Highlights: I want it all, Tie your mother down, Crazy
little thing called love, Fat Bottomed
girls, Somebody to Love, I want to break free, Stone Cold Crazy, Dragon Attack, Guitar Solo & Father/Son Drum off.
Notable Omissions: Keep yourself Alive, Hammer to fall,
These are the days of our lives, Is this the world we created …?
Listening to Queen for the majority of my life generates a
certain sense of expectation when it finally comes time to see the band live. The
experience of collecting their albums as a teenager was something very special
largely because the band was so diverse you never knew what to expect when
playing an album for the first time. From the heavy metal overtones of Ogre
Battle that literally knocked me to the ground the first time I heard it, to
the screams of in the Lap of the Gods and 7 part counter harmonies employed in
the March of the Black Queen the band were nothing but original. They utilized every musical genre imaginable including folk, pop, rockabilly, jazz, classical, punk and disco. This was a deliberate marketing strategy developed
by Freddie Mercury from the outset, the more styles you employ, the more
markets you hit and albums you sell. It worked as they've now sold over 330
million albums worldwide making them one of the biggest selling bands of all
time.
As I became more familiar with Queen the one thing that
became clear was that they had an amazing reputation as a live band who were
forced to re-work many of their songs when performing due to the heavy reliance
of harmonies in the studio versions. However I was always left bitterly disappointed
when I heard their live albums and started collecting bootlegs and various
other rare recordings as the sound quality was often terrible, the piano
sounded tinny and the guitar was distorted and vocals bland. Yet their legacy
as a live band was unprecedented, playing to crowds over 250 000 in
football stadiums around South America in the early 80s had never been done
before. They choreographed their own shows and deliberately wrote heavier songs
designed for live performance. Add lighting rigs, smoke machines,
costumes, props and an amazing ability to write songs with a high audience
participation content, they also had a front man who was able to get the audience involved
in the show and hyped up through the use of various vocal theatrics. The testimonies
of fans who had seen them live and who I had met online meant there was a bottom
line that at their peak Queen were the best live band in the world in the 1980s
until they stopped touring in 1986.
In the nutshell Adam Lambert nailed the role of lead singer,
from the opening track of Now I’m here where he exerted his full vocal range it
was clear this guy could sing yet bring his own persona to the show not wanting
to replace Mercury but rather bring his own interpretation. The sound quality was
crystal clear, the guitar was turned up high and Brian May was on top of his
game pounding out guitar solos whilst the dual father - son drumming
combination of Roger Taylor with his son Rufus was something to behold. Rod
Laver was packed but the crowd was a little quiet early on I think because of
the large number of songs they played from 1974 many of which the passing fan
may not have known like In the Lap of the Gods & Stone Cold Crazy but for a
long time fan it was great the band included such classics instead of churning out songs from their various greatest hits compilations.
It’s always been a deliberate ploy to start with
heavier songs and excite the crowd and then gradually bring the mood down throughout the show before ramping things up toward the end. They went into a medley of 70’s singles including the Seven Seas of Rhye, Killer
Queen where Lambert really won the crowd over by sitting on a couch drinking
Moet and then spitting it out over the crowd at the end and the best live version
of Fat Bottomed Girls I’d heard which was given a guitar workout at the end. They slightly re-worked Somebody to Love and kick started the operatic section of the song with some power drumming that really got the crowd singing along. I want it all was
never performed live previously as Mercury could no longer tour when it was
recorded but they pounded it out so loud it wouldn’t surprise me if the crowd
at the MCG over the road that night could hear it. It may have been the
highlight of the show for me. Interestingly the band only played 1 song
from the last 3 albums of their career possibly wanting to avoid the emotion of
playing their most reflective & deep material, the effect of Mercury’s
death on the band still evident, he was given due respect throughout the show
appearing on the big screen for a verse of “Love of my Life” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” as well as being
mentioned in the introduction to a couple of numbers.
Lambert never pretended to be Mercury, he was duly flattered
to be playing with these guys, sometimes bowing down to Brian May as a loyal
subject and occasionally referring to him as “Dr”, May also holding a PHD in
astrophysics. The acoustic section in the middle of the set was a little hit
and miss and it was great to sing along to the sci-fi inspired acoustic folk of
’39, with Dr Brian May introducing the song by trying to explain Einstein’s
theory of relatively. There was also a video featuring space footage encapsulating time travel
but it was disappointing that much of the audience didn’t seem to know the
lyrics. The show had a number of subtleties that may have been lost to some,
including a few riffs of White Man and a bass solo featuring lesser known songs
like Don’t Try Suicide, Body Language & Staying power which was really well
done considering that these are actually some of the bands weakest songs. This
was followed by an amazing Father to Son drum off where Roger would bang
something out then point to his son, who would then play something even more
powerfully who would then point back to his father who would go 1 better and
this continued until Roger finished up.
 |
| Roger Taylor singing Its a Kind of Magic. |
 |
| Who Wants to Live Forever |
The show re-set itself for the usual 12 minute Brian May
guitar solo, featuring a little of Brighton Rock and Last Horizon as well as
showcasing his extensive use of echo whereby he would layer his own guitar
tracks together to build up to a guitar climax. It wasn’t until the end of this
that the band and crowd really came together as one. They used less lights and effects and just played good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll
inciting the crowd with the high octane Tie your mother Down, a song designed
for live performance so Brian May could get his teeth into heavy rock. This
led to the band playing a series of their biggest Australian hits which really got
the crowd involved and I want to break free probably got the biggest cheer of
the night with everyone singing the chorus. Radio Ga-Ga had the crowd doing the
hand clap actions above the head and Crazy Little Thing called love has always
been one of their best live songs with the crowd clapping along and the band
finishing the number with the expected guitar/bass/piano play-off which
saw Brian May go over to the electric piano and hit notes at random whilst
keyboardist Spike Edeny was showcasing his piano talents in an extended solo.
Bo Rap was saved for last and in typical Queen fashion the band leave the stage during the operatic section and play the video on the screen leaving the crowd
to sing along before returning for the heavy rock section whereby they pounded
out the finale and the crowd could head bang away Wayne’s World style if they
wanted to.
The band left the set at this point but returned after much chanting
and cheering from the crowd for the usual encore of We Will Rock
you, We Are the Champions and God Save the Queen, the traditional end to a
Queen show. The power drumming in We Will Rock you was amazing, the mix was
unbelievable and the crowd was completely immersed in the song’s actions. May
took the spot light at the end playing one of the most recognizable guitar
solos in music history before the band
finished with a stirring rendition of We are the champions that I think Mercury
would have been proud of. The band said their farewells and paid their dues in the instrumental
God Save the Queen and
everyone leaving the concert seemed well pleased.
It was a great night and one worthy of the price tag. It was
certainly much better having a lead singer who could play the part then having
the remaining members sing a few songs each as this allowed them to focus on
what they did best – playing their instruments. The banter between songs was
excellent, they never tried to mimic Mercury but instead developed their own rapport
with the crowd often mentioning Melbourne’s rivalry with Sydney saying how
much better we sang then them. May also mentioned that Melbourne was the first place
Queen ever came to in Australian back in 1974 whilst avoiding any mention of
the Sunbury Music festival debacle. This combined with moments of humour and
the band paying each other their due respect at various intervals as well as
mentioning the great Mercury and how we all missed him created a great feeling
through the night.
I don’t regret missing Queen perform live when Mercury was
alive as getting into the band when I did was the right time for me but I am
glad I had the opportunity to hear the red special live one last time. Certainly
all the DVD’s and concerts I’ve collected through the years do not do the band
justice, they clearly still know how to perform having defined many of the
techniques for live performance that are now commonplace for acts around the
world. Its possible they have improved with age and experience but one thing was clear, they still know how to re-work their songs for live performance so they aren't so reliant on harmonies to sound great.
 |
| We are the Champions |
Track#13 from Made in Heaven (Pre-Show)
Procession (Intro)
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
(White man guitar riff)
I want it all
Love of my life [ Brian Vocal ]
'39 [ Brian Vocal ]
Bass Solo
(including Don’t Try Suicide, Body Language & Staying Power)
Father – Son Drum Off
It’s a kind of Magic [ Roger Vocal ]
Under Pressure [ Roger / Lambert duet ]
Dragon Attack
Who wants to live forever
Guitar Solo
(featuring a pebble’s worth of Brighton Rock & Last Horizon)
Tie your mother down
Vocal Solo
I want to Break Free
Radio Ga Ga
Crazy little thing called Love
Bohemian Rhapsody
(encore)
We will rock you
We are the Champions
God Save the Queen (outro)
