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Post by girldrummer on Feb 20, 2024 8:56:01 GMT -5
Of course, Adam would do his own makeup touchup! It's Adam! LOL
As to the AI judging thing. I voted for him, but I really don't care. I never watch the show, although I'd watch if Adam was a judge. But as others said, it won't happen. They won't have three men. The judging gig for Adam on AI sailed long ago. To me, the whole singing competition show genre has pretty much burned itself out. JMO. I know some of the shows still get good ratings, both in the US and other countries. But they don't seem to produce big stars anymore. Ho hum.
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Post by pi on Feb 20, 2024 9:04:33 GMT -5
ましろ🇯🇵
@mashiro_qfan
This time I realized that Queen and Queen+Adam Lambert are completely different bands. The songs they play are by Queen, so I couldn't help but compare them, but when I saw the power of this live performance, I realized that the act of comparing them is actually different.
I have become a fan of QAL! That's why I want to watch QAL again! It becomes
(Self-analysis)
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Post by pi on Feb 20, 2024 19:48:38 GMT -5
Thank you for your patience, this is my review of QAL! In the form of a column rather than a live report, I will briefly explain what I felt this time.
twitter.com/q_b_384/status/1759938837848211699
[Column] From Freddie's Requiem to "Everyone's Song" -- The transformation of Queen + Adam Lambert seen in "The Show Must Go On"When Adam performed in Las Vegas as Queen + Adam Lambert in 2018, he cutely sang "Bicycle Race" while riding a cute tricycle with lots of flowers on the back.
It's been 5 years since then. Not only could the once cute bicycle no longer be ridden on public roads, but it had become so jittery that it could only be described as ``something in the shape of a motorcycle.'' ``Adam-kun, what is that...?'' When you suddenly come back to your senses, the sight of Adam straddling M-shaped legs and shaking his hips toward the camera, and the 45,000 people in the audience going wild with his seductive posture, is a very surreal scene. Ta.
QAL's Japan tour ended successfully on February 14, 2024. Brian May, who had fallen down and had his strings broken from the moment he appeared in his previous performance in Japan, also seemed to be doing well this time. Roger Taylor's smile was also noticeable. However, since I'm already old, it would be best if everyone, including the support members, could finish the performance without getting injured.
Now, regarding this tour, my first impressions are that ``the performance was in great shape'' and ``unusually for Queen, there was a solid theme of social issues.'' I was blown away by 2020, which started with "Innuendo," but the choice of "Machine World" for the intro was too surprising. I think many people didn't know this song.
The theme is, ``The rise of AI, environmental destruction, and conflicts taking place in various places - how will humanity fight back?'' Nowadays, many people lament that ``rock is dead,'' but the live performance, which began with ``RADIO GA GA,'' in which they waved off the approaching robot army, was a true statement that ``rock is not dead yet!''
Furthermore, during Brian's solo, the world clock and the withered earth are shown, and he and Adam sing "Is This the World We Created...?" while the dead leaves are falling. It's a stylish production that focuses on entertainment, typical of Queen, without getting too political, but instead focuses on contemporary issues such as war, environmental destruction, poverty, and inequality.
It was also moving that Adam sang ``Hand in Hand'' for the first time. Various "meanings" have been considered regarding this, but 15 years have passed since they first stood on the same stage, and 10 years have passed since their first visit to Japan. At the end of a live performance, I no longer hear voices saying, ``It's got to be Freddie, after all.'' Rather, the number of people coming to see Adam is increasing, so perhaps it's time for Adam to sing this song. I think.
As a music writer, I focused on the production and sound. As writers like us, we go to dozens of concerts a year, regardless of genre, so we inevitably see all types of productions. Some of them are highly entertaining, using cutting-edge technology, and some are experimental, making full use of the facilities of newly built venues, but even compared to these, QAL's sound and production are ``outrageous.'' It was something I could say.
First, the sound. Each particle was like a glass ball, and the sound was sharply adjusted, down to the small percussion items, and the sound had little, if any, of the bulky or rough feel that is typical of large venues.
And as for the production, it's not that there's anything particularly special about it. In fact, the act itself was classical. However, "each one is incredibly detailed."
A huge ultra-high resolution screen where you can even see the shape of the glitter on Adam's eyelashes. Color design without any compromise. The spotlight accurately follows the artists (mainly Brian) who move erratically, and the camera angle is perfect to keep the audience from getting bored of the film. It's a silly story, but I wondered how much money it would take to create a stage like this.
The CG in general, which tends to be over-the-top in Western music, also has a good taste, and when the colorful droplets danced across the screen in ``Kind of Magic,'' I felt the presence of a high-level creator. Laser beam effects are standard, but the number of them makes you wonder, ``Are they going to do this much with a set brought in from overseas?!'' I wonder what it was that made it look like a laser was cutting off in the air during the guitar solo. I was really surprised.
There is one other thing that impressed me about this performance. It's the lack of MCs.
Many of you may have noticed that at this performance, there were not many MCs praising Freddie, which has become a standard every time. There weren't that many, or rather, I don't think there were any at the Tokyo performance (*note: the author's English proficiency is extremely low). There were almost no other MCs, and the performance progressed extremely tightly.
Well, that in itself probably has no meaning beyond "time saving". Tokyo Dome has poor sound insulation, and when a performance is going on, you can clearly hear the lyrics even if you're in front of the station, so if the concert goes on too long, people will complain. It's difficult to get an early start for weekday performances, and QAL also has songs exclusive to Japan, so time management is difficult.
I think this time, QAL went in the direction of cutting back on the MC and playing as many songs as possible. In fact, although the start times of the two Tokyo performances were different, the ending times were not much different. Personally, I think time is the reason why "Killer Queen" dropped out of the set list.
As for the band's playing, they have reached a complete maturity. Adam takes a different route from Freddie and fuses with the songs, impressing with a sexy and bold performance that utilizes the basics of musicals, and overcoming criticism with his singing ability.
Yet, I feel humble because I can sense in Adam's singing voice the same attitude of "wanting to entertain the audience'' as Freddie. Adam may have a flashy appearance, but he is not narcissistic, puts the customer first, and does not hesitate to give anything on any stage, which is why he is so charming.
As if in response, Roger and Brian were also sharp. Roger's drums, which are low and heavy, yet have a lightness to them, have the air of a skilled craftsman, and he maintains an attitude that is faithful to the song without being assertive. Brian was in pretty good shape this time, and his solo on “Born to Love You,” which he rarely has the opportunity to perform, was perfect.
I would like to mention the performance of "The Show Must Go On'' as a particularly memorable scene from this performance. This song is the last song on Freddie's posthumous album "Innuendo,'' and it is a special number in which Freddie said to Brian, "sDarling, I'm going to give everything to this song.'' I think that Adam, who sings it, has been strongly aware of "Freddie's death" and carried the song on his shoulders.
The impression of "Freddy's death" was less strong this time. I never felt that Adam's singing was light, nor did it weaken the story.
On social media, I saw people commenting that they "made the songs completely their own," but I think the band's attitude toward "the show must go on" has changed.As stated in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, the core of Queen's creativity is to "make music that everyone can feel like is for them." While singing about universal love and suffering, he also creates grandiose and gorgeous songs, as well as authentic hard rock, metal, and disco numbers. The wide variety of songs is probably a result of being conscious of the listeners and the times.
The members don't talk much about the meaning behind their songs. It is often said that "Bohemian Rhapsody is clearly a song about confessing that he is gay,'' but Freddie and the band avoid mentioning it. This is not about discrimination, but because once a song is declared a gay song, it ceases to be a "everyone's song'' that can be echoed by any person's feelings. The same can be said for other songs as well.
Still, "The Show Must Go On" remained a special song for the band. Freddie didn't suddenly leave this world one day. He had time to prepare and stage his own curtain-raiser. The result was the album "Innuendo'' and "The Show Must Go On.'' That's why this song has been sung for 33 years as a "song for Freddie.''I think the song “The Show Must Go On” that Adam sang when he came to Japan in 2020 was certainly a memorial to Freddie. It couldn't have been better because of Adam Lambert's position, the timing of his first visit to Japan after the release of the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody," and the performance for fans who first learned about Queen from the movie.
This time, the song had changed its appearance. Up until now, the voice control that respected and carefully followed Freddie's singing was impressive, but from the moment the song begins, it has a unique theatricality. I didn't feel much sadness, and Adam's singing voice, which was different from Freddie's singing style and had a joy to it, seemed to carry a different story.
My sense of discomfort turned into certainty during the scene of "My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies,'' when a rainbow-colored glow licked the audience. Ta. A lively band surrounded by colorful particles of light and singing voices full of joy. That's when I realized. This is not a memorial to Freddie, but a performance as "Adam Lambert'' that overlays Adam's own story into the song.
It's no secret that Adam is gay, but when you read his Wikipedia article, you'll find some strange lines like "He is the first openly gay musician to achieve this feat.'' That's the story. In other words, isn't that like saying that coming out is a negative factor?
America acts as if it is a developed country in terms of diversity, but there is a lot of discrimination. That's as absurd as "the guy with the tote bag is gay."There is no way that Adam, who lived there, had no hardships. Apparently, during his appearance on an audition program, a photo of him kissing a man was leaked, which caused a lot of rumors, but it doesn't matter if it's a romance documentary, if something like that were to appear on a music program, what do you think about it other than "Huh?" Is it? The fact that he officially came out after the show ended shows how difficult it is for him to live in American society.
The image of Adam carrying the rainbow color symbolizing LGBT on his back and singing, "My soul is colored like the wings of a butterfly,'' conveyed a completely different narrative from the one that Freddie sang.
The lyrics "I can fly, My friends'' are, in Freddie's 1991 song, "the last cry of someone who leaves for another world.'' This has been treated similarly in Adam's singing up until now. Adam was chosen by Queen because he is a singer who can "act'' Queen's feelings.However, in 2024, the "I can fly, My friends'' sung on stage at Tokyo Dome were not "Freddie's will'' but Adam's own words. Fifteen years ago, the young man who stood in front of the camera without makeup and wearing plain clothes is now in a foreign land where he doesn't speak the language, with lots of glitter on his eyelids and tens of thousands of people. They are receiving cheers.
"I can fly", which was once sung to mean "goodbye", was sung by Adam, who was encouraged by the myth of Freddie and the legend of Queen, and danced gracefully like a butterfly, saying, "I can go anywhere!" It was reborn as the word "beginning.''
At the same time, I felt that it was Queen trying to move on to the "future" after a long period of mourning. This does not mean that they have found a new vocalist to replace Freddie. The fact that Queen is a band of "those four" is expressed by the emblem that always shines above the stage.However, Adam is no longer a stand-in or a collaborative artist; he is the vocalist of a band called QAL. In my eyes, it looked like two queens, two vocalists existing at the same time, standing on stage at the same time, and unfolding different stories at the same time.
With this performance, "The Show Must Go On" has descended from a "song for Freddie" to "a song that all of us listeners can relate to in our own lives," 33 years after its release. I think it was. Nothing has changed as a song. Changes in performance are also subtle. However, the feeling that "something has changed'' is surely shared by many in the audience.
Should a band that lost a great frontman live in mourning as a "widow"? The band that lost someone as big as Freddie Mercury in such a way certainly lived in mourning for a long time.
But Queen is not Freddie's solo band. They must have been a "four-man band" with each individual's individuality and sound creating unique music. In fact, Brian and Roger are still active artists who are active not only as Queen, but also in solos, units, and various other fields. In his personal life, he is a husband, father, grandfather, neighbor, and friend, including John Deacon, who has retired from the music industry.
They are not "survivors of Queen" or anything like that. Although they may lose their frontman, they are nothing but "Queen" who loves their fans and continues to play music for them. Due to the transformation of "The Show Must Go On,'' QAL's live show has been reborn from "a celebration honoring the great Freddie'' to ``the best place for musicians living in the here and now.''
I wonder what Freddie would think if he saw QAL's performance. Maybe he'll be happy. Because at the memorial concert, Brian, who played the solo of "The Show Must Go On'' without looking up once, looked up at Adam dazzlingly and was smiling and enjoying the music. That's what Freddie loved about his friends on stage.The live performance concludes with Adam's songs "Bohemian Rhapsody'' and "We Are the Champion.'' It has been a long-standing tradition that Queen's encore ends with "We Are the Champion," but this time it reminded me even more of "The Meeting of Queen and Adam" and "The Beginning of QAL."
I'm not a staff member, so I don't know if this will be the last performance in Japan. However, both Roger and Brian are nearing the average lifespan of British people, and have lost many of their musical peers, so it's true that they're always thinking, "This might be their last show.''
However, Queen is a band that emphasizes storytelling. If they were really going to do a "last tour,'' I think they would create a set list and production that were more conscious of the band's own story, emphasizing that they were "saying goodbye to their fans'' and "this is their final journey.''
So even though this may be our last tour in Japan, I don't think it will be our last performance in Japan. Even if that were to happen, it would probably be in the form of "it turned out that way.'' It's hard to imagine Japan not being included in the "Queen Goodbye World Tour (tentative)".Queen continues to advance. Adam is still growing. I'm sure QAL will continue to evolve, change its face, and do something more outrageous. I believe so. I think the essence of Queen is never stopping.
Text: Sayaka Ando
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