Seattle metal maestros Queensrÿche brought their 30th anniversary tour to the Ogden Theatre on Saturday night for a career-spanning show that hit many of the band’s highpoints, while still allowing them to indulge themselves with some of their more obscure pieces.
Though his look is different, lead singer Geoff Tate, having shorn his long locks in favor of a shaved head, can still hit most of the notes in his soaring vocal range. Original guitarist Michael Wilton and new-ish guitarist Parker Lundgren played plenty of twining, stereo guitar riffs and soaked the Ogden with intricate, chorus-drenched guitar riffs over the pounding rhythms of bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield. Also on hand to add vocals, keyboards and guitar parts was Jason Ames, a Denver musician who first hooked up with the band on 2009’s “American Soldier.”
After opening with their latest single, “Get Started,” the band started moving backwards though the catalog. A raring version of “I Don’t Believe in Love,” showed off Tate’s vocal talents.
Several of the band’s albums have addressed themes of war, distrust of the powers that be, and the cost paid by those who fight. After a blistering “I’m American,” the group launched into two numbers from “American Soldier,” including “A Dead Man’s Words,” about a rescue mission in Kuwait, and “At 30,000 Feet,” which was based on interviews with a pilot who flew bombing missions. During those songs, horrific war videos played on the small screens to either side of the drum risers. Unfortunately, the guy behind me screaming “U.S.A.” completely missed the point. The band also briefly paid tribute to a former soldier, Kory Mehrer, who saved Ames’ life after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car into a tree in February.
Though the performances of the new songs were strong, it was the older material that really drew fans in. Tate introduced “The Lady Wore Black” by saying there was no better way to celebrate 30 years than by going back to the beginning.
The band managed to hit at least one song from each of their albums, including a raging “NM 156” and a crazed “Screaming in Digital,” with Tate appearing on the video screen as a painted vampire. After ending the show with their biggest hit, “Silent Lucidity,” they returned for a three-song encore, leaving the fans with an intense, soaring “Eyes of a Stranger.”
Setlist
Get Started, Damaged, I Don’t Believe in Love, Hit the Black, I’m American, A Dead Man’s Words, At 30,000 Feet, Desert Dance, Real World, NM 156, Screaming in Digital, The Lady Wore Black, Walk In The Shadows, The Right Side of My Mind, Around the World, Silent Lucidity, E: Jet City Woman, Empire ,Eyes of a Stranger/Anarchy-X
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Candace Horgan is a Denver freelance writer/photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. When not writing and shooting, she plays guitar and violin in Denver band .
Nathan Iverson is a Denver photographer and regular contributor to Reverb.
