My wife and I saw the Queen Adam Lambert show in Toronto last night and had a great time. Like many classic rock bands, I was resigned in thinking that I'd hear mainly the chart topping hits without any consideration to the more die hard fan base. I was proven wrong. The show did a great mix of more older and sometimes obscure material such as "In the Lap of the Gods", "39" and more classic rock friendly material such as "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "Radio Ga Ga". All musicians performed well with Adam Lambert taking center stage wowing us with his fantastic vocal ability. He showed that he was more then capable in filling Freddie Mercury's lungs and was able to sing the melodies which were originally on the studio albums, something Mercury never did. If I have to say one negative thing, it's that his Pop RnB style fit much better with the more commercial material then it did with the rocking songs like "Now I'm Here" and "Stone Cold Crazy". Standout vocal performances were "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited", "Killer Queen", "Love Kills" and "Who Wants to Live Forever".
The two other draw backs were the lengthy guitar solo spot by Brian May that at first sounded more like a Brian May "Shreds" then an actually guitar solo. While he seemed to be having fun making all kinds of whammy bar feedback noises, I felt myself getting bored. I wish he had stuck to the delay driven melodies of his Brighten Rock solo. The rest of the audience however seemed to really enjoy it, so what do I know.
The other draw back was the drumming. Roger Taylor had his son backing him up on additional percussion. From what I could see through my binoculars, his son was basically playing snare, cymbal crashes, and fills along side his dad Roger, but not for every song. Perhaps they thought some songs needed more percussive OMPH! Or perhaps in some songs Roger was getting tired so they needed some extra WHACK! This in no way impacted the sound in a negative way, but I always find it strange when a band adds percussion to their live line up.
Over all the sound was fantastic, especially if you like guitar. There was the odd time when I could barely hear the drums, but the vocals came through loud and clear as did the bass and keyboards.
It looks like the band is playing in Toronto again on July 28th at the ACC and I do recommend this show for Queen fans. Setlist below.
Procession - (Intro Over PA)
Now I'm Here
Stone Cold Crazy
Another One Bites the Dust
Fat Bottomed Girls
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited
Seven Seas of Rhye
Killer Queen
Somebody to Love
I Want It All
Love of My Life
'39
These Are the Days of Our Lives
Under Pressure
Love Kills - (Freddie Mercury cover)
Who Wants to Live Forever
Guitar Solo
Tie Your Mother Down
Radio Ga Ga
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
The Show Must Go On
Bohemian Rhapsody
Encore:
We Will Rock You
We Are the Champions
God Save the Queen - (Over PA)
Thanks
Wilton
The two other draw backs were the lengthy guitar solo spot by Brian May that at first sounded more like a Brian May "Shreds" then an actually guitar solo. While he seemed to be having fun making all kinds of whammy bar feedback noises, I felt myself getting bored. I wish he had stuck to the delay driven melodies of his Brighten Rock solo. The rest of the audience however seemed to really enjoy it, so what do I know.
The other draw back was the drumming. Roger Taylor had his son backing him up on additional percussion. From what I could see through my binoculars, his son was basically playing snare, cymbal crashes, and fills along side his dad Roger, but not for every song. Perhaps they thought some songs needed more percussive OMPH! Or perhaps in some songs Roger was getting tired so they needed some extra WHACK! This in no way impacted the sound in a negative way, but I always find it strange when a band adds percussion to their live line up.
Over all the sound was fantastic, especially if you like guitar. There was the odd time when I could barely hear the drums, but the vocals came through loud and clear as did the bass and keyboards.
It looks like the band is playing in Toronto again on July 28th at the ACC and I do recommend this show for Queen fans. Setlist below.
Procession - (Intro Over PA)
Now I'm Here
Stone Cold Crazy
Another One Bites the Dust
Fat Bottomed Girls
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited
Seven Seas of Rhye
Killer Queen
Somebody to Love
I Want It All
Love of My Life
'39
These Are the Days of Our Lives
Under Pressure
Love Kills - (Freddie Mercury cover)
Who Wants to Live Forever
Guitar Solo
Tie Your Mother Down
Radio Ga Ga
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
The Show Must Go On
Bohemian Rhapsody
Encore:
We Will Rock You
We Are the Champions
God Save the Queen - (Over PA)
Thanks
Wilton