Posts Tagged ‘Queensryche’

QUEENSRYCHE At The House of Blues In Boston, MA July 30, 2009

31st July

2009

written by Kenny Howell

*Footage by Kenny Howell & photos by Susan Koutalakis

Since their emergence from Seattle in the early 1980s, QUEENSRYCHE has set themselves apart from other artists by epic concept albums and on the AMERICAN SOLDIER tour they will highlight three of those albums including, RAGE FOR ORDER, AMERICAN SOLDIER and EMPIRE.

The show opened with a suite from the 1986 classic RAGE FOR ORDER, including tracks the band has not played live in over 20 years. This was definitely my favorite of the three suites because the Rage For Order tour was one of my first concerts in 1986 when they opened for OZZY on the Ultimate Sin tour. They replaced METALLICA due to the tragic death of Cliff Burton.

The momentum became a bit stilted for the second suite of the new epic concept album AMERICAN SOLDIER, which features guest vocal by GEOFF TATE’s daughter Emily who joined him on stage for the poignant ballad “Home Again.” Though there were vivid counterpoints I felt like I was being force-fed having to sit through eight new tracks in a row.

The final suite revisits 1990’s triple platinum opus EMPIRE with performances of some of the band’s most iconic tracks including “Jet City Woman,” “The Thin Line,” and “Best I Can.” The EMPIRE suite seemed to garner the strongest crowd reaction and participation.

For a band that had its commercial heyday in the mid-’90s, QUEENSRYCHE has maintained a steady touring schedule and loyal following. The concert reinforced the point that they are comfortable at revisiting the past, but very much prove to be relevant and current within their twenty plus years as a unit.

SETLIST:

RAGE FOR ORDER