Post by dave910 on Jul 30, 2009 23:01:24 GMT -5
Last night the "thinking man's metal band" Queensryche rocked a standing room only crowd of about 1,000 fans at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in NH! I joined my friends, Pete, Lance and Beth for a great show. The focus of this tour were suites from Rage For Order (1986), their commercial breakthrough Empire (1990) and their current release American Soldier. I must confess I didn't know much of the Rage for Order material but I loved the songs "Walk in the Shadows" and "I Dream in Infrared" which were from that album. Lead singer Geoff Tate had a great stage presence looking well fit and decked in black. He delivered a great performance as well as guitarist Michael Wilton, bassist Ed "big bottom" Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield for the two hour show.
The second suite was from American Soldier. Tate told the audience that this record took three years to make. He wanted to get the real stories from U.S. vets from World War II to the current conflicts in the Middle East. Tate wanted to avoid the glossy Hollywood version that tends to view our troops in a negative light. Tate's father served in the Korean War as well as the Vietnam conflict. It took his dad years to discuss what was witnessed. "The Killer" was dedicated to his father as well as those whom were disrespected when they returned home. "A Dead Man's Words" told the story of how three soldiers whom took a three day journey across the dessert to find their fellow brother whom was missing 100's of miles away. In the marines, there is a saying "leave no man behind". Unfortunately only one marine would make it back from the trip. My personal favorite was the ballad "Home Again" which Tate shared a vocal duet with his 12 year-old daughter. A song about a soldier and his daughter whom are struggling with separation from each other. This was accompanied by footage of soldiers and their families broadcast over a plasma screen.
The final suite was from the triple platinum "Empire" which helped expose Queensryche to a new audience without losing their core fans. Tate asked if the crowd remembers buying a cassette copy of Empire and playing in their car stereo or walkman. While technology may have changed, songs like Jet City Woman, Best I Can and Anybody Listening? still hold up to this day for fans that remember where they were when these songs got airplay. The band was pretty tight and all the original members are still with the band since it's formation in 1981. Guitarist and key songwriter Chris DeGamo left the band in 1998. Silent Lucidity was dedicated to the audience and Tate encouraged the fans to "never stop dreaming". The encore was the title track to "Empire" which left old fans and new craving more!
After the show my friends and I were able to meet guitarist Michael Wilton. Unfortunately, I didn't have a CD for him to sign and was late getting out my ticket stub. So I lost out in that area. But I still had an excellent time seeing a great metal band whom were able to have success in the 80's and 90's.
The second suite was from American Soldier. Tate told the audience that this record took three years to make. He wanted to get the real stories from U.S. vets from World War II to the current conflicts in the Middle East. Tate wanted to avoid the glossy Hollywood version that tends to view our troops in a negative light. Tate's father served in the Korean War as well as the Vietnam conflict. It took his dad years to discuss what was witnessed. "The Killer" was dedicated to his father as well as those whom were disrespected when they returned home. "A Dead Man's Words" told the story of how three soldiers whom took a three day journey across the dessert to find their fellow brother whom was missing 100's of miles away. In the marines, there is a saying "leave no man behind". Unfortunately only one marine would make it back from the trip. My personal favorite was the ballad "Home Again" which Tate shared a vocal duet with his 12 year-old daughter. A song about a soldier and his daughter whom are struggling with separation from each other. This was accompanied by footage of soldiers and their families broadcast over a plasma screen.
The final suite was from the triple platinum "Empire" which helped expose Queensryche to a new audience without losing their core fans. Tate asked if the crowd remembers buying a cassette copy of Empire and playing in their car stereo or walkman. While technology may have changed, songs like Jet City Woman, Best I Can and Anybody Listening? still hold up to this day for fans that remember where they were when these songs got airplay. The band was pretty tight and all the original members are still with the band since it's formation in 1981. Guitarist and key songwriter Chris DeGamo left the band in 1998. Silent Lucidity was dedicated to the audience and Tate encouraged the fans to "never stop dreaming". The encore was the title track to "Empire" which left old fans and new craving more!
After the show my friends and I were able to meet guitarist Michael Wilton. Unfortunately, I didn't have a CD for him to sign and was late getting out my ticket stub. So I lost out in that area. But I still had an excellent time seeing a great metal band whom were able to have success in the 80's and 90's.
