Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents (https://dzplive.com/ )
Venue: Celebrity Theatre (https://celebritytheatre.com/ )
Date: November 6th, 2024
Tour: The Origins Tour 2024
For the better part of the last decade, veteran hard rock quintet Queensrÿche had been playing at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre for the most part on recent tours.
Chatting with fans around me at the band’s show on Wed. Nov. 6, it was unanimous they were very happy the band decided to return to Celebrity Theatre for The Origins Tour.
As some fans may remember, this historic venue hosted the original Queensrÿche lineup when they played its first headline show in the Valley during the Rage For Order tour in Oct. 1986. In case you’re wondering, Keel and Black ‘n Blue opened the show.
Of course, future incarnations of Queensrÿche would return to the Celebrity a few more times between June 2000 and February 2005, respectively.
Yet on this November night, it was the Rage.. tour that kept popping up in my head the most during intermission as I thought back to previous Queensrÿche shows I attended there.
By the way, those memories have not dimmed one bit I’m happy to say. Those who were there know how special the early years of this band truly were.
When the current incarnation of Queensrÿche (consisting of drummer Casey Grillo, bassist Eddie Jackson, lead vocalist Todd La Torre, guitarist Mike Stone and lead guitarist Michael Wilton) hit the (in-the-round) stage with opening song Queen Of The Reich, many of the (roughly) 800 in attendance began headbanging in unison. It’s still quite a sight to see after 40 years.
Over the course of only 90 minutes and 16 songs (more on that shortly), the band’s two earliest recordings were presented in their entirety, referring to 1983’s self-titled EP and 1984’s The Warning.
Of course, the good thing about seeing a full album played live is you automatically get deep cuts. In this case, songs like Nightrider and Blinded. For any longtime Queensrÿche fan, that’s a real treat to witness.
Interestingly, even The Lady Wore Black is something that doesn’t get played very often by the current lineup. Needless to say, it was a welcome return to the set list for many in the mostly 50-something audience.
For the fifth song of the night, a mock air raid siren blared out of the exceptional Celebrity PA system prior to Warning. It was pretty clever on the band’s part, who are still musically tight as a unit.
To its credit, Queensrÿche prides itself on staying as faithful to the original recordings as possible. In short order, it’s all about the songs with this band— and rightly so.
La Torre in particular seems right at home vocally with songs like En Force and NM 156. When it comes to singing material that the original lineup recorded, I don’t think it’s off-base to say that both the EP and The Warning contain the most songs where La Torre’s confidence soars onstage.
Speaking of La Torre, he took the stage solo prior to the band kicking off “Side Two” of The Warning with a Queensrÿche classic, Take Hold Of The Flame. He thanked the fans for their continued support of the band’s legacy and the last dozen years of his tenure with Queensrÿche.
I was sitting next to a fan who told me that The Origins Tour was his 51st(!) Queensrÿche show. He saw them for the first time in Oct. 1983 opening for Dio, and has traveled across the Southwest since then, attending multiple shows from every tour of his “favorite band”.
When La Torre asked the audience “by a show of hands” if this is “your first time seeing Queensrÿche?”, that hardcore fan and myself were surprised to see almost half the crowd indicate this was indeed their very first time seeing the band live.
I got a kick out of seeing the facial expressions on people around me during obscure track Before The Storm. Lead guitarist Michael Wilton was also grinning from ear-to-ear, telling me in a recent phone chat that its been one of his favorite songs to play on this tour.
As for Child of Fire and Roads To Madness, the audience reaction spoke for itself… particularly the latter. 40 years on, it remains essential– if not quintessential— Queensrÿche to this day.
Returning to the stage for a three-song encore, La Torre asked if the fans wanted “another deep cut”. Turned out they did, and they got Prophecy, a song that was written during The Warning sessions but not recorded until the Rage For Order sessions.
It’s pretty much mandatory for the current Queensrÿche lineup to play Screaming In Digital— one of the band’s finest moments on record. You can tell the entire band still has a blast playing it live.
I also contend that, out of all the original lineup’s songs, La Torre consistently pulls this one off better than (arguably) any other song in the current set.
Of course, Empire never fails to bring the roof down as the final song of the night. It’s also one of the most perennial hard rock songs of the 90s– period.
To conclude, I have to be candid about a significant drawback regarding Queensrÿche’s live show in recent years. That is, the shows are too short in length– simple as that.
Given the sizable catalog that Queensrÿche has, there should be no reason why the band can’t play a 20-song set— minimum. Or a two-hour set, whichever is greater.
Frankly, if that means doing away with an opening act, then so be it. For the record, Queensrÿche has done that several times throughout their career— to very appreciative audiences I might add.
Make no mistake: resuming “An Evening With Queensrÿche” would be well-received by the majority of longtime fans of this band. Just saying.
Overall, I give The Origins Tour four out of five stars. In spite of a paltry 90-minute set, Queensrÿche still deliver a strong live performance and remain consummate professionals onstage.
Go see them on this tour if you get a chance. I think you’ll concur with my latter observations, if nothing else.
Supporting Queensrÿche tonight was the Jared James Nichols band. They are a hard rocking high energy 3 piece band with Jared as the lead singer and guitarist. For a leadup band they were very good.
Queensrÿche Social Media sites:
Website: http://www.queensrycheofficial.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueensrycheOfficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queensrycheofficial/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/queensrycheofficial
Record Label: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Media_Records
Queensrÿche
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
Jared James Nichols
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
