Away Team

Queensryche
30th Anniversary Tour
Tuesday 8NOV11
Lincoln Theatre
Raleigh, NC



I think I’ve said on here once or twice that I am a huge Queensryche fan. If not, here ya go. That being said, I have tried to like their newer albums. American Soldier actually was a good album, their best since Promised Land, but the rest just fall a little flat for me.

I have listened to Queensryche since I first heard the EP in 1984. I first saw them in 1988 when the opened for Metallica on the Damaged Justice Tour in San Francisco. Loved the music but thought they were lost on stage in an arena (I was really high that night too, so it could have just been me).

I wouldn’t have the chance to see them again until Building Empires Tour in 1992 where they blew me away by performing Mindcrime in its entirety! They filled the arena and performed like they deserved to be there too.

Many years have gone by and Queensryche has released several albums that the fans (me included) have debated whether they were Ryche worthy or not. But one thing Queensryche has always done well (at least since 92 for me) is perform well live.

They have made sure that they always have a reason for you to come see their show, whether it’s performing suites (large sections of albums) or albums in their entirety, they always give you a reason to see their next tour (besides being a tremendous live band now).

For their 30th Anniversary Tour they have actually reverted back to the old fashioned tour dogma of playing a little something from everything. And I do believe every album was represented (other than their recent covers album) in the set they performed here in Raleigh.

The band in their infinite wisdom didn’t just come out and perform ‘The Lady Wore Black’ and run through their hits chronologically, they mixed it up, Starting the set with the latest ‘Get Started’ and moved on to a brilliant version of ‘Damaged’. The sole representation of Promised Land was a real treat for me and live was great and no small feat to pull off in my opinion!

‘Desert Dance’ off of Tribe was actually a great tune live. And maybe that’s what their latest studio albums need to bring them to life or more favor to their fans, to be performed live. You can always tell the newer tunes (anything after Promised Land in my opinion is the ‘newer’ stuff) when they’re performed because they just seem to be a little less… connected maybe? It is very difficult for me to describe, but my girlfriend was with me at the show (her third Queensryche show thanks to me) and she would even turn to me during the newer stuff and remark that it must be a newer song because it was missing something. It wasn’t as ‘rich’ as the other tunes and this is from someone who only hears them when I play them and live she can even tell the difference between pre-Promised Land and post-Promised Land material.

The highlight of the night for me had to be ‘The Real World’. I have never seen it performed live and never thought I would considering it was a cast off from the soundtrack to Last Action Hero. And I wasn’t sure they could pull it live considering the heavy string arrangement by the late Michael Kamen (RIP Sir) but it sounded fantastic and had half the crowd shaking their head wondering where the song was from and the other half drooling over it.

Queensryche‘s run from NM 156 to Screaming In Digital was a stroke of brilliance and I’ve often wondered why they haven’t done it before. Geoff Tate’s voice hasn’t lost a step over the years, he may not be able to hold the higher notes as long as he used to, but he still puts on a hell of a show and sings his ass off and does himself and the band proud. In the age of all these 80’s bands trying to sing their old stuff after 30 years of vocal abuse and simple age and mangling their legacy doing so (see Joe Elliot of Def Leppard, Stephen Pearcy of Ratt, Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, etc, etc, etc) it is great to see someone able to still sing their material correctly and not just that, but very well done!

The Ryche may not be headlining arenas anymore but based on their live shows they should be. The theaters we’re seeing them in today makes for an intimate setting but the sound that the band generates should be filling arenas around the world. A live Queensryche show is always something to behold and they always come up with a new reason to go see them, and see them you should. The band has been around for 30 years for a reason, and their live show says everything you need to know about them. Michael Wilton is a great guitarist and Parker Lundgren holds his own with Michael and the band. Eddie Jackson has always been a beast at the bass and there may only be one or two people better on the drums that Scott Rockenfield. The man can certainly go step for step with Mike Portnoy and Neil Peart. And as I’ve already stated, the showmanship and vocals of Geoff Tate are nothing short of spectacular 30 years on!

For more QUEENSRYCHE click here.