Went to see these last night, and what a difference in the level of professionalism compared to Dragonforce last week.
Having seen them a couple of years ago when Paul Rodgers first joined them I wasn’t expecting that much. Back then, the show seemed a bit dis-jointed, you almost needed oxygen where we were sat, and they brought bloody Peter Kaye on at one stage (a man who is to comedy what Saddam Hussein was to democarcy in Iraq). Rodgers has a great voice and he fits in quite well, with just enough campness to convince you he isn’t trying to replace Freddie Mercury but do tribute to him.
But last night was a revelation. The set was polished and the band seemed much more comfortable. They focused on the more recent classic singles instead of the original ones, and played some of their new stuff. I do like the way Rodgers makes himself scarce at certain times to let the original members take the limelight.
Brian May revealed that Freddie’s mother and family were in the audience.
One of the more obscure songs they covered was 39 from A Night At The Opera, and the way they did it was very impressive. They have a long walkway down the middle of the floor extending away from the main stage, and May began acoustically on a stool at the end of this. They then added other band members (plenty of audience participation). This led into other songs, then Taylor with his own spot (drum solo, a couple of songs, and so on). The whole band had relocated to middle of the arena for maybe half an hour.
All in all, this was an excellent show.
Irritations? Well, going to a Queen gig is embarrassing if only for the average age of the crowd. I was winding my mate up by pointing out the oldness, and that any of the young ones he kept pointing out were probably carers. Inside, I must say that this was one of the tallest crowds I’ve ever seen. Usually I can see easily being over 6 feet tall, but I was not on my own this time. I explained to my mate that the kind of people who go to this sort of gig are either old or suffering from growth hormone problems (probably bullied at school, too).
Most annoying thing? The jackass in front of me who videoed the whole of the first 30 minutes on his bloody mobile phone (arm in the air). He then recorded other long portions throughout the night. He seems particularly impressed by the sparkly backscreen display (I’m sure he’ll be really annoyed when he sees how over exposed it was when he looks at it today). Mind you, they were all at it: concert organisers will have to get this sorted. Paying 50 quid to stand looking at people with their arms in the air all night is not on.