Listen to any Queensryche record from the mid-80’s to 1990s’ Empire and you’ll be reminded that Geoff Tate had one of the best voices of the era.
That sentence technically is incorrect. It should read “has” one of the best voices. Tate proved that last week when his solo tour rolled through Garden City, Idaho. Tate played two Queensryche classic releases – 1986’s Rage for Order and Empire, the band’s best-selling album — from start to finish, plus three additional songs as the encore.
The show was amazing on many fronts.
First, Tate sounded fantastic. Tate’s vocals sound almost as good as he did when I first saw the band open for Metallica in 1988. He’s up there with Sammy Hagar and Dave Meniketti (Y&T) for singers whose voices have aged well.
Second, he brought a young and energetic band to back him. You’ll often hear arguments that guitarist Chris DeGarmo was the backbone of Queensryche, and that may be true from a songwriting standpoint. From a performance standpoint, Tate is the attraction. I haven’t seen the current Queensryche lineup (featuring original members Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson, along with vocalist Todd La Torre) but I’d be shocked if it sounded better than Tate and his band.
Lastly, I really enjoy when bands play albums from start to finish. It doesn’t happen enough. I loved hearing deep tracks “I Dream in Infrared” and “Surgical Strike” from Rage, and then “Della Brown” from Empire. Cheap Trick did a run of shows where it played albums from start to finish, and I’ve seen Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers do it as well. More bands should celebrate their albums by playing them from start to finish.
The encores last week were “Take Hold The Flame,” “Last Time in Paris,” and “Queen of the Reich.” They capped an amazing show that cost me $15 for a ticket. It was an older (re: my age) crowd that was thrilled seeing Queensryche classics performed as well as any of us could have imagined.