Queensrÿche concert review!
So... the Queensrÿche concert was a BLAST - photos posted here, including the outfit with the corset. I was by far the best-dressed fangirl there *lol* and I felt like I should have been handing out Xcentricities business cards, so many people asked where I got the dress! ^_~ The only disappointment was that I didn't get to meet the band again, so I wasn't able to get anything signed for Chenoa (her birthday was the same night as the concert, but she couldn't get here for it ;_; ) or get pictures with the band members with me looking the best I ever have for a concert. *sigh* S'okay, the seats I got through the fanclub were AWESOME - center front row of the center section, right in front of the aisle between the two blocks of set up chairs at the very very front. BEAUTIFUL line-of-sight to Geoff-sama. *__* And I was able to take the digicam, so I got some great pics and even some video! Yee! *dance dance*
The opening band was Echo 7 - they were okay musically, sounded kinda like at least half the bands you hear on "alternative rock" radio nowadays. *shrug* The center guitarist/vocalist was rather Cobain-ish in appearance and action, the other guitarist/vocalist looked like a boy-band-bishounen trying to play at being a rocker, and the drummer was kinda hot but unremarkable... but the bassist stole the show. He was grinning, boogieing, working the crowd, playing his bass behind his back, and obviously having a great time. Much fun to watch. ^__^ I got video of him. *lol*
Queensrÿche was, as always, amazing. Geoff has such incredible intensity on stage, such great charisma, and the rest of the band has energy to match. Ed Bass just r0xx0rz on general principles, as does Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton is still adorable (*fondly remembers the great "cutie patootie" debate with her 3rd-year college roommate*) and Mike Stone seems to mesh with the band much better than Kelly Gray did, creating some very enjoyable guitar duets with Wilton. The visuals were great - they had large projection screens on each side of the stage, as usual, on which they showed closeups of all the band members, crowd shots, PV footage, and effects created just for the live (yes, you hear how jrock fandom has affected my vocabulary, ne?). Only one thing disappointed me, musically, and I knew it would: no one, no one can pull off the crystal-clear opening guitar notes of "Jet City Woman" like Chris DeGarmo. *sigh* Er, a second thing, too: they didn't play "Open," which I was very much looking forward to seeing live. Ah well. ^_^
They did do "NM156" (with spiffy Matrix-y fx) and "Screaming in Digital" as a set, they had an acoustic set in the middle that proved that "acoustic" does not have to equal "slow," "soft," or anything of the sort - "My Global Mind" and "Roads to Madness" rocked, and of course "Silent Lucidity" was required. Between the sets they showed short, odd films - the first one was an animation which i think i remember seeing parts of on the HITNF tour, another was an "American Gothic"-style family portrait/video that quickly segued into Geoff running for his life from the ominous looming corporation/institution. Not quite so much ranting from Geoff as the last time I saw them, but then it's kind of hard to top what he did during their cover of "Bullet the Blue Sky". ^_^;; This time, he threw us several curveballs on the introductions to the songs (at one point, most of the crowd was screaming "Revolution!" in anticipation of "Revolution Calling," when they launched into "Take Hold of the Flame") and briefly ranted about the inefficacy of the drug war during the voiceover on "Empire."
All in all, an excellent show. Echo 7 played for a little less than an hour, followed by a 15-minute or so intermission for changing of the set, then Queensryche played for about two hours... which seemed like an instant. I couldn't believe it was over when they brought up the lights! Of course, once the adrenaline of the performance wore off, I realized that the only thing still holding me up was the corset. *lol*
... And then I went home and soaked my feet and watched Bowling for Columbine. Very interesting, insightful, and thought-provoking - not to mention dosed with a very heavy sense of irony. Consider it highly recommended.
The opening band was Echo 7 - they were okay musically, sounded kinda like at least half the bands you hear on "alternative rock" radio nowadays. *shrug* The center guitarist/vocalist was rather Cobain-ish in appearance and action, the other guitarist/vocalist looked like a boy-band-bishounen trying to play at being a rocker, and the drummer was kinda hot but unremarkable... but the bassist stole the show. He was grinning, boogieing, working the crowd, playing his bass behind his back, and obviously having a great time. Much fun to watch. ^__^ I got video of him. *lol*
Queensrÿche was, as always, amazing. Geoff has such incredible intensity on stage, such great charisma, and the rest of the band has energy to match. Ed Bass just r0xx0rz on general principles, as does Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton is still adorable (*fondly remembers the great "cutie patootie" debate with her 3rd-year college roommate*) and Mike Stone seems to mesh with the band much better than Kelly Gray did, creating some very enjoyable guitar duets with Wilton. The visuals were great - they had large projection screens on each side of the stage, as usual, on which they showed closeups of all the band members, crowd shots, PV footage, and effects created just for the live (yes, you hear how jrock fandom has affected my vocabulary, ne?). Only one thing disappointed me, musically, and I knew it would: no one, no one can pull off the crystal-clear opening guitar notes of "Jet City Woman" like Chris DeGarmo. *sigh* Er, a second thing, too: they didn't play "Open," which I was very much looking forward to seeing live. Ah well. ^_^
They did do "NM156" (with spiffy Matrix-y fx) and "Screaming in Digital" as a set, they had an acoustic set in the middle that proved that "acoustic" does not have to equal "slow," "soft," or anything of the sort - "My Global Mind" and "Roads to Madness" rocked, and of course "Silent Lucidity" was required. Between the sets they showed short, odd films - the first one was an animation which i think i remember seeing parts of on the HITNF tour, another was an "American Gothic"-style family portrait/video that quickly segued into Geoff running for his life from the ominous looming corporation/institution. Not quite so much ranting from Geoff as the last time I saw them, but then it's kind of hard to top what he did during their cover of "Bullet the Blue Sky". ^_^;; This time, he threw us several curveballs on the introductions to the songs (at one point, most of the crowd was screaming "Revolution!" in anticipation of "Revolution Calling," when they launched into "Take Hold of the Flame") and briefly ranted about the inefficacy of the drug war during the voiceover on "Empire."
All in all, an excellent show. Echo 7 played for a little less than an hour, followed by a 15-minute or so intermission for changing of the set, then Queensryche played for about two hours... which seemed like an instant. I couldn't believe it was over when they brought up the lights! Of course, once the adrenaline of the performance wore off, I realized that the only thing still holding me up was the corset. *lol*
... And then I went home and soaked my feet and watched Bowling for Columbine. Very interesting, insightful, and thought-provoking - not to mention dosed with a very heavy sense of irony. Consider it highly recommended.