In 1977, at the tender and impresionable age of 14, I saw my first concert: Queen. I begged my parents to let me go until they relented, and was inevitably spoiled for life by the stage presence and vocal mastery that made Freddie Mercury the greatest showman of his generation. Indeed, nothing ever came close for me to seeing this band live and I will always be grateful that I had the chance to witness a few more performances over the years before Mercury passed away.
My original ticket stub to see Queen in 1977. The price!
The concert I saw at the Air Canada Centre on July 13th wasn’t Queen as I remember them: Freddie is gone, John Deacon has retired, but Brian May and Roger Taylor have every right to want to tour and play the songs they wrote with whomever they please. In 2005, they chose Paul Rodgers, and the blend of the two music catalogues made for an enjoyable evening out. This time around, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert has been added to the bill. My initial reaction to the news was mixed: it could be spectacular, or it could be disastrous. With Paul Rodgers, there was no mistaking him for Freddie or fearing that he would be tempted to try; with Lambert at the helm, the possibility existed that he might imitate Freddie, and this had me concerned. In the end, it was not an issue.
Waiting for the curtain to rise at the Air Canada Centre.
The stage was simple and open, in a large Q shape that used its tail as a runway to reach the audience. The show opened with some older material, with the first three songs, Procession, Now I’m Here, and Stone Cold Crazy taking me back to their earliest albums. There were big hits everywhere in the set, but that In the Lap of the Gods and Seven Seas of Rhye were included just made my night. It’s not often anymore that bands with huge back catalogues play deep cuts, and it was a highlight for me to hear these two old gems.
Adam Lambert, looking very much like a young George Micheal.
All in all, Adam Lambert proved to be a good fit as a frontman: he certainly has the vocal chops and confidence to deliver the songs with flamboyance and energy, and at times evoked the vaudeville style of Mercury. This was especially true with his camp delivery of Killer Queen, complete with a velvet sofa to lounge on and a bottle of champagne to drink from. Lambert held his own, even with occasional reminders of Freddie in his choices and manner: there were call-back sing-alongs with the same affectionate teasing, even an alternating lead with Mercury during Bohemian Rhapsody, both sentimental moments that made the crowd cheer in appreciation. One can only imagine what Freddie would have been capable of in these more enlightened and accepting times, but perhaps that is what make him all the more remarkable more than 35 years ago. It is, no doubt, part of what inspired Lambert’s generation to be more open and for that freedom, they owe the glam era a huge debt of gratitude.
He’s a killer queen…
Brian May and Roger Taylor proved that they can still deliver great musical performances, and it was nice to see young Rufus Taylor play competently behind his dad’s drum kit. Both May and Taylor gave instrumental solos, which frankly, seemed dated and out of step with the rest of the show. There were lasers shooting in all directions at some point, and I couldn’t help but think that this too was more retro than futuristic.
Laserquest!
I did love the acoustic portion with just Brian May, his guitar, and 20 000 fans singing along to Love of My Life, which ended with Freddie delivering the last lines on the big screen. It was followed by a group rendition of the beautiful ’39, to which the audience added claps and chorus chanting.
“Bring it back, bring it back, don’t take it away from me, because you don’t know what it means to me.”
Brian May introducing ‘39.
Overall, the show had some beautiful moments, from Taylor’s These Are The Days of Our Lives performed with a backdrop of nostalgic footage from the 70s to Lambert’s powerful version of Love Kills, a reworked Mercury solo recording that will be released with new material from the band. It is a testament to Lambert’s energy that his collaboration seems to have inspired the remaining members to record fresh material for the first time in many years. I appreciated the brave choice of deeper cuts, loved the rousing versions of the big hits (Somebody to Love, Radio Gaga, Crazy Little thing Called Love, Fat-Bottomed Girls, and Under Pressure, to name a few) and felt a chill at Who Wants to Live Forever.
“Anyway the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to me…”
Despite the effort, it was during Bohemian Rhapsody that I felt the loss of Freddie so deeply because great pains were taken to include him in the presented version. He sang a full verse on video before passing the torch to a live Adam Lambert. It became apparent to me that what was lacking before me was the utter joy and spark that was Freddie and that without him, the kind of magic I remember was just not there.
All concert photographs taken by and used with the kind permission of Austin Ziegler.