6.28.17 Adam News and Info, Day Off, Next Stop San Jose
Jun 27, 2017 23:03:39 GMT -5
Post by tinafea on Jun 27, 2017 23:03:39 GMT -5
Adam Lambert Continues to Prove He's Queen's Ideal New Frontman at L.A. Show
6/27/2017 by Deborah Wilker
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Miracle Productions LLP
Queen and Adam Lambert perform during the North American Tour kickoff at Gila River Arena on June 23, 2017 in Glendale, Ariz.
The Queen + Adam Lambert experiment -- which began tentatively in 2012, three years after the legendary U.K. band joined the American Idol finalist on stage during the show’s season finale, and has been touring the globe for much of the half-decade since -- has now been fine-tuned, to the point where it should really be a permanent partnership.
This isn't to say Lambert doesn't deserve his own career. But fronting Queen should probably be the pop star's full-time gig: Perhaps not since Mick Fleetwood stumbled upon the Buckingham-Nicks duo at Sound City 43 years ago -- leading to a lineup change that would turn Fleetwood Mac into one of the biggest bands of the late '70s -- has there been a more serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts.
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The story is not just that Queen, the ‘70s and ‘80s prog-rockers with one of the most unique catalogs in pop and rock, appear to have finally settled in with Lambert; in a way that carries the franchise forward, decades after the tragic 1991 death of frontman Freddie Mercury. It’s that their new world tour, which launched in Arizona last week and arrived at the Hollywood Bowl for capacity shows on Monday and Tuesday (June 26 and 27), is a seamlessly executed Vegas assault -- a just-right balance of kitsch, classic rock and ‘70s excess. It's all there; the bombast, melodrama, the drum solos, the glitter, the great songs, a crazy light show, big power chords. Even Brian May’s power cape.
But most important is the tone. None of it takes itself too seriously -- crucial when a group is replacing a legendary member. If concert promoters need a primer on how to keep a band going after the unthinkable, Queen + Adam Lambert is a pretty good case study.
“These two gentlemen are legends of rock n roll,” Lambert said on stage Monday night while introducing Queen’s founding members, drummer Roger Taylor, 67, and guitarist May, who will turn 70 next month. “Every time I take the stage with them, it blows my mind at what an honor this is -- to be singing the music of Queen.”
This came about five songs in, after Lambert, 35 had ridden in on a 3-D skull (modeled after the sci-fi album cover of Queen’s '77 set News Of The World), singing a glorious “Killer Queen,” decked in a shiny pink suit and high-heels. The song was a showcase for his theatrically trained vocals, one of several during which he put his stamp on things in a way that was faithful to the band’s past, but kept it all in the now.
These two gentlemen are legends of rock n roll,” Lambert said on stage Monday night while introducing Queen’s founding members, drummer Roger Taylor, 67, and guitarist May, who will turn 70 next month. “Every time I take the stage with them, it blows my mind at what an honor this is -- to be singing the music of Queen.”
This came about five songs in, after Lambert, 35 had ridden in on a 3-D skull (modeled after the sci-fi album cover of Queen’s '77 set News Of The World), singing a glorious “Killer Queen,” decked in a shiny pink suit and high-heels. The song was a showcase for his theatrically trained vocals, one of several during which he put his stamp on things in a way that was faithful to the band’s past, but kept it all in the now.
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“I know what some of you might be thinking -- he's no Freddie Mercury,” Lambert said, acknowledging the obvious. “I know guys, I know. Of course I’m not Freddie. I’m a fan, just like you.”
Lambert’s devotion to the catalog shows, not just on big numbers like “I Want It All,” "We Will Rock You" and “Radio Ga Ga,” but on trifles like “Bicycle Race,” during which the saucy former reality star whipped out some perfect light-opera and couple of cute sight gags.
For his part May remains a marvel on guitar, racing around the multilevel stage, infusing the band’s genre-busting catalog with every possible s-xistring flourish, and veering off into crunchy mini-jams like “Fat Bottomed Girls,” during which Lambert dashed off for the first of five costume changes. May took a couple of acoustic moments center stage, notably on “Love of My Life.” He seemed to become emotional when a video of Mercury appeared. The duo finished the song in unison and then Taylor joined in on drums down stage with Lambert, to continue the acoustic segment with a buoyant rendition of 1980 Billboard Hot 100-topper “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
The all-ages crowd appeared particularly reverential during “Under Pressure” (featuring bassist Neil Fairclough) -- the Queen & David Bowie collaboration which re-charted on the Hot 100 after Bowie’s 2016 death. And of course there was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in all its strange and spectacular glory, synched to the 1975 music video splashed across five giant screens.
When it was over Lambert and May embraced, walking arm in arm toward the other band-members (including Spike Edney on keyboards and Tyler Warren on percussion) for their final bows. The moment was one of many during which the two men appeared happy and very connected on stage. A classic guitarist and his muse, carrying on.
www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7849099/queen-adam-lambert-live-concert-frontman
Song Review: Adam Lambert’s ‘Two Fux’
Shirley Halperin
Executive Editor, Music
@shirleyhalperin
Adam LambertREX/SHUTTERSTOCK
JUNE 27, 2017 | 04:59PM PT
Mere days after debuting a new song with Queen, Adam Lambert’s “Two Fux” has an official release date — June 30. And for fans of The “American Idol” season eight runner-up, Friday couldn’t come soon enough.
Lambert’s last recording for Warner Bros. Records was the 2015 album “The Original High,” which yielded the radio hit, “Ghost Town.” A dance-heavy collection recorded mostly in the dead of winter in Sweden, the music had a darkness about it, both lyrically and sonically, which Lambert credited to feeling vulnerable — and likely c0ld — at the time it was written (Max Martin and Shellback served as executive producers).
For “Two Fux,” the singer comes back around to his sweet spot — vocal falsettos and mid-tempo pop hooks — with the confidence of someone who seems, musically, at least, finally content with his life. Or at least that what the line “Namaste right here” suggests.
It’s a pride song, appropriately released during Gay Pride month, in which the lyrics confess: “No one gets me but myself / I’ve been this way since I was 12.” They also deadpan: “People think that I’m from Mars / Whatever,” Lambert sings. “Got that magic called ADD / Rep for them aliens / Different like me,” he later snaps as part of the overall theme of not giving “two fux.”
Production credits have yet to be revealed yet, but as far as the music is concerned, the cheeky title sits comfortably among a waltz-like clicking piano that drives the melody. And hat-tip to the guitar solo two-thirds of the way through. Might it be Queen’s Brian May, who played the part on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week? We’ll update as soon as more info is available.
In the meantime, watch fan video of Lambert performing the song on June 22.
variety.com/2017/music/news/adam-lambert-two-fux-single-review-1202480279/
NEW SNIPPET
ADAM LAMBERT @adamlambert
#TwoFux in 3 days!!
NEW Franz Szony Photoshoot Photo
franzszonyYes Queen! @adamlambert as a royal bust, sculpted in Indian clay. Hair & makeup by @jonlieckfeltbeauty, @sugarpill, sculpting @marlomeekins. #adamlambert #queen #royal #ginger #portrait @hasselblad
http://instagr.am/p/BV3evEGFKL1
QAL 2017 Tour Schedule
North American Tour
June 24th Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
June 26th Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
June 29th San Jose, CA - SAP Center
July 1st Seattle, WA - Key Arena
July 2nd Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
July 4th Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
July 6th Denver, CO - Pepsi Center Arena
July 8th Omaha, NE - CenturyLink Arena
July 9th Kansas City, MO - Sprint Centre
July 13th Chicago, IL - United Center
July 14th St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
July 17th Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
July 18th Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
July 20th Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
July 21st Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
July 23rd Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
July 25th Boston, MA - TD Garden
July 26th Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
July 28th New York, NY - Barclays Center
July 30th Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
July 31st Washington D.C. - Verizon Center
August 2nd Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
August 4th Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
August 5th Houston, TX - Toyota Center
European and UK Tour
November 1st - Prague, Czech Republic, O2 Arena
November 2nd - Munich, Germany, Olympiahalle
November 4th - Budapest, Hungary, Sportarena
November 6th - Lodz, Poland, Atlas Arena
November 8th - Vienna, Austria, Stadhalle
November 10th - Bologna, Italy, Unipol Arena
November 12th - Luxembourg, Amneville Galaxie
November 13th - Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ziggo Dome
November 17th - Kaunas, Lithuania, Zalgiris Arena
November 19th - Hartwell Arena, Helsinki, Finland
November 21st - Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
November 22nd - Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark
November 25th - Dublin, 3 Arena
November 26th - Belfast, SSE Arena- BUY TICKETS
November 28th - Liverpool, Echo Arena
November 30th - Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena
December 1st - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
December 3rd - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro
December 5th - Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
December 6th - Leeds, First Direct Arena
December 8th - Sheffield Arena
December 9th - Manchester, Arena
December 12th - London, 02 Arena
December 13th - London, 02 Arena
December 15th - London, The SSE Arena, Wembley
December 16th - Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena