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Post by Óli Gneisti on Oct 17, 2021 14:04:48 GMT
I am going the Shepard's Bush. I am finally at the point that I can almost believe it.
Thanks to inuliger for pre-answering my question about if RT is signing stuff.
What is the merch situation like at the gigs? I am not taking anything with me from Iceland (I don't want to travel with Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know) and I am thinking I might as well pick up the album at the gig and get it signed. Is there merch and, if so, what is being sold?
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BrƎИsꓘi
Administrator
They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 17, 2021 14:12:24 GMT
What is the merch situation like at the gigs? I am not taking anything with me from Iceland (I don't want to travel with Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know) and I am thinking I might as well pick up the album at the gig and get it signed. Is there merch and, if so, what is being sold? t-shirts (four different), mugs, caps etc
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vh
Ploughman
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Post by vh on Oct 17, 2021 18:57:09 GMT
Hey great photos of the gig that we were at. Great evening and great memories!
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Post by alexb1988 on Oct 17, 2021 19:35:20 GMT
I am going the Shepard's Bush. I am finally at the point that I can almost believe it. Thanks to inuliger for pre-answering my question about if RT is signing stuff. What is the merch situation like at the gigs? I am not taking anything with me from Iceland (I don't want to travel with Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know) and I am thinking I might as well pick up the album at the gig and get it signed. Is there merch and, if so, what is being sold? Hi, 1st message on this forum but followed the forums for years! I've been to 2 gigs on the tour, Manchester and Nottingham. I was lucky enough to meet RT at Manchester but at Nottingham the other night despite the waiting fans when he came out he just pointed to his face mask and got in the car. I did what you did and bought the vinyl at the venue after the gig, I didnt want to take anything too precious. Hope he comes out to meet the fans in London but please try not to get hopes up
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scotttmax
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by scotttmax on Oct 17, 2021 22:58:14 GMT
I’ve got a few decent pics from Newcastle. If anyone wants them just let me know
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BrƎИsꓘi
Administrator
They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 17, 2021 23:01:54 GMT
I’ve got a few decent pics from Newcastle. If anyone wants them just let me know please do upload them
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scotttmax
Dragonfly Trumpeter
Posts: 175
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Post by scotttmax on Oct 17, 2021 23:09:29 GMT
I’ve got a few decent pics from Newcastle. If anyone wants them just let me know please do upload them What’s the best way to upload pics here? I’m using my phone and have used imgur on here before, is that easiest?
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Oct 18, 2021 5:50:38 GMT
Yes
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BrƎИsꓘi
Administrator
They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 18, 2021 6:20:46 GMT
What’s the best way to upload pics here? I’m using my phone and have used imgur on here before, is that easiest? yes. in Imgur: ♦ select and copy the Direct link♦ in your QC post click the image icon ♦ in the image popup box paste the image url ♦ click Insert Image button
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scotttmax
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by scotttmax on Oct 18, 2021 7:26:52 GMT
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Post by breakthru80 on Oct 18, 2021 10:48:16 GMT
I am going the Shepard's Bush. I am finally at the point that I can almost believe it. Thanks to inuliger for pre-answering my question about if RT is signing stuff. What is the merch situation like at the gigs? I am not taking anything with me from Iceland (I don't want to travel with Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know) and I am thinking I might as well pick up the album at the gig and get it signed. Is there merch and, if so, what is being sold? Hopefully I will be there too! I send you a message in case you want to meet there, maybe other forum members can join too!
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scotttmax
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by scotttmax on Oct 18, 2021 11:05:59 GMT
Thanks to whoever fixed it!! Shall I post the links to the others so you can fix them? 🤣 I’m clueless
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BrƎИsꓘi
Administrator
They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 18, 2021 12:18:47 GMT
Thanks to whoever fixed it!! Shall I post the links to the others so you can fix them? 🤣 I’m clueless NP - that was me. yes, by all means, the more pics, the better.
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scotttmax
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by scotttmax on Oct 18, 2021 12:42:28 GMT
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scotttmax
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by scotttmax on Oct 18, 2021 13:28:15 GMT
Thanks a lot man 👌🏼
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alibat
Tatterdemalion
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Post by alibat on Oct 18, 2021 15:41:36 GMT
Hey great photos of the gig that we were at. Great evening and great memories! Thanks for the pics from me too. Really good ones there
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BrƎИsꓘi
Administrator
They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 18, 2021 16:31:27 GMT
Hey great photos of the gig that we were at. Great evening and great memories! Thanks for the pics from me too. Really good ones there my pleasure, Alison. yep, was a great evening spent with such a nice bunch of folk! one thing of note i love from the Nottingham gig - and this (from the YT clips I've seen) doesn't appear to have happened elsewhere on the tour: in Foreign Sand, each time Roger sang the line "just say hello" - the audience responded with a loud cackling "Hallo-o-o"genuinely funny, and I swear the first time they did it (i think it happened a few times in the song) Roger (sort of) semi-corpsed. priceless stuff FOOTNOTE: The Real Wizard Bob (currently on his way back to Canada) was recording the whole gig, so hopefully this gem will be heard by all at some point.FOOT-FOOTNOTE: a YT clip of Foreign Sand from Nottingham, has surfaced
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Post by dragonkiller on Oct 19, 2021 10:55:15 GMT
Nice set of photos Scottmax.
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Post by breakthru80 on Oct 20, 2021 13:36:28 GMT
Can we dream with Brian joining Roger for a couple of songs in the last show in London? That would be really awesome… Brian said somewhere a little while back that he was hoping he would be able to turn up at one of the gigs. Maybe London or Guildford could see him play? Brian is very quiet on Instagram lately… maybe he is rehearsing something to show up as a surprise guest at the final concert in London? In case he appears (I doubt it, but who knows), do you think he will join for a queen song in the set list, or will they add another queen song? If they play The show must go on or I was born to love you would be amazing!
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Post by masterstroke on Oct 20, 2021 17:15:48 GMT
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NathanH
Ploughman
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Post by NathanH on Oct 20, 2021 20:03:59 GMT
Brian said somewhere a little while back that he was hoping he would be able to turn up at one of the gigs. Maybe London or Guildford could see him play? Brian is very quiet on Instagram lately… maybe he is rehearsing something to show up as a surprise guest at the final concert in London? In case he appears (I doubt it, but who knows), do you think he will join for a queen song in the set list, or will they add another queen song? If they play The show must go on or I was born to love you would be amazing! I'm not sure, I don't think they'd need much rehearsal time especially if they do a Queen song especially that all the Q+AL instrumentalists would be on stage. Brian would perform near the end so maybe they'd perform a Queen song with lots of guitar? Maybe like Hammer To Fall which Roger has sang before at Q+PR gigs and one which benefits from two guitarists - electric and rhythm. (Hence why Spike played rhythm guitar at Queen gigs.) But actually Brian may just play on Heroes seeing that he has already played guitar live on it before at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 20, 2021 21:25:00 GMT
But actually Brian may just play on Heroes seeing that he has already played guitar live on it before at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. i don't know where you'd fit another guitar into that arrangement of Heroes - it already has keys, violin and lead guitar - and sounds pretty "full" live. and I hardly think playing it live almost 30 yrs ago would amount to much of a valid theory for why he'd just turn up to play it this year. it'll need proper rehearsal - the 2021 arrangement is very different to that of the FM tribute, and anyhow, wasn't Ronson playing lead then? my best bet: if Brian does turn up, it'll either be a standard rock tune or a well-rehearsed song that Roger co-wrote.
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Post by funinspace81 on Oct 20, 2021 21:29:25 GMT
Brian is very quiet on Instagram lately… maybe he is rehearsing something to show up as a surprise guest at the final concert in London? In case he appears (I doubt it, but who knows), do you think he will join for a queen song in the set list, or will they add another queen song? If they play The show must go on or I was born to love you would be amazing! I'm not sure, I don't think they'd need much rehearsal time especially if they do a Queen song especially that all the Q+AL instrumentalists would be on stage. Brian would perform near the end so maybe they'd perform a Queen song with lots of guitar? Maybe like Hammer To Fall which Roger has sang before at Q+PR gigs and one which benefits from two guitarists - electric and rhythm. (Hence why Spike played rhythm guitar at Queen gigs.) But actually Brian may just play on Heroes seeing that he has already played guitar live on it before at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Brian also played on Rock N Roll with Roger during the Electric Fire Tour. I think that if he comes up, he will likely play RGG, Heroes and RNR. In 1999 those were the songs, but with UP instead of Heroes.
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NathanH
Ploughman
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Post by NathanH on Oct 20, 2021 21:47:45 GMT
But actually Brian may just play on Heroes seeing that he has already played guitar live on it before at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. i don't know where you'd fit another guitar into that arrangement of Heroes - it already has keys, violin and lead guitar - and sounds pretty "full" live. and I hardly think playing it live almost 30 yrs ago would amount to much of a valid theory for why he'd just turn up to play it this year. it'll need proper rehearsal - the 2021 arrangement is very different to that of the FM tribute, and anyhow, wasn't Ronson playing lead then? Oops sorry for my contribution! I unfortunately haven't had the chance to attend any of Roger's shows so I haven't actually heard their rendition myself. I was basically stating the obvious: Brian played guitar on Heroes at TFMTC. I'm not a tech guy at all so I couldn't comment who was playing which parts in 1992.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 20, 2021 21:51:16 GMT
i don't know where you'd fit another guitar into that arrangement of Heroes - it already has keys, violin and lead guitar - and sounds pretty "full" live. and I hardly think playing it live almost 30 yrs ago would amount to much of a valid theory for why he'd just turn up to play it this year. it'll need proper rehearsal - the 2021 arrangement is very different to that of the FM tribute, and anyhow, wasn't Ronson playing lead then? Oops sorry for my contribution! I unfortunately haven't had the chance to attend any of Roger's shows so I haven't actually heard their rendition myself. I was basically stating the obvious: Brian played guitar on Heroes at TFMTC. I'm not a tech guy at all so I couldn't comment who was playing which parts in 1992. not a problem. it's all just opinions. you could be right. but logic would suggest (as someone else did) that Rock and Roll is a more likely "Brian candidate".
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nico
Satyr
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Post by nico on Oct 20, 2021 22:45:39 GMT
I was at the Bexhill gig last sunday. I was traveling from France and it cost me a ridiculous amount of money, but seeing Roger play his solo repertoire live was an old dream of mine. I was worried I wouldn't manage to fully enjoy a seated concert, and unfortunately it turned out I was right. It felt very weird for me because standing is so much part of the live experience as I see it, but I also felt it gave the whole thing a very quiet atmosphere. It's as if the audience as a whole were unable to feed back their enjoyment/appreciation to the band. Weird and unpleasant feeling. Setting that (major) problem aside, I thought it was a great show. I liked the band. All very likable characters. Mendoza isn't what you'd call mesmerizing but he did a more-than-decent job. Neil & Tyler obviously have a very strong chemistry and I think they were truly indispensible. Tyler in particular is spectacular -- more on that later. Tina Keys had a nice voice, great stage presence, and fitted very well in the band. My opinion on Spike is always the same : for any Queen fan, he is a friendly, reassuring figure, and (as a side note) I like the way he makes eye-contact with fans in the audience. On the other hand, as always, he gives me the impression of being somehow disengaged from the music he plays, lacking passion (does he even like those songs anyway?), and bringing too much silliness (even for Queen standards!) into the game. As he is the "music director", I suppose his talent is undisputable, but I've never been impressed by his skills as a pianist/keyboardist. I think they ALL sang and they made plenty use of the the up-to-6-people vocal harmonies -- a great asset in the arrangement. All in all, and aside from my remarks about Spike, I think they played really well together and did a terrific job. As for Roger, his voice is so close to what it used to be, it feel miraculous.Splendid performance altogether. Here and there, he had a hard time hitting some notes, especially on Absolutely Anything and Say It's Not True, but nothing surprising so late into the tour. He's never looked extremely confortable on stage but he seemed more at ease than I remembered him. You can tell he's old and not going to do this much longer, but this wasn't pathetic in the slightest. As he's said himseld, he has "embraced his old age" -- in a very cool, dignified way. One thing I VERY much enjoyed about this show was Roger's gentleman (should I say "fatherly"?) attitude towards the band, how much he let them all shine, giving them plenty of time to be in the spotlight. It's especially true with Tyler, who drums throughout the show and takes the lead vocals on one song. The drum battle obviously reveals the age/energy gap between Rog and Tyler, and I suppose many older artists wouldn't dare put themselves in that less-than-glamorous "old guy" position. Roger did it with grace. I don't know if you guys who saw other gigs in the tour also noticed that, but for whathever reasons, they seemed to be in a rush throughout the gig, as if they absolutely HAD to finish it before 11 o'clock. There was very little talk in-betwwen songs, the transitions were very fast,the band came back on stage for the encore seconds after they'd left it. Though there was SOME communication with the audience, it was minimal, which I found a little disappointing. As for the setlist, no surprise for me as I had followed what had been written about the earlier gigs (especially on this forum). Many gems were included and most songs "worked" well. As everyone, I would have loved to hear some oher songs (Pressure On, One Night Stand, Happiness?, Sunny Day... perhaps an attempt at Journey's End, which is perhaps Roger's absolute best song). I also didn't need to hear AKOM and RGG but they are obviously crowd-pleasers for the non-hardcore-fans. Highlights of the evening were : Tenement Funster (of course), A Nation of Haircuts (amazing version), Up, More Kicks, Man on Fire. I love many of Roger's ballads, but I felt those rock numbers worked best that night. TATDOOL and Under Pressure were also VERY good versions, but felt less special as we're more used to hearing them played live. Off the new album, aside from Kicks, I felt Gangsters worked really well live, and Absolutely Anything even more so.. except for an abridged and excessively loud evening (that ruined the beauty of the original studio track) Shockingly, the BEST moment in the evening for me was Rock It, featuring neither Rog nor Spike. The younger guys were left on stage and did an astounding job, VERY faithful to the studio version, which fora couple of minutes made me forget that I was sitting. If those guys became a tribute band, I'd try to see them as often as possible. The only song that I felt didn't work at all was Surrender. Not because of Tina, whose vocals were fine, but mainly because of the way Roger delivered the lyrics. Plus I've never particularly liked that chorus.
Speaking of boring choruses, could it get any worse than We're All Trying To Get By ? The band tried their best to make that song work live, and I did like the initial verse sung by everyone excluding Rog, but I feel I have heard that chorus more than enough for a lifetime (and more). Incidentally, Gansters (non-purple)'s chorus has almost the same melody, but is not quite as grating, perhaps because there's no female voice repeating "they're all running this world" after each of Roger's lines. There was some audience clapping during Trying To Get By's first chorus, which seemed to make Rog quite happy (and suprprised!).
Foreign Sand is obviously a beautiful song, but I felt the tempo was probably a bit too fast, and I couldn't feel much emotion in Roger's delivery. But there were "hello-s" in the audience and that amused him.
Finally, I didn't find the version of Heroes to be particularly exciting. There was of course some frustration on my part that he'd choose to play 2 covers instead of picking up something out of his own repertoire.
A very good concert. (And so much more exciting than Q+AL.)
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Post by The Real Wizard on Oct 21, 2021 1:15:23 GMT
Man, it's weird to watch the audience glued to their seats.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Oct 21, 2021 1:17:22 GMT
Brian played guitar on Heroes at TFMTC. I'm not a tech guy at all so I couldn't comment who was playing which parts in 1992. Brian played the rhythm part and Mick Ronson played Robert Fripp's part with an EBow.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Oct 21, 2021 2:37:52 GMT
Nottingham - October 15, 2021 This was my first gig as an attendee in nearly two years - the last one being The Darkness in 2019. I never thought I'd see myself attending a solo gig by a Queen member. Such a thing hasn't happened since the '90s, and this part of their lives seemed to be in the rearview mirror. The anticipation leading up to the start of the gig was palpable amongst the 2,000 or so on hand as reality set in. (photo by my pal Niek) It was surreal to be in a room full of people singing every word of the title track from Strange Frontier. I haven't experienced that feeling since I saw Dweezil Zappa doing I'm the Slime. "You and me seen better times" - these words carried an extra layer of poignancy on this occasion for all the obvious reasons, but at the same time it just wasn't the case in that exact moment, as this is the best thing every one of us could possibly have been doing. The joy of being together with the man whose music means so much to us made it all null and void, even just for a couple wonderful hours. Point blank, the band was killer - without question it's the best he's ever assembled. They were musically and vocally tight. The five of them smiled at one another throughout, and the elder statesman interacted with his band with the most genuine of joy. The backing vocals in the early Queen pieces like Tenement Funster and I'm In Love With My Car were perfectly executed. But it's the main man we all came to see. Roger is so unapologetically himself. He never looks fully comfortable as the frontman of a band, but at the same time he also looks like he'd rather be nowhere else. He wears his heart on his sleeve, just like the lyrics on every one of his solo albums. It's incredible he's still this good at 72, singing as well as he did 30 years ago. His drumming chops were in great shape too - far better than 2005 where he sometimes looked out of breath. He's taking much better care of himself now. Most of the old rock stars must have personal trainers and stylists, as they're looking and sounding better than they did in decades past. Aware of his limits, Roger sat down at his drum kit just twice - but both were eventful. These guys are well into retirement age, and we're lucky they're doing this at all. The band did give him a break half way through, and the interlude of Rock It (Prime Jive) with wingman Tyler Warren on the lead vocal was quite possibly the highlight of the evening. Warren needs no introduction, and is absolutely a world class talent. He is unquestionably the best guy on the planet for the gig. He deserves it. Christian Mendoza was excellent on guitar as well. On Say It's Not True it became clear that he was closer to Jeff Beck than Brian May, which is precisely why he's there. Roger doesn't want someone who plays like his old Queen bandmate - he wants someone who makes it his own, and isn't too flashy. Mendoza is the perfect guy for the job. Bassist Neil Fairclough has done the arenas and stadiums of the world with Brian and Roger, but he was just as happy to be in a club, playing spotlessly as always. But it's Tina Hizon that was the secret sauce, playing four instruments. She was even on double duty, as Spike Edney wasn't on the gig because he was unwell. Roger mentioned how the musical director was at the hospital earlier that day, and near the end of the show to his surprise Spike came on in shorts and a t-shirt to play the last few songs. Hizon nailed Treanna Morris' part on Surrender, and in my head all I could think was - this was clearly her audition piece. She was a dead ringer. A huge talent. There was a moment of levity in Foreign Sand. It's pretty well inarguably the most gorgeous song he's ever composed, but on this night after "just say hello" the crowd literally said hello, and he loved it, laughing his way into the next line. The triumvirate of Roger, Tina, and Tyler on drums at the tail end of Up was a high point as well.
For the encore Roger came on sporting a shiny red cigar jacket, looking like a million bucks. They did two covers, and for Heroes the multi-instrumentalist Hizon played the Robert Fripp part on electric violin.
The only complaint is that the mix often wasn't great, as it was a bass trap up in the balcony. We couldn't even hear much of Roger's banter between songs, although the backing vocals were mixed well. A couple of my friends who didn't know most of the material weren't overly pleased, because the lyrics are a fair portion of what's on offer with Roger's earnest and often heartfelt compositions. But for the most fervent of fans, the setlist was brilliant - songs spanning his entire career from all but one of his albums, as well as a fair chunk of the songs he wrote for Queen. I was thrilled to hear A Nation Of Haircuts from Electric Fire, and the new tunes all sounded great too. I wish we could've heard something from Fun In Space, but Roger's vocal range isn't quite what it was 40 years ago, and his sense of self-awareness combined with his musical maturity had him assembling a band and a setlist perfect for 2021. His first four solo albums are all criminally underrated (here's my review of the first two). It seems almost unfathomable that the drummer of the most popular of all the classic rock bands (if Spotify spins are an accurate enough metric to measure this) is playing clubs, but if anything that just amplified the feeling of intimacy. There was this feeling of "he's ours." There was supposed to be an opening act, Colin Macleod, who is apparently quite good but didn't show for some reason. But honestly, after nearly two years of not being able to see a gig, two hours was the perfect length. What a joy it was to watch the gig with vh and BrƎИsꓘi , both of whom I've known for years and met for the first time that night. As we exited the venue there were a few hundred kids lined up for a rave. A few hours earlier it was people 2 to 3x their age in that same formation. I hate to sound like an old man or a Luddite, but they had no idea what they were missing.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 21, 2021 6:57:17 GMT
As we exited the venue there were a few hundred kids lined up for a rave. A few hours earlier it was people 2 to 3x their age in that same formation. I hate to sound like an old man or a Luddite, but they had no idea what they were missing. precisely. these days, seeing these legends - well, we're now at almost finite chance stage. as Joni said: Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got 'til it's goneThe Real Wizard HEL-LOHHH! - I very much doubt either Adele or Lionel Richie EVER got an audience response quite like that to such a simple word! simply, an excellent review of an excellent gig. pleasure to meet you (Bob), Alison & Ian. A gig that will live long in the memory - for ALL of the perfect reasons. 2021 just got a little bit better.
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