“Queensryche with special guest Lita Ford.” – Concert Review.

(Rialto Square Theatre, Joliet, IL)

(Editor’s note: Pictures do not do this concert justice. Taken from the 4th row, the lighting was more conducive to the live aspect versus the photography.)

By Bob Zerull

I have a confession to make. I don’t own any Queensryche albums. I was familiar with the song “Silent Lucidity,” but that’s about the extent of the Queensryche catalogue that I was knowingly familiar with prior to going to see the band in concert on the “American Soldier Tour,” on November 1st.



In college I took a class called The History of Progressive Rock. I did not know what Progressive Rock was at the time. I studied all sorts of cool bands like King Crimson, Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater and, of course, Queensryche. I loved that course and became a huge fan of Dream Theater, Yes and Rush afterwards, but for whatever reason the music of Queensryche had never crossed my path. It’s not that I didn’t like their sound; I had just never heard any of their songs.

When I found out about the show, I was completely psyched. I knew that the band was full of virtuoso performers. What I wasn’t prepared for was Geoff Tate’s amazing voice. Not just his singing voice, but his talking voice. If that guy didn’t make it in music he’d have made it as narrator or anything involving his voice.

The show consisted of three suites of Queensryche’s music. First, songs off the 1986 album “Rage for Order.” The next suite featured songs from the current album “An American Soldier.” The final suite consisted of songs off of their 1990 multiplatinum album “Empire.” All of which took place in front of a large screen showing live feed of the band as well as war scenes.



The bill said with special guest Lita Ford, but there was no opening act. At roughly 7:30 Queensryche took the stage opening up the show with “Neue Regel” and continued to rock, non-stop, through seven more songs off of “Rage for Order.”

During the “Rage for Order” suite I was mind boggled by Tate’s voice and Scott Rockenfield’s drumming, not to mention Mike Wilton on guitars. The acoustics in the theatre were perfect. The only other band I’ve seen live that has chops like this is Dream Theater. It really was a sight to see. Once they finished their “Rage for Order” suite Tate came out and talked a little bit about how “An American Solder” came to be.

Tate’s father was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam. Growing up Tate always would ask his dad for war stories and his dad would always reply with, “You don’t want to hear that shit.” In 2006, when Tate was at home visiting, his father just started telling him the war stories. Tate taped his father’s story and then went on to interview several other veterans, from World War II to what’s going on now. The band really appeared to have poured their heart and soul into the album. In between songs Tate would come out and tell another war story. This album is definitely worth picking up.

Once the “An American Solder” suite ended, the word “Lita” popped up on the screen, but Queensryche remained on the stage. Tate then introduced Lita Ford. He walked off stage while Lita and her husband Jim Gillette came on. The filled capacity of around 1,000 people went into frenzy. The band ripped into the first song “Crave” off of the new Lita Ford album entitled “A Wicked Wonderland.” Gillette provided backing vocals on the song.



Having heard the new Lita Ford album I was familiar with the new songs. She played “Crave” and “Patriotic S.O.B.” off of the new album. They definitely rocked live. Then Tate came back on stage as Gillette walked off. Tate went on to call the next song the best part of the show. He told a story of when he first heard the next song. Then they busted into “Close my Eyes Forever” with Tate singing Ozzy Osbourne’s vocal part.

Once Lita left the stage Queensryche jumped into their “Empire” suite. They played five songs from “Empire” including “Best I Can,” “The Thin Line,” “Silent Lucidity,” and then encored with “Jet City Woman” and “Empire.” This was the part of the show where I realized that I knew more Queensryche songs than I had thought.

The only complaint I had was with the drunken Ric Flair/Ronnie Woo Woo wannabe sitting behind me. He constantly was screaming “Woooooooo,” even at the most inappropriate times. I hate drunken people sometimes, especially when I’m trying to enjoy a show. However, not even that douche bag could ruin this show. I was thoroughly impressed. Queensryche just gained another fan that night. The last lines of the show from “Empire” were:

“Can't you feel it coming? EMPIRE!”
“Can't you hear it coming EMPIRE!”
“Can't someone here stop it...??!!”

As for Queensryche, they’ve built one hell of an empire.



BYLINE:

Bob Zerull is a frequent movie and concert goer who talks about his ventures to arenas and theaters more than any person should be allowed to do. Now, he puts them down on paper. Visit: www.cadaverchristmas.com. Email Bob at bob@zoiksonline.com.