Queensryche - 2006 Concert Review
September 17, 2006 - Emerald Theatre - Mt, Clemens,
Michigan
Having been a Queensryche
fan since their "Empire" release (1990), I have taken the time
to go back to their earlier releases, as well as keep up with the
new. The first time I heard the "Operation:
Mindcrime" release (1988), I was very impressed with the band's
concept piece. In 2006, the band brought the fans
"Operation: Mindcrime II", which is the "conclusion"
to the story. I have been pleased with the
release, and knew that I needed to catch the new tour. I
was very pleased when I heard the new tour would feature a full
performance of both "Mindcrime" releases, including actors and
additional props.
On Sunday, September 17, 2006, me and friend traveled to
Mount Clemens, Michigan (just North of Detroit), to the Emerald
Theatre. I had not been to this venue before, so I was
curious what kind of evening this would be. The venue
was easy enough to find. All tickets were "general
admission", so there was a line waiting to get in.
Doors had just opened when we arrived, so the line started moving fairly
well. We got in and found some seats up in the
balcony. Overall, the Emerald Theatre is a decent place
for a concert. I'd go back.
The stage had a curtain closed, so there wasn't any
"preview" of what the setting would be like.
At 8:15pm, the curtain opened to reveal a multi-tiered stage, with a video
screen at the back. Immediately, the animated opening
footage and dialogue from "Mindcrime I" started, which was the same used on previous
tours. At the completion, the band kicked into the
opening of "Anarchy-X", and it sounded great.
The band was not overly energetic, but wasn't ignoring the
audience. Lead singer, Geoff Tate, made his appearance
with the follow-up of "Revolution Calling", with
"headset" microphone and assumed the role of lead character
"Nikki". The band continued through a dramatic
recreation of the first "Mindcrime" CD, with only a slight
change in the storyline. I did find it a tad confusing that
there was an actor who would occasionally take the role of our lead
character "Nikki", while Tate would "become" other
characters (for example, "Dr. X"). The female
vocalist who was in the role of "Sister Mary" added much more to
the performance than previous tours, and was a key part of the music and
drama. The band did a major overhaul of the
"Electric Requiem" track, giving it a much more dramatic and
powerful performance. Not as "dark" as the
original, but much more entertaining. I half wondered if this
was changed partly because of the original vocal being very high register,
however Tate didn't seem to have any problem with any other vocals, so
this may not have been the reason. At the end, Tate was put
into a straight-jacket, and did a great job of providing the vocal while
looking like he was losing his mind. After some extended musical
sections, part 1 ended around 9:15pm. After a 15
minute intermission, the band returned with the opening to "Mindcrime
II", and seemed more energetic with the new
material. Duel lead guitar solos were sounding
great. By the time we got to "I'm American",
Tate appeared in a nice black & white suite (think "Men In
Black"), and powerfully wandered the stage tormenting a selection of
actors representing business folk. There were additional
actors and props involved in this second part of the evening, and the band
also seemed much more excited with the material. For the
track "The Chase", a video image of Ronnie James Dio was shown
as "Dr. X", and fading between Tate as
"Nikki". The battle between the two was obvious,
however I was a bit disappointed that Tate remained off stage during this
performance. You basically had the band performing, and
all vocals were presented via video and tape.
Towards the end of the performance, an actor is brought out in the
"Dr. X" role, where "Nikki" (Tate) ties him to a chair
and shoots him. This was dramatic, but suffered a bit
from the "Dr. X" actor not having any resemblance to any of
other representation of "Dr. X". This confused
the plot just a bit. The band continued their strong
performance, while the story took a dark turn towards the
end. Tate kept up the vocals, and did a fair job of
holding the dramatic performance. He's not the best Broadway
trained actor, but I could see him having the
capability. Upon completion of "Mindcrime II",
the story was still a bit confusing, but I certainly had the feeling of a
full dramatic fictional story had been played out.
After completing the "Mindcrime" sets, the band
returned for two encores. We were treated to
"Empire" and "Jet City Woman".
Tate had gotten rid of the headset microphone, and assumed the more
general rock singer look. The audience loved the two
encores, and sang along with every note. The show ended
around 11:15pm, and lived up to most expectations. The
band, actors, and technicians all put together an elaborate performance,
which has rarely been attempted in the past.
Overall, I'd say Queensryche has successfully brought to
life the somewhat complicated "Operation: Mindcrime"
story. Some may wonder if previous guitarist Chris
DeGarmo is missed in this performance, and I can honestly say
no. My friend had seen the first full "Mindcrime"
performance with DeGarmo, and said he only missed DeGarmo's stage persona.
Musically, nothing was missing, and the band let
Tate have the spotlight most of the time. If you are at
all a fan of Queensryche, or a fan of progressive hard rock, you are sure
to love this concert. However, if you are looking to see
Queensryche simply play their hits, you will be disappointed.
This is solely a tour for the "Mindcrime" releases, but is
something most of the fans have wanted.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Review: Tim Hamm
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