ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC
All hail rock royalty — Queen’s legacy kept alive and well
BY GERRY KROCHAK, CALGARY SUN
FIRST POSTED: THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014 10:44 PM MDT |
UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014 10:52 PM MDT
Queen Rocks Dome
24 IMAGES
British rock band Queen + Adam Lambert rocked a near sold out audience at the
Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alta. on Thursday June 26, 2014.
Darren Makowichuk/Calgary Sun/QMI Agency
Article
Queen and Adam lambert at the Saddledome
4.0 stars
It’s Queen … but it’s not Queen.
Look, whether you buy into anyone other than the incomparable Freddie Mercury
fronting Queen or not, the opportunity to hear and see an even reasonable
facsimile of one of the greatest rock bands in music history is one worth taking.
Neither Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers in the 2000s, or certainly Adam Lambert
now could ever ascend to the loftiest of heights, and to each’s credit … neither
have tried. This current North American tour isn’t so much a tribute to Mercury
but rather an attempt at keeping the music and the legacy of Queen alive in a
live setting.
Being handsome, flamboyant, gay and possessing a big voice is simply not enough
to be on the same level of Mercury’s star power, but Lambert is certainly good
enough that he has to be taken seriously in his current role. He has the charisma,
attitude and semi-operatic vocal chops to not only stand onstage and play with
Brian May and Roger Taylor … but to front the band.
During what must be a thrilling, but thankless task, where Lambert has to be twice
as good to get half the credit, on this night he was up to the challenge — and
then some.
On a majestic stage production with giant oval video screen and just the right
amount of lights and smoke, the 32-year-old former American Idol runner-up strutted,
preened and posed through blazing openers Now I’m Here and Stone Cold Crazy, May’s
characteristic blistering fretwork as amazing as you recall.
Admittedly, there was a healthy contingent of boisterous American Idol fans in
attendance, but the old rockers that dominated the old barn were warm and welcoming.
Lambert, for his part, continued to make his presence and own version of star power
felt on the terrific one-two punch of Another One Bites The Dust and a delicious
interpretation of Fat Bottomed Girls.
Following In The Lap Of The Gods and Seven Seas Of Rhye, Lambert appeared on top of
a purple chaise lounge in platform boots that would have made Paul Stanley proud,
while delivering a Marc Bolin-esque, glammed-out vocal of Killer Queen — if he had
old fans left to win over this one did it!
For all of the evening’s brightest and most surprising moments, Lambert’s drop-dead
stunning performance of Somebody To Love (his favourite
Mercury vocal) and I Want It All, followed by Taylor paying tribute with a lead vocal
and a touching video montage of early Queen days on These Are The Days Of Our Lives
gave the show its undeniable peak (or so we would have thought) about halfway through.
Just prior, May donned his white cowboy hat and let out a “Yee haw!” before recalling
the last time Queen played Calgary in 1977, at The Jube. “You Calgarians are so
beautiful … we’ll have to do a Calgarian Rhapsody later!” he laughed. “I think it’s
been about 37 years … and you’re only getting better!”
If the crowd seemed even a little bit tentative at first, they were now fully engaged
as Lambert and Taylor teamed up on Under Pressure, before a ridiculous May solo spot
lead to the heaviest of the heavy artillery with Tie Your Mother Down, Radio Gaga,
Crazy Little Thing Called Love, The Show Must Go On and new undeniable peak …
Bohemian Rhapsody.
An encore of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions was the icing on an unforgettable
set list and a memorable evening. All hail the Queen, even now.
Mercury has been gone for 23 years and his legacy will live on forever — it seems fair
to say last night was something that would have made him smile.
== == ==
Queen and Adam Lambert at the Saddledome
4 stars (out of 5)
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