7.14.14 Adam News & Info -- North to Montreal
Jul 14, 2014 8:26:53 GMT -5
Post by houselady on Jul 14, 2014 8:26:53 GMT -5
Show goes on as Queen, Lambert rock ACC
BY JANE STEVENSON ,TORONTO SUN
www.torontosun.com/2014/07/11/live-adam-lambert-leads-queen-at-acc
Adam Lambert of Queen + Adam Lambert performs at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta., on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. Codie McLachlan/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency
TORONTO - Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown?
Not so much in the case of Adam Lambert who appears to wear his Queen crown really well.
The eighth season American Idol runner-up fronted his first-ever Toronto show for veteran British rockers Queen at a sold-out Air Canada Centre on Sunday night and did so with confidence and charisma way beyond his 32 years.
It helped too that Lambert, along with Queen guitarist Brian May, 66, and drummer Roger Taylor, 64, (backed by three other musicians including Taylor’s talented son Rufus who engaged in a drum battle with his father later in the two hour and 20 minute show) paid proper respect to the legacy of original Queen singer Freddie Mercury, who died far too soon at the age of 45 in 1991 from complications from AIDS.
Mercury poignantly and repeatedly appeared during the show via vintage film clips and music videos on a large circular screen behind the band either actually singing during such songs as Love of My Life, with May on acoustic guitar, or the show-ending Bohemian Rhapsody, or in clips only during the Taylor-sung These Are the Days of Our Lives.
It really made you wish he was still around.
More importantly, not for a second did Lambert, whose operatic vocals and various eye-catching costumes of head-to-toe black leather with sequined platforms, a studded and fringed sleeved shrug, and leopard print suit and actual crown never failed to impress, try to be Mercury.
“What do you think of the new guy?” May asked the crowd at one point who roared their approval.
Lambert was undeniably his own thing, particularly during his standout songs Killer Queen and Somebody To Love, during which he had some fun on a purple velvet couch on the smaller b-stage near the crowd on the floor swigging champagne and rolling his eyes.
“Pardon me madam - did I get you wet?” he cheekily joked to a woman after the champers display. “You should say thank you!”
Queen, who previously toured with the more rock-and-blues oriented Paul Rodgers of Bad Company and Free from 2004-2009, opened the evening on the low-key side with Now I’m Here and Stone Cold Crazy before dipping into the first two big crowd pleasers, Another One Bites the Dust and Fat Bottomed Girls, which brought the audience to its feet.
Taylor and Lambert also gamely took on the Mercury and David Bowie roles on their famed Under Pressure duet while other highlights included Tie Your Mother Down, Radio Gaga, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and the encore duo of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, the latter which ended with an explosion of gold confetti.
There were also bass, drum and guitar solos that may have been unnecessary but went a long way in showing how well both Taylor and May can still play despite them saying before this tour began that it could be their last trek. (Let’s hope not.)
As Queen and Lambert themselves so expertly sang on Sunday night, The Show Must Go On.
The even better news is that if you missed this latest incarnation of Queen, they are returning for a second show at the ACC on July 28.
ETA: This article is by the lady who tweeted photos, etc. all during the show. You can see those at the bottom of the article at the link above.
BY JANE STEVENSON ,TORONTO SUN
www.torontosun.com/2014/07/11/live-adam-lambert-leads-queen-at-acc
Adam Lambert of Queen + Adam Lambert performs at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta., on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. Codie McLachlan/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency
TORONTO - Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown?
Not so much in the case of Adam Lambert who appears to wear his Queen crown really well.
The eighth season American Idol runner-up fronted his first-ever Toronto show for veteran British rockers Queen at a sold-out Air Canada Centre on Sunday night and did so with confidence and charisma way beyond his 32 years.
It helped too that Lambert, along with Queen guitarist Brian May, 66, and drummer Roger Taylor, 64, (backed by three other musicians including Taylor’s talented son Rufus who engaged in a drum battle with his father later in the two hour and 20 minute show) paid proper respect to the legacy of original Queen singer Freddie Mercury, who died far too soon at the age of 45 in 1991 from complications from AIDS.
Mercury poignantly and repeatedly appeared during the show via vintage film clips and music videos on a large circular screen behind the band either actually singing during such songs as Love of My Life, with May on acoustic guitar, or the show-ending Bohemian Rhapsody, or in clips only during the Taylor-sung These Are the Days of Our Lives.
It really made you wish he was still around.
More importantly, not for a second did Lambert, whose operatic vocals and various eye-catching costumes of head-to-toe black leather with sequined platforms, a studded and fringed sleeved shrug, and leopard print suit and actual crown never failed to impress, try to be Mercury.
“What do you think of the new guy?” May asked the crowd at one point who roared their approval.
Lambert was undeniably his own thing, particularly during his standout songs Killer Queen and Somebody To Love, during which he had some fun on a purple velvet couch on the smaller b-stage near the crowd on the floor swigging champagne and rolling his eyes.
“Pardon me madam - did I get you wet?” he cheekily joked to a woman after the champers display. “You should say thank you!”
Queen, who previously toured with the more rock-and-blues oriented Paul Rodgers of Bad Company and Free from 2004-2009, opened the evening on the low-key side with Now I’m Here and Stone Cold Crazy before dipping into the first two big crowd pleasers, Another One Bites the Dust and Fat Bottomed Girls, which brought the audience to its feet.
Taylor and Lambert also gamely took on the Mercury and David Bowie roles on their famed Under Pressure duet while other highlights included Tie Your Mother Down, Radio Gaga, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and the encore duo of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, the latter which ended with an explosion of gold confetti.
There were also bass, drum and guitar solos that may have been unnecessary but went a long way in showing how well both Taylor and May can still play despite them saying before this tour began that it could be their last trek. (Let’s hope not.)
As Queen and Lambert themselves so expertly sang on Sunday night, The Show Must Go On.
The even better news is that if you missed this latest incarnation of Queen, they are returning for a second show at the ACC on July 28.
ETA: This article is by the lady who tweeted photos, etc. all during the show. You can see those at the bottom of the article at the link above.
