Queen + Adam Lambert - Concert Recap
Queen. What more can ya say? Just… Queen. Who doesn't know who they are? And if you've never listened to their music on your own, you at least have to have heard "Bohemian Rhapsody". I myself am not a HUGE fan of Queen, but I definitely wouldn't turn them off if I hear them on the radio. With Freddie Mercury's voice, Brian May's guitar playing, among other things, Queen has made some of the most recognizable music in Rock N' Roll history. So when Freddie unfortunately passed in 1991, I have no doubt that people were wondering if the band would still go on without him. Well, they did end up going on without him. To this day, they are still touring and selling out arenas and stadiums around the world with different singers. The most recent lead singer they have to fill in for Freddie is none other than Season 8 American Idol runner up, Adam Lambert. Since 2011, Lambert has been touring and performing with Queen, a collaboration guitarist Brian May has described as "magical". However, of the few tours that they have done together of North America, they never came to my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. That is until they announced the Rhapsody Tour. I spent a semester in Los Angeles during my senior year of college, and was still in LA when the show was announced. Tickets went on sale at 10:00 AM local time. So - was this concert worth getting up at 6:30 in the morning PT to get tickets? Let's find out.
Date/City - August 13th - Columbus, OH
Venue/Concert Capacity: Nationwide Arena, up to 20,000 (https://www.nationwidearena.com/arena-info)
Nationwide Arena is my favorite arena to see concerts at. The concourse is wide, plenty of food options (even if they are expensive), and it's very clean. The bowl itself has comfortable seating, great sight lines, and… When it comes to the sound of the venue, it's kind of hit or miss. Overall, I think it actually has pretty good acoustics for being an NHL arena. Obviously there might be some problems given that the arena wasn't built specifically for concerts, so the sound crew for the different shows that play there have a significant role in how good the sound is for the show. For this show, the sound wasn't that bad. The balance of vocals vs instruments was done well, as well as the balance of all the instruments themselves and all the vocals themselves. However, the EQing was done weird. There was plenty of high-mids and high end, however the low end was noticeably lacking in my opinion. While it wasn't uncomfortable to listen to, it definitely wasn't the best sound I've ever heard at an arena concert (that title goes to Coldplay).
Opening Act:
I'd love to review the opening act, but that would be very difficult seeing as there wasn't one.
The Show:
The show started about 10 minutes after it was slated to start, which was 8:00 PM. However, that's to be expected. It started off with an LED screen that spanned the entire length of the stage sitting on the stage with what looked to be a crown with different instruments and a mic stand on it. The house lights went down, and the LED screen started lifting. Once it was in position, another LED screen behind the stage had a video of an old theatre curtain opening up to reveal the silhouette of guitarist Brian May. After a moment of teasing the crowd, the video ended, and the lights came up to reveal Adam Lambert standing in front of the screen singing "Now I'm Here". It was a great opening for a rock concert, and perfectly set the tone for the rest of the night.
The first main thing that I want to touch on is Adam Lambert himself. I have seen him in concert before as a solo artist, the review for which you can read here. Having seen him live before, I had high expectations from him. And boy, did he not disappoint. From the second he appeared on stage, he commanded it. He oozed confidence, and was not afraid to show it. Decorated with clothing as flamboyant as his presence, he strutted across the stage and down the catwalk effortlessly singing the songs as if he had been doing so his entire life. And his voice - holy crap. I will admit that as incredible as Lambert's voice is, it can be pitchy sometimes. However, that couldn't have been further from the case, because his voice was dead on and he didn't miss a single note. It was beyond impressive, even by his elevated standards. One of my favorite things about Lambert's performance was that as outgoing as he was, he still knew his place - and that place was filling in for Freddie Mercury, who is arguably the greatest singer there has been or will be in Rock history. Adam didn't try to be Freddie at all. He was paying tribute to Freddie by giving as theatrical of a performance as he did, but did so while still bringing his own personality into the performance. People could say that without Freddie, it would just be a karaoke act with the original members of the band (minus John Deacon), but it didn't feel like that at all with Lambert. It felt like he WAS their lead singer and frontman. It was really something to behold, and something to be respected by any Queen fan.
The chemistry between all of the band members was amazing. Sometimes you come across bands that don't seem like they belong together. They're on their own wavelength just kind of going through the motions giving the vibe that there's someplace else that they would rather be. Lambert, May, and Taylor were all in perfect sync with each other. Drummer Roger Taylor, even in his older age, didn't miss a single beat the entire show, and didn't show any signs of holding back or fatigue. Brian May's guitar playing was as good as ever. His guitar had the same unique sound that it always has, while still having kind of a modern tone to it. One of his shining moments was the guitar solo that he got after "Who Wants To Live Forever". A lot of other guitar players when playing a feature solo will try to go as fast as they can in order to try to impress the crowd and get a reaction out of them. Brian May took a much different approach. He played a very slow, atmospheric guitar solo that actually had a very Division Bell era Pink Floyd/On An Island era David Gilmour feeling to it. It was a nice change of pace to the overall fast and upbeat flow of the rest of the concert.
One thing that helped to make this concert special was the inclusion of a few appearances by Freddie in different forms throughout the night. With Freddie being one of the most iconic figures in all of modern music, it's only appropriate that they would incorporate him in some way or another into the show. The first Freddie appearance was during "Love Of My Life". The first two verses and choruses were sung by Brian May on the B-stage at the end of the catwalk. However, to the sold-out audience's great delight, Freddie appeared via archive video to sing the rest of the song. His second archive video appearance was before "We Will Rock You", when he performed some vocal scales and had the crowd repeat after him, before getting a good laugh from the audience by closing it out with a playful "f--k you". Other appearances by Mercury included a caricature of his face on the background LED screen, as well as his vocals from the studio recording being heard on the upbeat operatic part of "Bohemian Rhapsody". These appearances were done enough that it paid a good tribute to Freddie, but not done too much to the point where they would have been exploiting it.
The special effects of the show were fun to watch. I always say that the best special effects, whether it be the light show, props, or something else, should be noticeable but not distracting. Queen was able to pull this off effortlessly. The lasers that they used was one of the most notable of the effects, being used sporadically throughout the later half of the show. The most prominent use of them came during "Who Wants to Live Forever" when they stayed on and created different patterns throughout the entirety of the song. Another special effect was the disco ball that was used for "I Want To Break Free", which was a fan favorite given the cheers that came with its reveal. My personal favorite effect during the concert didn't even have anything to do with the lasers or disco ball. Remember the guitar solo I was talking (writing?) about that Brian May did? He performed that on a platform atop the LED screen that was lifted off the stage at the beginning that had been brought back down. He stood on a platform on top of the screen while a backlight shown down on him from behind, while an asteroid was shown on the screen making it look as though he was standing on it. Planets and stars were shown floating around on the LED screen behind him giving the appearance that he was floating through space. Eventually the asteroid went away and he was just floating on his own. This not only fit the atmosphere of his solo so perfectly, but also served as an ingenious nod toward May and his education in Astrophysics, the field in which he obtained his PhD (yeah that's right, not all rock stars are stupid). There were also a couple props used throughout the show, perhaps most notably a motorcycle that Lambert was on during "Bicycle Race".
If I had to say anything bad about the show, it would be two things. The first thing is that the crowd seemed kind of dull to me. With a band as fun and electric as Queen, I expected an audience more energetic and excited than what was there. They sang along when beckoned to, but from what I heard didn't sing along on their own a lot outside of "Love Of my Life" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". While I'm sure that they were, the people in the crowd just didn't seem to be very present. Heck, the person sitting in the seat in front of me filmed pretty much the entire concert on their phone, which honestly got to be really annoying after a while. The second thing that I wish would have been a little different was the amount of interaction between Adam Lambert and the audience. He only talked to the crowd a couple times between songs and didn't have all that much interaction with it. When musicians address the audience, it makes the show feel more intimate than what it actually is - especially when it comes to arena and stadium concerts. With these two things being said, the positive things far outweigh the negative, and these two things didn't do much to detract from the experience.
I have seen people online say that it isn't Queen without Freddie Mercury, and that they don't like Adam Lambert as their new singer because he isn't Freddie. And you know what, they're right - he's not Freddie. Freddie could never be completely replaced. However, that doesn't mean that they can't try find another vocalist that can hold his own on stage. That's exactly what they did with Adam Lambert. No, he's not Freddie; but he's still amazingly talented, and I have no doubt that this is similar to what a Queen concert with Freddie would have been like. Otherwise, why would Brian May and Roger Taylor have kept Adam as their frontman for nearly a decade at this point? All the musicians on stage were having fun, and they couldn't have been in better sync with each other. The visuals that went with the music were all great additions to the show, and the extensive setlist gave everyone at least one song to listen to that they knew. The hype behind this tour was really built up among the Queen community. Was the payoff worth the buildup? I definitely think it was. If you ever get the chance to see Queen + Adam Lambert, jump on it. You won't be disappointed.
Date/City - August 13th - Columbus, OH
Venue/Concert Capacity: Nationwide Arena, up to 20,000 (https://www.nationwidearena.com/arena-info)
Nationwide Arena is my favorite arena to see concerts at. The concourse is wide, plenty of food options (even if they are expensive), and it's very clean. The bowl itself has comfortable seating, great sight lines, and… When it comes to the sound of the venue, it's kind of hit or miss. Overall, I think it actually has pretty good acoustics for being an NHL arena. Obviously there might be some problems given that the arena wasn't built specifically for concerts, so the sound crew for the different shows that play there have a significant role in how good the sound is for the show. For this show, the sound wasn't that bad. The balance of vocals vs instruments was done well, as well as the balance of all the instruments themselves and all the vocals themselves. However, the EQing was done weird. There was plenty of high-mids and high end, however the low end was noticeably lacking in my opinion. While it wasn't uncomfortable to listen to, it definitely wasn't the best sound I've ever heard at an arena concert (that title goes to Coldplay).
Opening Act:
I'd love to review the opening act, but that would be very difficult seeing as there wasn't one.
The Show:
The show started about 10 minutes after it was slated to start, which was 8:00 PM. However, that's to be expected. It started off with an LED screen that spanned the entire length of the stage sitting on the stage with what looked to be a crown with different instruments and a mic stand on it. The house lights went down, and the LED screen started lifting. Once it was in position, another LED screen behind the stage had a video of an old theatre curtain opening up to reveal the silhouette of guitarist Brian May. After a moment of teasing the crowd, the video ended, and the lights came up to reveal Adam Lambert standing in front of the screen singing "Now I'm Here". It was a great opening for a rock concert, and perfectly set the tone for the rest of the night.
The first main thing that I want to touch on is Adam Lambert himself. I have seen him in concert before as a solo artist, the review for which you can read here. Having seen him live before, I had high expectations from him. And boy, did he not disappoint. From the second he appeared on stage, he commanded it. He oozed confidence, and was not afraid to show it. Decorated with clothing as flamboyant as his presence, he strutted across the stage and down the catwalk effortlessly singing the songs as if he had been doing so his entire life. And his voice - holy crap. I will admit that as incredible as Lambert's voice is, it can be pitchy sometimes. However, that couldn't have been further from the case, because his voice was dead on and he didn't miss a single note. It was beyond impressive, even by his elevated standards. One of my favorite things about Lambert's performance was that as outgoing as he was, he still knew his place - and that place was filling in for Freddie Mercury, who is arguably the greatest singer there has been or will be in Rock history. Adam didn't try to be Freddie at all. He was paying tribute to Freddie by giving as theatrical of a performance as he did, but did so while still bringing his own personality into the performance. People could say that without Freddie, it would just be a karaoke act with the original members of the band (minus John Deacon), but it didn't feel like that at all with Lambert. It felt like he WAS their lead singer and frontman. It was really something to behold, and something to be respected by any Queen fan.
One thing that helped to make this concert special was the inclusion of a few appearances by Freddie in different forms throughout the night. With Freddie being one of the most iconic figures in all of modern music, it's only appropriate that they would incorporate him in some way or another into the show. The first Freddie appearance was during "Love Of My Life". The first two verses and choruses were sung by Brian May on the B-stage at the end of the catwalk. However, to the sold-out audience's great delight, Freddie appeared via archive video to sing the rest of the song. His second archive video appearance was before "We Will Rock You", when he performed some vocal scales and had the crowd repeat after him, before getting a good laugh from the audience by closing it out with a playful "f--k you". Other appearances by Mercury included a caricature of his face on the background LED screen, as well as his vocals from the studio recording being heard on the upbeat operatic part of "Bohemian Rhapsody". These appearances were done enough that it paid a good tribute to Freddie, but not done too much to the point where they would have been exploiting it.
The special effects of the show were fun to watch. I always say that the best special effects, whether it be the light show, props, or something else, should be noticeable but not distracting. Queen was able to pull this off effortlessly. The lasers that they used was one of the most notable of the effects, being used sporadically throughout the later half of the show. The most prominent use of them came during "Who Wants to Live Forever" when they stayed on and created different patterns throughout the entirety of the song. Another special effect was the disco ball that was used for "I Want To Break Free", which was a fan favorite given the cheers that came with its reveal. My personal favorite effect during the concert didn't even have anything to do with the lasers or disco ball. Remember the guitar solo I was talking (writing?) about that Brian May did? He performed that on a platform atop the LED screen that was lifted off the stage at the beginning that had been brought back down. He stood on a platform on top of the screen while a backlight shown down on him from behind, while an asteroid was shown on the screen making it look as though he was standing on it. Planets and stars were shown floating around on the LED screen behind him giving the appearance that he was floating through space. Eventually the asteroid went away and he was just floating on his own. This not only fit the atmosphere of his solo so perfectly, but also served as an ingenious nod toward May and his education in Astrophysics, the field in which he obtained his PhD (yeah that's right, not all rock stars are stupid). There were also a couple props used throughout the show, perhaps most notably a motorcycle that Lambert was on during "Bicycle Race".
If I had to say anything bad about the show, it would be two things. The first thing is that the crowd seemed kind of dull to me. With a band as fun and electric as Queen, I expected an audience more energetic and excited than what was there. They sang along when beckoned to, but from what I heard didn't sing along on their own a lot outside of "Love Of my Life" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". While I'm sure that they were, the people in the crowd just didn't seem to be very present. Heck, the person sitting in the seat in front of me filmed pretty much the entire concert on their phone, which honestly got to be really annoying after a while. The second thing that I wish would have been a little different was the amount of interaction between Adam Lambert and the audience. He only talked to the crowd a couple times between songs and didn't have all that much interaction with it. When musicians address the audience, it makes the show feel more intimate than what it actually is - especially when it comes to arena and stadium concerts. With these two things being said, the positive things far outweigh the negative, and these two things didn't do much to detract from the experience.
I have seen people online say that it isn't Queen without Freddie Mercury, and that they don't like Adam Lambert as their new singer because he isn't Freddie. And you know what, they're right - he's not Freddie. Freddie could never be completely replaced. However, that doesn't mean that they can't try find another vocalist that can hold his own on stage. That's exactly what they did with Adam Lambert. No, he's not Freddie; but he's still amazingly talented, and I have no doubt that this is similar to what a Queen concert with Freddie would have been like. Otherwise, why would Brian May and Roger Taylor have kept Adam as their frontman for nearly a decade at this point? All the musicians on stage were having fun, and they couldn't have been in better sync with each other. The visuals that went with the music were all great additions to the show, and the extensive setlist gave everyone at least one song to listen to that they knew. The hype behind this tour was really built up among the Queen community. Was the payoff worth the buildup? I definitely think it was. If you ever get the chance to see Queen + Adam Lambert, jump on it. You won't be disappointed.
NOTE: All pictures were taken by me, and may not be used without permission.
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