I hope this hasn't already been posted. It's about the Mohegan Sun show but was published today:
Adam Lambert proves to be a killer Queen vocalist
Former âAmerican Idolâ runner-up a strong fill-in for late rock icon Freddie Mercury
By Chuck Darrow
PhillyVoice Contributor
July 26, 2017
In 2006, Queen co-founders Brian May and Roger Taylor decided to tour with a program featuring the beloved British glam-rock bandâs music. To replace legendary lead singer Freddie Mercury, whose 1991 AIDS-related death ended the original quartetâs run, they recruited Paul Rodgers, a pillar of â70s rock thanks to his work in Free (âAlright Nowâ) and, more importantly, Bad Company.
The experiment was an artistic fiasco as Rodgersâ gritty, blues-soaked sound was totally unsuited to Mercuryâs florid, higher-register sonic blueprint. Five years later, the two Queensters tried again by recruiting âAmerican Idolâ insta-star Adam Lambert, who wowed judges and the public (and May and Taylor) with his performance of âBohemian Rhapsody.â
Last Sunday night at the Arena inside Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn., Lambert emphatically proved that while, in his words, âthere is only one Freddie Mercury,â itâs doubtful any other current singer could best him when it comes to replicating the Mercury experience, vocally and stage-presence-wise.
At Mohegan Sun, the act, now called Queen + Adam Lambert âwhich on Sunday plays the Wells-Fargo Centerâprovided a demographic cross-section of fans a pretty good facsimile of what it was what like to be at a Queen concert between the 1ate-1970s (when they hit the arena-headliner level) and the late-1980s, when Mercuryâs illness began to take its toll.
The fulcrum of the setâs success was, of course, Lambert, who impressively handled both Queenâs most popular (and schlockier) material, including âBoRhapâ (probably the emotional pinnacle in a set chock-full of lump-in-the-throat moments), âSomebody to Love,â âWe Are the Championsâ âBicycle Raceâ and âFat Bottomed Girls,â and turbo-charged rockers, including the show-opening one-two punch of âHammer to Fallâ and âStone Cold Crazy.â On all of these, Lambert recalled Mercuryâs style, but fell admirably short of mere imitation. Instead, he used his own vocal gifts to build upon Mercuryâs foundation.
Lambert likewise outshone his immediate predecessor, Paul Rodgers, in the role of frontman. Theatrically garbed in a series of outfits that ranged from George Michael black-leather-fetish-wear to a pink satin suit (with brocaded flowers and black platform shoes with stacked heels) that could have been nicked from Elton Johnâs closet circa 1976, Lambert paid homage to Mercuryâs onstage flamboyance, but never appeared to either mock or clone it. And he had the good sense not to wield a half-size microphone stand as did Mercuryâanother way in which Lambertâs turn transcended mere mimicry.
Mercuryâs presence extended beyond Lambertâs reverential performance: He regularly showed up on the giant video screen behind the stage, with each appearance garnering vociferous applause from the audience. But this was not a one-live-man, one-dead-man affair. Major props also go to the two senior citizens who actually run the show. Drummer Taylor, who turns 68 today, was his usual steady-if-un-showboaty self on the drums, and pleasingly contributed his crucial, yet often-overlooked, backup vocals.
May, who last week celebrated his 70th birthday, constantly reminded the assembled multitude that he is one of rockâs criminally underrated guitarists. Throughout the 25-song performance, Mayâs unique style was preeminent. Itâs a blueprint that is far more streamlined and clinical (as befits a university-degreed astrophysicist) than those of other classic-rock British guitar heroes who have always worn their blues-love on their sleeves. Sunday, May thrilled repeatedly with his singular metal-meets-melody six-string strategy.
Sure, his guitar-solo segmentâa celebration of electronic effects like phasers, flangers and loopers (which May was building and using decades before the digital era made them ubiquitous) was a tad self-indulgent, but hey, he's earned it!
The bombastic, state-of-the-art staging, whose motif centered on the giant robot that appears on the cover of the bandâs mega-smash LP, âNews of the Worldâ (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year) also added to the enjoyment, and provided yet another tribute to Mercury-era Queenâs live act. And it was another reason Queen + Adam Lambertâs Mohegan Sun gig was such good fun.
www.phillyvoice.com/adam-lambert-proves-be-killer-queen-vocalist/