Queen with Adam Lambert

Brisbane Entertainment Centre 01.09.2014

Pomp, circumstance and a heavy dose of seventies style jamming were in abundance as Queen lit up the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Playing to a capacity house, the original band is now down to Dr. Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Additional musicians fill out keys, bass and percussion (Roger’s son ‘Tiger’ does a fine job on the latter). And then there’s the man of the moment himself, Adam Lambert. As Lambert acknowledges from the outset, the late Freddie Mercury left massive shoes to fill. It’s hard to imagine anyone doing as well as Lambert. His voice is a tour de force, he’s got presence to burn and he can camp it up like there’s no tomorrow.

The stage set is built for heavy-duty stadium rock. There’s cannons firing glitter, a massive screen and a circular backdrop that lowers itself to centre stage early in proceedings. ‘Procession’ brings the troupe out on stage and they kick off with ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ and then it’s the first big song of the night, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’. The bass line is incessant and Lambert absolutely nails it. The vibe stays up as ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods … Revisited’ and ‘Seven Seas Of Rye’ are played. Then it’s the 1-2-3 hit attack of ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Somebody To Love’ and ‘I Want It All’.

Lambert disappears off stage at various intervals as the founder members take over. Brian May plays a mean acoustic guitar on ‘Love Of My Life’. The segue into ‘Waltzing Matilda’ was moving. For this reviewer the show starts to drift without Lambert. A bass solo, a drum battle and a guitar solo from May tip the show into serious muso/fan territory. Judging by the response it would be heresy to suggest the band ‘trim twenty minutes’. ‘Under Pressure’ with Lambert and Taylor trading lines could have been the song of the night.

The final furlong began with ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’. Freddie appeared on screen a couple of times during the night: and it led to the evening’s biggest cheers. On ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ the band excited as Freddie on the big screen took charge. The crowd went nuts: but it felt odd that we were cheering a video and band were off stage. They came powering back in for the remainder of the tune.

The encore was the one-two of ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’. More gold was shot about the crowd. Lambert looked a billion dollars in a gold suit and crown while May and Taylor have kept the legacy alive. Bravo.

Mitchell Peters