Project Description
QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT
@ Perth Arena
(Live Review)
06/03/18
Reviewer: Melanie D Griffiths
Photographer: Bron Caple
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Evidently Perth can rock it on a Tuesday night given the right incentive. “This is our last night of the tour… we saved the best till last” American Adam Lambert told one of the most lively crowds I’ve witnessed recently. Starting the night pre-concert with impromptu Mexican waves and clapping, it continued during the concert with everyone on the floor standing up out of their seats, and a rousing two hour karaoke session that blew any remaining #resist confetti from Roger Water’s concert out of the rafters.
As the large screen, depicted Frank the robot from 1977’s News Of The World, ascended Queen guitarist Brian May and Lambert pointedly strutted out along the walkway, a clear indication that this is was a Queen plus Adam Lambert concert . The first few songs were lesser known fare, Hammer To Fall and Tie Your Mother Down which allowed the audience to warm to Lambert before coming to the forefront with Another One Bites The Dust. Admittedly trying to fill former frontman, Freddie Mercury’s shoes is unfathomable, yet Adam Lambert was not here to do that, bringing his own bedazzled platform boots to stride around on stage with.
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Brian May, still with a glorious head of, albeit grey, hair quick-stepped out along the walkway several times to remind us why his guitar is just as integral to the sound of Queen as Mercury’s voice. Drummer Roger Taylor also held court with some solid drumming and a voice that was still surprisingly gritty during the glam-rock I’m In Love With My Car.
Being known as purveyors of ‘pomp rock’ meant the show would always be flamboyant, over-the-top, perhaps a little indulgent – Lambert at one point rode a pink tricycle around the stage for Bicycle Race – but it all worked because the songs themselves are larger-than-life, rooted in personal struggle and grandiose optimism. With so many hits including I Want To Break Free, Crazy Little Thing Called Love which had Lambert, May and Taylor playing together as a tight trio, Killer Queen and Somebody To Love it was ticking a lot of boxes for fans.
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Touchingly May later striked a heartfelt moment with an acoustic rendition of Love Of My Life, which he played under a galaxy of smartphone lights. Ending with May double screened with a video of Mercury singing the last few lines, it was restrained and incredibly moving least not for the reminder that the memory of Mercury still persists.
Not one to be a shrinking violet, Lambert sassed “So some of you might be thinking he’s [Lambert] no Freddie… no shit! Because there can only be one rock God Freddie Mercury.” However, Lambert should be applauded for a remarkable performance. He really is a perfectly suited comrade for Queen with a voice that is equally ground-shaking as it is angelic, and a personality that exudes many of the quicky qualities that would make him kinfolk with Mercury. Lambert’s brilliant rendition of Who Wants To Live Forever was an example of rock opera soaring to an impassioned crescendo, opening the moment for May to literally soar atop a raised platform, and against a celestial backdrop with a blazing outing of Last Horizon..
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The home straight was a roll call of iconic songs of Radio Ga Ga, with obligatory hand claps from the enthralled audience, and the behemoth head-banging Bohemian Rhapsody which faltered a little between the transition from video to the band. They closed predictably with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions but the night really couldn’t end without Freddie, who appeared once more on screen to lead the audience in a thunderous ‘Day-oh’ callout, and 26 years after passing he still managed to have a crowd of 15,000 completely mesmerised, bringing to a close a special night from one of the originals.
4.5 stars
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Check out Bron Caple’s gallery of the Adelaide show HERE
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Connect with QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT!
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Connect with QUEEN
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AMNPLIFY – DB
[Lambert] no Freddie… no shit! Because there can only be one rock God Freddie Mercury.” However, Lambert should be applauded for a remarkable performance. He really is a perfectly suited comrade for Queen with a voice that is equally ground-shaking as it is angelic, and a personality that exudes many of the quicky qualities that would make him kinfolk with Mercury. Lambert’s brilliant rendition of Who Wants To Live Forever was an example of rock opera soaring to an impassioned crescendo, opening the moment for May to literally soar atop a raised platform, and against a celestial backdrop with a blazing outing of Last Horizon.Facebook
.
.
.
The home straight was a roll call of iconic songs of Radio Ga Ga, with obligatory hand claps from the enthralled audience, and the behemoth head-banging Bohemian Rhapsody which faltered a little between the transition from video to the band. They closed predictably with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions but the night really couldn’t end without Freddie, who appeared once more on screen to lead the audience in a thunderous ‘Day-oh’ callout, and 26 years after passing he still managed to have a crowd of 15,000 completely mesmerised, bringing to a close a special night from one of the originals.
4.5 stars
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Check out Bron Caple’s gallery of the Adelaide show HERE
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.
Connect with QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT!
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Connect with QUEEN
Website Facebook Twitter Instagram
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