Tours
TOUR REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS
By Jacky
Apr 10, 2006, 12:45

Pittsburgh Beaver County Times & Allegheny Times. Scott Tady. 03/26/06

Queen Reigned.
“Queen filled Mellon Arena on Monday…with: big, blustery, bombastic classic rock.

“From the scorching sounds of the opening salvo “Tie Your Mother Down” to the triumphant , transcendent finale “We Are the Champions,” (the) crowd savored the spectacle.

“Long considered to possess one of rock’s purest voices, Rodgers did a solid job singing Queen classics like “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Under Pressure”

“”Bohemian Rhapsody” was a highlight, particularly that eagerly anticipated moment when May’s guitar pierced the song’s swirling operatic storm, prompting fans to frantically bob their heads “Wayne’s World” style.

“Thankfully, Queen saved time for a guitar solo, on which the bushy-haired May absolutely dazzled. I haven’t seen a finer guitar solo this decade. May’s playing was so crystalline and majestic. He’s the antithesis of today’s sludgy-sounding, post-grunge and new-metal guitars.

 “Taylor too performed a fine solo, but more impressively he almost duplicated the supersonic drum roll that comes before the final refrain of “Fat Bottomed Girls”

"The energetic grandeur radiating from Queen during the concert re-crowned the group rock 'n'roll royalty".



John Swinconeck: Journal Tribune
207.282.1535 x319

Return of the champions
I have a recurring dream where I meet Brian May, and he gives me a guitar. Fortunately for all involved, namely myself and Dream Version Brian May, it doesn’t devolve into anything weird, as dreams frequently do. May isn’t wearing a chicken suit and I, thank God, spend the dream fully clothed. In the dream, we talk about music, and he gives me a replica of the Red Special, the guitar May built with his father as a teenager, and has used throughout his career with the band Queen.
It’s a great guitar, both in my dream and in the real world. Literally, a one of a kind piece. The guitar was made by May and his father, with a neck carved from a mahogany fireplace mantel. But I’d never thought I’d see it, much less hear it live.
It’s with cruel irony, I think, that I got into Queen only after Freddie Mercury died. When we were in high school, my best friend Andrew and I went to see “Wayne’s World,” the film that reintroduced Mercury’s magnum opus “Bohemian Rhapsody” to our generation.
The song got my attention, and I started listening. I used the money from my weekend job washing dishes at a Japanese restaurant to buy Queen CDs.
One of the first songs I learned on guitar was May’s “Tie Your Mother Down,” and I’d continue to play, albeit badly, various Queen riffs in my bed room, and, with Andrew, subjected the general public to our own versions of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “’39.”
I grew up outside of Worcester, Mass., and I have to say that since moving to Maine, I’ve tried to block out most of my childhood memories. A few of things remain, and one of them was the music of Queen.
But I was starting to wonder if I’d ever hear that guitar.
So, a couple of weeks ago, when my father said Queen, now touring again with frontman Paul Rodgers of Free/Bad Company fame, would be playing a show in Worcester ...
“I think you should buy two tickets, and you should take Andrew,” said my wife. It’s times like these when you know you’ve married the right woman.
So Andrew and I made the two hour trek to Worcester, driving through the maze of traffic and memories. A few minutes after we arrived, the band hit the stage. With the subtly of a sledgehammer, Queen and Paul Rodgers launched into “Tie Your Mother Down.” and just like that, I was in high school again, shouting out lyrics and pumping my arm in the air.
It’s a strange sensation hearing songs you know backwards and forwards for years, being played for you.
A flood of images and memories came flooding back. The face of my guitar teacher. My wedding where Andrew and his wife performed the Queen ballad “These Are the Days of Our Lives.” The countless open mic nights and my attempt to play May’s “Last Horizon” during a high school recital. (May’s rendition in Worcester was way better, and I now vow never to attempt that song without the aid of an enormous disco ball.)
But what blew me away was May’s signature guitar solo. Recordings pale in comparison when hearing it live, as if nothing can capture the soaring high notes, harmonies and bends, or the grinding machine gun-like riffs.
After the show, I spoke with a couple hanging out by the tour buses, and we talked about the guitar. It’s a strange sensation, telling strangers about how much you want to hear something so personal. But Queen fans speak each other’s language.
Some remembered seeing Queen in their teens. Others weren’t yet born when Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded.
I don’t play much at all any more, except for some exceptional air guitar. My steering wheel has also taken abuse as an impromptu drum set. Will I pick it up again, now that I’ve seen Queen in action? I don’t know. But sometimes, it’s just enough to listen.



Illinois Entertainer - http://illinoisentertainer.com -
Queen + Paul Rodgers Reviewed
Allstate Arena, Rosemont. Thursday, March 23, 2006

After testing the waters, so to speak, overseas, the newly rechristened Queen + Paul Rodgers launched its first full-fledged American tour. Considering it’s been more than two decades since the original act stepped foot on Stateside soil, anticipation was high, though the stakes this time through were incredibly different.

Filling in for the late great Freddie Mercury was the somewhat strange, but quite capable choice Rodgers (of Free and Bad Company fame) along with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Fellow original and bassist John Deacon has long since retired from the road, but the rhythm section was fleshed out by a trio of additional session players. Yet no matter who was involved and how the tour was specifically billed, there was no escaping the ample supply of memorable material, which nostalgic as it may have been, still royally rocked while transcending generational constraints.

Unlike recent tours by The Doors Of The 21st Century and INXS (who despite new singers made little, if any, reference to departed leaders) the current Queen contingency didn’t deny the group’s ties to Mercury. Instead they were the very first sounds that oozed from the speakers, as a taped rendition of him singing “It’s A Beautiful Day” triggered the group’s entrance. He reappeared two hours later for a piped-in duet with Rodgers on “Bohemian Rhapsody” with shout outs and tributes in between.

But that underlying streak of homage didn’t take the spotlight off Rodgers by any means, who still had the daunting task of winning over the masses as he covered the rest of Queen’s massive catalog. Though not always a success, he rose to the occasion from the get go with the killer combination of “Tie Your Mother Down” and “Fat Bottomed Girls.” Such a series of rousing romps laid the groundwork for several other staples, such as “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “The Show Must Go On,” both of which took kindly to Rodgers’ bluesy undertones and much more muscular demeanor when compared to the flamboyant Mercury.

Speaking of Rodgers’ aggressive nature, it was also highlighted in several nods to Bad Company, which despite not necessarily fitting hand-in-glove with the set’s bulk of Queen material, added additional doses of radio familiarity. “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Can’t Get Enough,” and “Bad Company” were spirited throwbacks, connecting with the gritty riffs that first made them famous (much better than the fleet of bar bands who regularly cover such cuts every weekend). The singer wasn’t the only member to have the spotlight as May and Taylor also took turns stepping up to the microphone. The former was particularly poignant in dedicating the acoustic “Love Of My Life” to Mercury, while the latter tastefully recalled “These Are the Days Of Our Lives” with old footage of the originals playing above on the jumbo screen.

Though Taylor started “Radio Ga Ga,” he passed the baton back to Rodgers midway through, but it resulted in one of the lowest energy moments of the night (and certainly miles short of the resplendent Live Aid performance in 1985). “Another One Bites the Dust” and “Under Pressure” were also weak without the melodic temperament they required, instead replaced by the newcomer’s burly pipes. However, the group truly hit stride during an electrified encore of “We Will Rock You,” Free’s “All Right Now,” and “We Are the Champions.” In fact members gelled so well one could completely forget about prior blunders and truly be consumed by this reunion of sorts. With a jubilant outro to “God Save the Queen,” Queen + Paul Rodgers appeared to officially pass the fans’ test.

Andy Argyrakis


Long live Queen: San Diego Union Tribune - United States
...Mercury's powerful vocals also graced such classic Queen songs as “WeWillRockYou,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love...
http://www.signonsandiego.com


POP MUSIC REVIEW
No time for losers: Rodgers and Queen a winning combo
By George Varga/ POP MUSIC CRITIC

April 3, 2006

Except for some “Star Trek” fans, time travel has yet to become a reality. But Saturday night's concert by Queen + Paul Rodgers at SDSU's Cox Arena easily succeeded in taking listeners back several decades, to a time when anthem-like songs, epic guitar solos and bigger-is-always-better aesthetics ruled the day.

Of course, one might expect no less from veteran rockers whose greatest creative and commercial successes lay well in the past. But what was most notable about this two-hour nostalgic trek was how fresh and vital many of the nearly two-dozen songs essayed sounded, from “Tie Your Mother Down” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” to “Under Pressure” and “We Will Rock You.”



Too many graying classic-rock bands are content to rake in the bucks with perfunctory, automatic-pilot performances, delivered by revamped lineups that can only hint at the group's artistic heyday. But guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor of Queen clearly relish the opportunity to revisit and revitalize their storied musical past.

True, their concert Saturday with former Free/Bad Company singer Rodgers gave little indication of where they may be going in the future – or even if they have one together beyond this tour. But it was still a well-paced, often rousing celebration of their respective legacies.

The big question was how Rodgers would fare in place of former Queen singer Freddie Mercury, who died of complications from AIDS in late 1991. A bigger-than-life presence, even in his rare moments of understatement, Mercury was flashy, flamboyant and took great delight in mocking the outrageous pomposity that was his trademark. He also had a soaring, quasi-operatic voice that was one of the most distinctive and versatile in rock.

The macho, gruff-voiced Rodgers, conversely, has always been a spunky blues-rocker. A beer-and-potatoes everyman, he's so far removed from Mercury's champagne and caviar persona as to hail from another planet, their shared penchant for strutting with an upside down microphone stand notwithstanding. How, then, could he possibly hope to take Mercury's place?

The answer, happily, is that he doesn't – in contrast with preening English pop vocal star Robbie Williams, who a few years ago came very close to touring with May and Rodgers under the Queen banner. (Bassist John Deacon retired from performing not long after Mercury's death.)

Instead, Rodgers made no effort to sound like anyone other than himself, whether ripping through Queen's “Another One Bites the Dust,” Bad Company's “Can't Get Enough” or Free's “All Right Now.” It was a wise decision that enabled him to bring different dimensions to Queen's music, while avoiding comparisons with the irreplaceable Mercury (who drew big cheers when he was shown performing in vintage video footage during “Bohemian Rhapsody”).

May and Taylor, who were both featured in individual instrumental solo segments, also took able turns in the vocal spotlight. The still-long-haired guitarist's solo rendition of the Mercury-penned “Love of My Life,” which quickly became a mass sing-along with the enthusiastic audience of 6,347, was an emotional high point of the night.

There were few surprises, apart from the band taking to the stage as a snippet of Eminem's “Lose Yourself” played over the sound system. The sole new song performed, “Take Love,” seemed more like a vintage Bad Company number than anything by Queen, whose current tour with Rodgers also features three rock-steady backing musicians.

Longtime fans may have been disappointed by the absence of such early band favorites as “Stone Cold Crazy” and “Killer Queen.” But even before the show concluded with “We Are the Champions,” it was clear that – at least for a night – Queen had reclaimed its throne.



Still proving they are the champions: By: Jennifer Halpert, Assistant Copy Chief
As AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" blared on the sound system at Cox Arena Saturday night, fans from age 7 to 70 joined in for the anticipatory hype.

The electricity amongst the audience was enough to make the hair on your arms rise.

As the curtains rose, the loud murmur throughout the crowd turned from a small wave into a thunderous tsunami.

Roger Taylor took to his drums, Brian May took to his guitar, Paul Rodgers took to his microphone, and all those in the crowd took to their feet.

The reason?

Queen. Is. Back.

With the memory of Freddie Mercury flowing through the collective veins of thousands, Rodgers grabbed the mic and tried to fill Mercury's shoes.

He came close.

Rodgers - the former frontman of hair-metal favorite Bad Company - brought a stage presence to the show, waving his mic stand through the air like a cheerleader twirling a baton. While his sound wasn't as sharp as Mercury's, Rodgers left the crowd satisfied, if not wanting more.

He's no Freddie - no one ever will be - but he sure knows how to put on a show.

With Queen, pyrotechnics aren't necessary, background dancers aren't considered, stunts aren't needed - besides the mic stand almost poking Rodgers' eye out.

In an age where the show makes the band, Queen made the show.

The music said it all.

And the fans screamed it back.

The grandfathers holding their lighters, and the grandsons holding their camera phones stood side-by-side, shouting out the words to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Under Pressure."

But, as the crowd sang with Rodgers, the band still took control.

Taylor, a master of his craft, wailed on his kit with all of the passion he did in 1981. May ripped through rifts like a madman, reminiscent of a punk kid thrashing in his garage.

And Rodgers.

The soon-to-be 60 year old, clad in leather pants and a fire-engine red, collared shirt, looked closer to 25. His chest hair peaking out of his tight white T-shirt, Rodgers led the crowd in stirring renditions of the band's most famous work. (there is a part two to this, but my browser wouldn't let me get to it or copy it! Sorry!)




By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register
The odd intro music was once again Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Which, despite its swelling theatrical urgency, has about as much to do with Queen and its new-yet-veteran vocalist Paul Rodgers as "Another One Bites the Dust" has to do with 50 Cent.

"Look," Em's Oscar winner begins, "if you had one shot or one opportunity …"
Only, as steadfast Queen devotees who trekked out to the Hollywood Bowl last October know, this wasn't the re-established outfit's first or even sole chance at re-proving itself.

Perhaps that's why Monday night's heartier return, at the Pond, didn't come close to selling out. When you charge people $200 a ticket for what's billed as one of just two North American dates - and the only one in the Western half of the U.S. - they tend not to turn out when you come back a little more than five months later on a full-fledged tour.

Yet here's the real stinker for those who went then but not now: You missed the better, more rocking show.

Practice does indeed make perfect - or at least leads to improvement. When guitar whiz Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Rodgers (filling in for the late Freddie Mercury) played the Bowl, they had only a handful of U.K. and European dates and an Aruban festival under their belt.

And with many weeks of down time scattered between those shows, their rustiness was all too evident. It was worsened by cold, misty weather that often sent May's guitars out of tune and provided more chills than the nostalgic display actually did. Plus, that show felt sluggish, overly long and poorly paced.

Monday night's revamping, however, was probably as great as this tribute can get.

The set was tightened to just over two hours, with many lighter moments (which play better in England than here) traded for harder material. Apart from May's moving rendition of "Love of My Life" (with a vacant stool at his side, symbolically), Taylor's wistful version of "These Are the Days of Our Lives" and the increasingly poignant "Radio Ga Ga," all other soft focus was wiped clear.

Instead, the set burst forth with one arena blaster after another: "Tie Your Mother Down," "Fat Bottomed Girls," Bad Company's "Can't Get Enough" and "Feel Like Makin' Love," Taylor's "I'm in Love With My Car" (preceded by a rather clunky solo), more assured takes on "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the song "Bad Company" and a mesmerizing May solo that reminded what a master of effects he is. By deploying pitch-shifting delay pedals with impeccable timing, he can still effortlessly make his custom guitar sound like a symphony of six-strings.

"I don't know about you guys, but x  I'm in heaven right now," exclaimed Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, a longtime Queen acolyte who emerged to hand an ax tech-style to a taken-aback May. Seeing as at the Bowl L.A. fixture (and Rodgers collaborator) Slash turned up to duel on "Can't Get Enough," it was only fitting that an O.C. native would share enthusiasm here.

Much of the set was wisely altered, though, with songs not only moved but exchanged for better choices. Gone were Taylor's well-meant but limp AIDS elegy "Say It's Not True" and Rodgers' "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy," replaced by the churning groove of "Dragon Attack" (a welcome surprise) and the vocal gymnastics of "Under Pressure," though it was noticeable how it took six men (including side players) to achieve what Mercury and David Bowie put down in '81.

What's more, Rodgers finally seems settled into this skin. Again, he's no Freddie Mercury - no one is - and he's smart to avoid songs either beyond his range ("Somebody to Love") or which would rub his barrel-chested blues-belter image the wrong way (flamboyant bits like "Bicycle Race" and "Killer Queen").

But his still-robust voice - the only signs of wear and tear come via occasional clipped or huffy phrasing - now carries these songs as if he had been hollering them for a decade. Where before he was merely a familiar face awkwardly attempting to squeeze into tight shoes, now he seems natural, so at home with the melodies that he's put his own stamp on them. In the process, he has dragged the rest of Queen deeper into his terrain.

A new tune, which I'll guess is titled "Take Love Where You Find It," suggests there's more life left to this mash-up - and that Queen's singular sonics could add girth to Rodgers' melodies.

But even if it remains nothing more than a tribute act, it deserves a continued run. In an era of misguided revivals - I've heard the New Cars, and you shouldn't - this reconstituted Queen is that rare attraction worth seeing more than once.



Old band, new voice
QUEEN SINGER FINDS SUCCESS IN TREND
By Brad Kava
Mercury News
For music fans, it didn't at first sound like a match made in heaven. But for Queen drummer Roger Taylor, singer Paul Rodgers is more than a lead singing stopgap for the flamboyant Freddie Mercury, who died in 1992 of complications from AIDS.

Rodgers and the band -- who hit San Jose's HP Pavilion on Wednesday -- are just one example of how well-known music groups would rather replace their most recognizable part, the lead singer, than break up the whole crew and start anew.

Van Halen did it, replacing David Lee Roth with Sammy Hagar, then Hagar with Gary Cherone. AC/DC did it, subbing in Brian Johnson for Bon Scott, who died. The Cars, who come to the Mountain Winery on May 25, also did it, swapping Ric Ocasek for Todd Rundgren.

But maybe the most visible recent incarnation is Australian band INXS, which staged a reality television show -- ``Rock Star: INXS'' -- to find a new lead singer to replace Michael Hutchence, who died in the '90s.

``Did it work out for them?'' Taylor asks. ``I guess, if that's the way they want to do it. I found it fascinating to watch, but I don't think it did INXS any favors.''

Taylor, 55, liked the ``blond guy'' (Marty Casey), who came in second place, and he thought picking a woman would have been more daring and interesting for the band.

He's also not keen on the ``American Idol'' format, which began in England.

``I don't think it should be confused with the music business. It's TV entertainment, and usually the people who come out of it are just a flash in the pan.''

Celebrity and its incarnations are a peeve of Taylor's, and he's considering writing a song about it.

``The word `celebrity' is a complete joke. Kids aspire to it, and it doesn't mean anything. There are a lot of broke celebrities, a lot of idiot celebrities, a lot of celebrities with no talent. Yet you hear the word continually, meaning anyone who has been on TV is a celebrity.''

Despite his criticisms, Taylor acknowledges the new Queen came about as a result of a TV show, but it wasn't inspired by one.

``It was a lucky accident, and it sort of works,'' Taylor says. ``We happened to be doing a TV show (for the U.K. Hall of Fame), and Paul was there, and we asked him to sing a couple of songs with us, `We Will Rock You' and `We are the Champions.' It went great and sounded incredible. The idea came out of that.''

And now, Rodgers and the band are writing songs together and considering new material from this new version of Queen.

``Freddie was a big fan of his voice right from the beginning,'' says Taylor of Rodgers, from a tour stop in Milwaukee. The original Queen even had a song called ``Hangman'' written in the style of Rodgers' first rock band, Free. It has been performed live, but ``I don't know if we ever recorded it,'' Taylor says.

The current 23-city tour is Queen's first U.S. appearance in 24 years and includes a beefed-up version of the former quartet. Taylor and original guitarist Brian May are joined by bassist Danny Miranda, guitarist Jamie Moses and pianist Spike Edney, who has played with the theatrical show about Queen, ``We Will Rock You.''

It's hard to imagine the meat-and-potatoes Rodgers, who played in Free and Bad Company -- Led Zeppelin-style blues-rock bands -- replacing Mercury, whose over-the-top vocalizing brought an operatic singing style to the concept of a rock opera. But, Taylor says, Mercury wasn't always the crowd-pleaser in concert that he was during the celebrated televised Live Aid show, when he had a huge London crowd singing and clapping along.

``Freddie was more outrageous,'' Taylor says, comparing the singers. ``But he was also more aloof. He'd get a distance from the audience, which I guess they liked. Paul gives us a bluesier edge. His range is phenomenal. I wouldn't have thought he could hit those high notes, but he can.''

The concerts could be a testament to the diversity of Queen's catalog, which includes the operatic ``Bohemian Rhapsody,'' the rockabilly ``Crazy Little Thing Called Love,'' the sports anthem ``We Will Rock You'' and the songs that have become hip-hop sampling staples, ``Another One Bites the Dust'' and ``Under Pressure.''

The show, which has sold 5,000 to 13,000 tickets a night, harks back to arena shows of yore, with big lights, video and flash pots -- and a sound quality that wasn't possible three decades ago.

So, what Queen songs can't you do with Rodgers?

`` `Killer Queen' '' Taylor says, ``because the harmonies are so spot on.''

ROCK'S REPLACEMENTS

Some well-known rock bands have replaced lead singers with various levels of success.

VAN HALEN: The group fired flamboyant David Lee Roth in 1985 and replaced him with Sammy Hagar.

The upshot: made more money with Hagar, but more rock classics with Roth. (The brothers Van Halen replaced Hagar in 1998 with Gary Cherone for one disc that headed to the bargain bins the minute it was released.)

AC/DC: replaced deceased singer Bon Scott in 1980 with sound-alike Brian Johnson, who was there for the biggest hit, ``Back in Black'' and nine other discs.

The upshot: art and profits, about equal.

INXS: replaced deceased singer Michael Hutchence with Canadian J.D. Fortune in 2005, after a worldwide television search.

The upshot: Art suffered, but the band is having its first profitable tour in decades, thanks in part to television fans who hold up love placards to the handsome singer, as if they think the cameras are still on.

THE CARS: replaced Ric Ocasek, who was reluctant to perform live, with string bean look-alike Todd Rundgren for 2006 tour.

The upshot: Remains to be seen, but some people are paying up to $127 to see the New Cars (with Blondie) at the Mountain Winery on May 25.

-- Brad Kava

QUICK HITS WITH ROGER TAYLOR

You are doing this tour in style, on a private jet. Does the jet have a name?

``No. Albert.''

How did you pick the set?

``We chose what we think is a good mix of old and new. Or rather, old and very old.''

How did you create all these songs that are now standards at sports events?

``You mean, `Anthems R Us?' We weren't thinking of sports, but of things the audience could participate in with us.''

What did you think when you first met Freddie?

``We met at college, but were at different colleges. He was at art college and I was at dental college. I just thought this guy is very extroverted and had some of the best-looking girlfriends in the college. There you go. Times change.''





















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