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Post by Q3 on Jun 30, 2014 0:31:35 GMT -5
Y'know, when this tour was announced, I girded my loins (such as they are) for so-so sales, given the number of legacy acts touring this summer, often on the nights before and after QAL in the same cities, sometimes the SAME night (Heart played Calgary the same night as QAL, Cher seems to be playing just ahead of QAL most places). However, we saw MSG sell out the same day, more concerts added and so far as I can tell, every actual concert so far has been packed to the rafters. I was also similarly girded for an onslaught of appalling reviews and diatribes about Adam's presumptousness in taking on this role, about B&R's craven cash-grabbing, about Adam's screeching and flouncing ... and it hasn't happened. The reviews have actually been amazingly good -- so good in fact that often, I look hard at the source thinking it must be a Glambert writing on one of those Examiner-type anybody-can-publish-here sites. It feels like for whatever reason, everybody was just READY to embrace Queen in North America this time, and they were ready for Adam to step up to the mic with them. I also thought audiences full of classic rock fans might resist Adam's "Killer Queen" moments, and especially that crown at the end, but they've eaten it up and had a great laugh WITH him. Increasingly, I'm hearing not, "He's no Freddie," but "Freddie must be smiling/Freddie would be proud". That is a shift of seismic proportions. Adam is, as Q3 put it, performing in the house Freddie (and Brian, Roger and John, I know, but Freddie was the face and force of Queen for most people) built, and they are invoking him throughout the concert. There is no way people will NOT think about him and reviewers WILL write about him. Not to do so would be to ignore the fabulous sparkly elephant in the room. Lately I've also been glad to see more raves for Brian and Roger, because I thought early reviews focused too much on Adam -- of course, he's the "new boy" and he's the frontman and there's the "from Idol BR audition to fronting Queen angle" and, well, he's been spectacular and when you're in the stadium it's hard to stop thinking, "He was born to do this." But it's made me smile lately to see more reviewers lauding Brian ... would be nice to see a little more love for Roger (and Spike and Neil), too. (T alon, does Roger get much respect in the classic rock crowd as a drummer? I think he's amazing and also love that he sings, plays guitar and keyboards, writes songs and produces as well -- amazing guy. But when I googled lists of "best rock drummers," he wasn't on any of them -- seems weird.) I'm rambling. My point was that things have gone exponentially better for EVERYBODY on this tour -- band, promoters and audiences -- that I expected, and exceptionally better than Queen themselves experienced during their North American tours in the day. That, and any opportunity to actually experience these guys having so much fun and creating such great moments together, is worth celebrating. Not Talon, but Roger is respected as a rock drummer but usually not considered one of the elite (Top 10) rock drummers. John Bonham is usually #1. My guess is that Roger would fall around #30 if they did long lists of drummers. Brian May who I believe is underrated was ranked #26 on Rolling Stones Greatest 100 Guitarists. www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/brian-may-20111122 (Angus Young is at #24 so the competition is stiff!) |
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winks
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Choose Happiness!
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Post by winks on Jun 30, 2014 0:43:02 GMT -5
Very well said Mirages. I shared many similar angsty feelings leading up to this tour and have been overjoyed with the amazing reception, reviews and concert goer comments. Everything has been so positive! Yes, there are the inevitable "he's no F" comments but most of those have been accompanied by very genuinely positive reviews. There's always going to be a wanker or two out there but they can't spoil my joy.
It's ok to like Freddie better. It's ok to like Adam better. It's ok to give an honest review that not everyone will love, and it's ok to think that particular review was a joke. IMHO There's no way he went to that concert with an open mind. To me, his review says more about him than it does about Adam.
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Post by bridgeymah on Jun 30, 2014 0:58:54 GMT -5
Interesting reading the takes on the whole "bland" and "reality show contestant" put down bullshit from today. Good questions and discussion (love the respectful way that happens around here).
My feelings are pretty well known so won't go back over them (creator of the #FLD and all)...
I agree with Q3 note that would be nice if reviewers treated as a review and not a competition. And in addition what I will ask is – different strokes aside and all that – let's just say that Freddie is amazingly untouchable, then why is there the need to qualify and or put down someone else who is also amazing and bringing their own 'thing' to the party in order to preserve his place in the order things? Don't get it. Will never get it.
#movingon #happyforthegoodstuff #notreadingreviewsanymore
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SophieB
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Post by SophieB on Jun 30, 2014 1:01:14 GMT -5
Sophie I have a ticket available in the same section LOL! Section 127, Row 10! I paid the same & I've already ordered the T-shirt so cannot include the VIP stuff. I was originally asking $200 for my ticket too but so far no responses. I think I'm going to list it for resale on TM with a best offer or maybe $100? I'll have to see what similar tickets are going for. But hey, if it doesn't sell, it's no big deal. I'm happy I upgraded. Just hate to see this ticket go to waste! I listed mine on TicketMaster for $25 less net to me and it sold right it away. It was a less expensive ticket but still. your prices are reasonable. I think if you list it it it will sell. Thank you but....as I bought from the UK it is WillCall only so cannot sell on resale sites. i cannot sell on Ticketmaster itself because I do not have a US bank account. i have no problem with the loss of the price of the ticket - drop in the ocean of this trip!  .....but I am sad that such a good seat ( mine of choice when there was lots of choice) will go unsat upon. I had been hoping a Cali friend would be using it but she definitely isn't going to make it. Any offers considered. Otherwise, i am seriously thinking of doing half the show in one seat and half in the other.... |
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Post by vaiouser on Jun 30, 2014 1:19:02 GMT -5
I posted this the other day. (I don't think anyone commented, but I wouldn't know. Major computer crash had to reload the whole system) Wanted an opinion. I didn't have any gold jewelry so had this made to match symbol Adam is using on his fan site. Think it is ok to do this? Had second thoughts after I had it made.  That is a fantastic combination, grandduchesspf! Is this outfit for LV and the "You Had Me at Mama" for the Forum? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 1:33:15 GMT -5
Snippet taken from a January 2005 interview with John Deacon
Today, as the rest of Queen prepare for the tour, Deacon lives with his family in their four-bedroom house in Putney, South-West London.
His only comment on the idea of Queen reforming came when it was suggested that Robbie Williams might fill Mercury's shoes.
'I don't want to be nasty, but Robbie Williams is no Freddie Mercury. Freddie can never be replaced and certainly not by him.'
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Post by bridgeymah on Jun 30, 2014 1:35:40 GMT -5
The man who is currently on stage making the great music is very much alive and before us & that is Adam Lambert.. We are not listening to tracts that were reproduced,we are not seeing old videos of Freddie. These are Freddie's songs, he wrote many,to suit his style ,his voice and he sang them for years, Adam steps in& brings his gorgeous voice to honor Freddie and his music.. Of course he's not Freddie. When singers honor other singers,they are doing just that honoring them ,not becoming them. Adam has his own very successful career and is an international star in his own right. I don't expect critics to love everything Adam does ,but I do expect them to respect Adam for bringing this music to new generations and for getting Brian and Roger so excited and so thrilled to be out front with a great singer who helps to show their incredible talent. Adam brings them forth,Freddie kind of made them disappear. I also resent Adam being portrayed as an upstart who didn't work hard to get where he is.. A reality star..Why can't critics do some research and see just how many dues were paid by Adam to get where he is today...my favorite quote.. "The overnight star who took 20 years to get there." I want more respect and thankfulness for Adam'vocals,for his graciousness and modesty and for the hard path he chose to become one in a Billion.. Idol didn't teach him how to sing,it just gave him a huge audience that he didn't get when he did the musicals,the clubs,the ships,and all the other venues he played for years and years..Give the man his due. Critics, At least have the good will to read about Adam's background and how far he's come.He's doing a great job and he's making very many people over the moon happy.R_E S_P_E_C_T needs to be shown. I pretty much love everything about this post. Thanks Melliemom. I know the whole AI to front man for Queen is a nice fairytale storyline but it does undermine the hard grind of the past 5 years. Grammy nod. #1 Album. Global GNT tour... awards etc. I'd hate to see those things effectively erased from his bio in service to this one piece. The AI thing has pretty much disappeared or been reduced to more of a footnote behind the other stuff and now bang - back front and center. |
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mirages
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Post by mirages on Jun 30, 2014 1:40:09 GMT -5
(T alon, does Roger get much respect in the classic rock crowd as a drummer? I think he's amazing and also love that he sings, plays guitar and keyboards, writes songs and produces as well -- amazing guy. But when I googled lists of "best rock drummers," he wasn't on any of them -- seems weird.) Not Talon, but Roger is respected as a rock drummer but usually not considered one of the elite (Top 10) rock drummers. John Bonham is usually #1. My guess is that Roger would fall around #30 if they did long lists of drummers. Brian May who I believe is underrated was ranked #26 on Rolling Stones Greatest 100 Guitarists. www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/brian-may-20111122 (Angus Young is at #24 so the competition is stiff!) Thank you! Yes, saw Bonham everywhere, and Keith Moon, of course. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 1:49:01 GMT -5
What are the odds???.?
Reviews > Queen + Paul Rodgers Concert Reviews > 04-20-2006 - straight.com - Vancouver
by Steve Newton
At the Pacific Coliseum on Thursday, April 13
What an awesome heavy-metal band Queen used to be. What, you didn’t know Queen used to be an awesome heavy-metal band? Maybe it’s not common knowledge. It guess it helps if you were a hard rock–crazed, Circus-reading teen back in ’73 when the British quartet’s self-titled debut LP came out, led by the sonic opening blast of “Keep Yourself Alive”. That’s what we called heavy metal in those days, along with Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, and Aerosmith. No doubt Queen’s early ear-busting ways had something to do with why, two seats to my left at the Queen & Paul Rodgers show, sat local metal expert and Scrape Records owner J.J. Caithcart. The big, bearded longhair appeared to have no problem at all with Queen’s choice for its opening song, the rowdy “Tie Your Mother Down”.
In case you forgot, Queen started to shed its HM skin by its third album, Sheer Heart Attack, when the elegant “Killer Queen” became the first of many smash hits. And the group just got poppier and poppier, to the point where you couldn’t flick a radio on in the ’80s without hearing “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Under Pressure”, or the much dreaded (by me, at least) “We Will Rock You”. Queen was as commercial as they come, which may be why, two seats to my right, Loverboy vocalist Mike Reno could be seen crooning along to “We Are the Champions”.
Situated between a diehard headbanger and a former pop idol, I had my own set-list agenda. I was hoping to hear a few tunes from current Queen frontman Paul Rodgers’s days with British blues-rockers Free. Last year’s live Return of the Champions CD had included “Wishing Well”; that and “Fire and Water” would have made my night, but neither Free gem made the cut. The only Free tune churned out was that deathless ode to chasing chicks, “All Right Now”.
“Welcome Home Paul!” read a banner held aloft by one of the enthusiastic concertgoers, who paid upward of $115 to relive the music of their youth. As Rodgers explained to the Straight backstage before the show, he settled down in White Rock after meeting his soulmate, Cynthia, when he played the Coliseum on a bill with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Kenny Wayne Shepherd in ’97. Not only was it Rodgers’s homecoming but it was also the final night of the Queen & Paul Rodgers world tour, so there was a celebratory air to the proceedings. Backup musicians pranced around in sombreros and shook imaginary maracas during Roger Taylor’s drum solo, and a prankster roadie left Brian May befuddled when he delivered a guitar while decked out in Playboy Bunny gear.
Highlights of the show included the song named after Rodgers’s ’70s supergroup, Bad Company, and the exquisite “Love of My Life”, which May sang while skilfully fingerpicking a 12-string guitar. A sizable portion of the crowd joined in on that ballad, which May described as a tribute to original Queen singer Freddy Mercury, who died of AIDS in ’91. The band took a break while some patchy, out-of-sync video footage showed Mercury, at his flamboyant best, performing his trademark song, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, then Rodgers took over the vocals for the final verse.
After a riotous encore that included the obligatory “We Will Rock You”, the mostly 40-and-over crowd filed out, and as they did a few folks spotted the umbrella-toting Reno. “You rock, man!” proclaimed one overzealous Loverboy fan as he stretched to shake the genial Reno’s hand. “You rock!” I wasn’t about to turn around and argue the point, but I couldn’t help thinkin’ “Relax, pal. He’s no Paul Rodgers.”
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shimoli710
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Thank you Adam for this wonderful pic from M&G in Warsaw - one of the best TOHT concerts ever!
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Post by shimoli710 on Jun 30, 2014 2:24:41 GMT -5
The man who is currently on stage making the great music is very much alive and before us & that is Adam Lambert.. We are not listening to tracts that were reproduced,we are not seeing old videos of Freddie. These are Freddie's songs, he wrote many,to suit his style ,his voice and he sang them for years, Adam steps in& brings his gorgeous voice to honor Freddie and his music.. Of course he's not Freddie. When singers honor other singers,they are doing just that honoring them ,not becoming them. Adam has his own very successful career and is an international star in his own right. I don't expect critics to love everything Adam does ,but I do expect them to respect Adam for bringing this music to new generations and for getting Brian and Roger so excited and so thrilled to be out front with a great singer who helps to show their incredible talent. Adam brings them forth,Freddie kind of made them disappear. I also resent Adam being portrayed as an upstart who didn't work hard to get where he is.. A reality star..Why can't critics do some research and see just how many dues were paid by Adam to get where he is today...my favorite quote.. "The overnight star who took 20 years to get there." I want more respect and thankfulness for Adam'vocals,for his graciousness and modesty and for the hard path he chose to become one in a Billion.. Idol didn't teach him how to sing,it just gave him a huge audience that he didn't get when he did the musicals,the clubs,the ships,and all the other venues he played for years and years..Give the man his due. Critics, could At least have the good will to read about Adam's background and how far he's come.He's doing a great job and he's making very many people over the moon happy.R_E S_P_E_C_T needs to be shown. Very well said Melliemom!  |
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