6.2.21 QAL Glasgow #1
Jun 2, 2022 22:14:08 GMT -5
Post by pi on Jun 2, 2022 22:14:08 GMT -5
The Mail +
Former American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert (left) is a supersonic man in his own right
Manchester goes Ga Ga for Queen
QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT (AO Arena, Manchester) ★★★★★
When it comes to kick-starting the Platinum Party At The Palace, organisers couldn’t have opted for a more fitting opening act than Queen. Their regal name aside, the rock legends have previous form, with Brian May having memorably played God Save The Queen from the roof of Buckingham Palace for 2002’s Golden Jubilee.
The guitarist says he has something up his sleeve for this weekend, too, when Queen + Adam Lambert will join Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Sir Rod Stewart and others at a televised concert to celebrate 70 years of Her Majesty’s reign before 22,000 fans in London.
On the evidence of this exhilarating Manchester gig, part of the band’s mammoth Rhapsody Tour, whatever he delivers should be spectacular. The ongoing collaboration between two of the original Queen founding members — May and Roger Taylor — and American singer Lambert honours the group’s towering catalogue of songs without lapsing into pastiche.
‘I’m pinching myself that we’re actually here,’ said May to a packed arena. Originally scheduled for 2020, but twice postponed due to the pandemic, these are Queen’s first UK dates since 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody biopic. ‘Most of you bought tickets for this show two-and-a-half years ago, so this is an emotional moment,’ he went on.
He wasn’t wrong. This 150-minute, 28-song performance combined the raw energy of a classic rock concert with the digital whistles and bells of a modern pop production. The audience, which included a number of folks dressed as the late Freddie Mercury, comprised fans of all ages, reiterating the band’s cross-generational appeal.
May teasingly introduced Lambert as ‘the new boy’. The former American Idol runner-up, 40, wasn’t even born when Queen released their early 1980’s hits Under Pressure and Another One Bites The Dust, but he’s been capably filling the boots of Mercury, who died in 1991, for more than a decade now. He’s more an old hand than a young pretender.
To his credit, the Californian didn’t mimic Freddie’s moves. That would have been a mistake. Blessed with astonishing vocal range and rocket-propelled power, he has his own style. Cutting an imposing figure in padded shoulders, an oversized top hat and platform boots, he held a stunning, high-pitched note in a show-stopping finale to Somebody To Love — a supersonic man in his own right.
But the current incarnation of Queen really has two frontmen, and this was May’s show as much as Lambert’s. Wearing black jeans, trainers, and a shirt with rolled-up sleeves (he later switched to a long, flowing jacket), the guitarist, 74, reeled off a string of scintillating solos while patrolling an extended walkway.
The band’s core trio, augmented by three additional musicians, began by reiterating their credentials as 1970s hard-rock stalwarts. With drummer Taylor, 72, anchoring the ensemble with panache and stamina, they raced through Now I’m Here, Seven Seas Of Rhye and Killer Queen.
May has stressed that it is a truly live show, with no pre-recorded backing, and a minor stumble at the beginning of Killer Queen only emphasised the unpredictability of living in the moment.
If Lambert, at full throttle, lacked the more delicate touches Freddie occasionally brought to the stage, there was no shortage of intimacy when May moved onto a smaller, acoustic platform in the middle of the arena to perform Love Of My Life, a ‘solo’ ballad that was accompanied by 21,000 fans singing with him while holding illuminated smartphones in the air.
More.. www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/showbiz/music/187825
Former American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert (left) is a supersonic man in his own right
Manchester goes Ga Ga for Queen
QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT (AO Arena, Manchester) ★★★★★
When it comes to kick-starting the Platinum Party At The Palace, organisers couldn’t have opted for a more fitting opening act than Queen. Their regal name aside, the rock legends have previous form, with Brian May having memorably played God Save The Queen from the roof of Buckingham Palace for 2002’s Golden Jubilee.
The guitarist says he has something up his sleeve for this weekend, too, when Queen + Adam Lambert will join Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Sir Rod Stewart and others at a televised concert to celebrate 70 years of Her Majesty’s reign before 22,000 fans in London.
On the evidence of this exhilarating Manchester gig, part of the band’s mammoth Rhapsody Tour, whatever he delivers should be spectacular. The ongoing collaboration between two of the original Queen founding members — May and Roger Taylor — and American singer Lambert honours the group’s towering catalogue of songs without lapsing into pastiche.
‘I’m pinching myself that we’re actually here,’ said May to a packed arena. Originally scheduled for 2020, but twice postponed due to the pandemic, these are Queen’s first UK dates since 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody biopic. ‘Most of you bought tickets for this show two-and-a-half years ago, so this is an emotional moment,’ he went on.
He wasn’t wrong. This 150-minute, 28-song performance combined the raw energy of a classic rock concert with the digital whistles and bells of a modern pop production. The audience, which included a number of folks dressed as the late Freddie Mercury, comprised fans of all ages, reiterating the band’s cross-generational appeal.
May teasingly introduced Lambert as ‘the new boy’. The former American Idol runner-up, 40, wasn’t even born when Queen released their early 1980’s hits Under Pressure and Another One Bites The Dust, but he’s been capably filling the boots of Mercury, who died in 1991, for more than a decade now. He’s more an old hand than a young pretender.
To his credit, the Californian didn’t mimic Freddie’s moves. That would have been a mistake. Blessed with astonishing vocal range and rocket-propelled power, he has his own style. Cutting an imposing figure in padded shoulders, an oversized top hat and platform boots, he held a stunning, high-pitched note in a show-stopping finale to Somebody To Love — a supersonic man in his own right.
But the current incarnation of Queen really has two frontmen, and this was May’s show as much as Lambert’s. Wearing black jeans, trainers, and a shirt with rolled-up sleeves (he later switched to a long, flowing jacket), the guitarist, 74, reeled off a string of scintillating solos while patrolling an extended walkway.
The band’s core trio, augmented by three additional musicians, began by reiterating their credentials as 1970s hard-rock stalwarts. With drummer Taylor, 72, anchoring the ensemble with panache and stamina, they raced through Now I’m Here, Seven Seas Of Rhye and Killer Queen.
May has stressed that it is a truly live show, with no pre-recorded backing, and a minor stumble at the beginning of Killer Queen only emphasised the unpredictability of living in the moment.
If Lambert, at full throttle, lacked the more delicate touches Freddie occasionally brought to the stage, there was no shortage of intimacy when May moved onto a smaller, acoustic platform in the middle of the arena to perform Love Of My Life, a ‘solo’ ballad that was accompanied by 21,000 fans singing with him while holding illuminated smartphones in the air.
More.. www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/showbiz/music/187825
