside, I knew that I would hate myself if I didnt seize the chance to see them in Dallas, just 7ish hours away, since the last two Queen + Paul Rogers tours didnt come to the states. In fact, if it werent for a very successful one off show in Vegas, I dont know if they would have thought to book a tour here this time either. Plus, Brian has mused that this might be their last tour as he and Roger arent getting any younger. I better not miss this... Ill definitely hate myself. After all, if someone said You can see Queen (with Freddie) life, or you can see all the other bands you love, Id trade everything else in to see Queen. After an exhaustive effort to find someone to tag along, I set out on the journey alone. Weeknight concerts that are almost 8 hours away, dont tend to make for a long list of possible copilots. Now, I did, of course, realize that 2 members are no longer participants. John Deacon has retired, and has no interest in public live in the slightest. None-the-less, this is as close as I can get, and hey, Adam Lambert did a great job singing with them in Vegas, and on American Idol. I dont know how long it would take me to get anywhere close to describing how glad I am that I went, but Ill try. First off, I can now confirm beyond all shadow of a doubt that Queen are still the greatest live band the Earth may ever see. Seeing it on video...yeah yeah, thats great. And that is enough, for sure, to see Freddies command of the stage and an audience. But video doesnt have the 4 D factor. Lights on a video arent blinding. The sound doesnt fill the room... even if you turn the volume up... it is not the live, as its happening, sound coming out of those massive speakers at a concert sound. Video has no peripheral vision. And, most importantly, you cant be in the crowd doing the Radio Ga Ga clap!!!!!!!! I always watched all those crowds do that... now I was in one! Anyway, my point is that video doesnt have all the swells and power that is being wielded by Brian and Rogers royal will. I have seen great bands put on great shows, but something about Brian and Roger (and of course John and Freddie)... there is a certain intangible relationship they have with the audience. There is something invisible, and unspoken that they take with them as people onto the stage that transcends putting on a show. I heard a lot of people talking who had also never experienced the legacy of what was happening, and it struck me how many people were saying things like I wouldnt have thought they were that emotional... Queen has always had a great sense of humor, and they still do. And, they can still make you feel whatever other emotion they want you to as well. A lot of it is in how Brian and Roger sound when they sing together too... they create a very unique backing vocal wall, even if its just the two of them. The most surprising aspect of the event was the fact that I think they revealed what 90% of that intangible factor is. Queen, and their fans, are literally a weird kind of family. Lucas Taylor, Rogers son, played percussion, and drums. Sometimes he played along with Roger to thicken up the drum sound, and he even played drums while Roger played percussion on Tie Your Mother Down. The most revealing moment was the drum solo contest. Taking turns flailing about the drums, both Rogers pride in his son, and the audiences treatment of Lucas as the kid weve all watched grow up seemed to say something about some of why a Queen show is so intangible. It is VERY important to note that they didnt come with a watered down Queen show full of medleys aimed at avoiding the difficult parts of songs or making an hour long show seem longer. They played a hard rock Queen show full of songs like Now Im Here, Fat Bottomed Girls, Seven Seas Of Rhye, In The Lap Of The Gods (Revisited), Stone Cold Crazy, and I Want It All! In fact, Brians massive guitar solo was much longer than I had ever seen back in the day. Ok, I think Ive established that Queen reminded everyone that the modern rock show, as we know it, is thankfully their fault. The biggest intangible is obviously the Adam Lambert factor. Lest anyone think Im about to compare him to Freddie, Im not. Well, I am... but Im not. What I mean is, Im going to compare some elements, but Im going to do so under the foregone conclusion (well, I guess it isnt foregone if Im thinking anyone needs to read this disclaimer.) that Freddie transcends the sum of the parts unlike any other performer ever has. Whether its the room filling timber of his voice, or that personality that says I am wonderful and dont you forget it, yet I actually know that Im nothing without the other wonderful people who make me possible or his love of life and music, or all those things that we all know about.... All that said, Adam is a legend in the making. He has a great sense of humor, and he has that over the top showman ability that allows him to git any situation. He would be a great metal singer, great RnB singer, great jazz singer, great Broadway singer, and all things in between. He sings effortlessly. I never saw him strain, and his range is in Roger Taylor territory (think a guy singing everything from Lou Reed to Mariah Carey), and he has the power, and ability to get gritty needed to not be a distraction when trying to sing Freddies parts. Last point... Brian May is a superstar. Ive never seen him seem happier. Hes a bit of a melancholy kinda guy, and he didnt even seem himself. Despite a noticeable limp due to various knee (I believe it was knew) surgeries, he was all over the place doing all the great Brian May rock star guitar god poses. No one has the sense of grabbing one note and bending the life out of it and bringing down mountains with it like Brian. He has much more technique than history gives him credit for, but he doesnt need Yngwie Malmsteen chops... he just destroys armies with tastefulness. Give David Gilmour Thors hammer, and you have Brian May. The gentlemanly physicist Dr. May is a gladiator on stage. And the people went WILD! If Brian would have sat down to pick his nose, the crowd would have gone wild for it. I remember when he came on stage with Lady Ga Ga at the MTV video music awards a couple of years ago, and the crowd just went insane. I wasnt too surprised.. that was Los Angeles. He has a house there. But Dallas Texas? Yeah, hes that loved. He didnt let Dallas down when he sang 39 with a bit YEE HAW!, a country twang, and while wearing a cowboy hat! So, kudos America! Good on you for seizing the moment and not letting them regret risking this tour in this country. Thoughts have gone from how risky it is, to being pleased at how well its going, to talking as though there will be a next time. Yes, this may not be the last Queen tour after all. I dont think they expected to have this much fun. Oh, theyll enjoy a long rest, but I think they realize that they have finally reclaimed America. From not having enough record sales to justify a tour in the US in the mid-late 80s to one of the top 5 grossing tours of the summer so far. They have a few East Coast dates left, I think, and then its the rest of the worlds turn. If youre on the right coast, and youre even a marginal Queen fan, get tickets NOW! I was lucky that Brian May called the Dallas show the finest Queen concert since 1986, but all the others have been top quality too. :) Queen Brian May Roger Taylor - Official Freddie Mercury
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 19:20:15 +0000
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