Review: Queen’s Rhapsody Tour in Brisbane, with new frontman Adam Lambert
Filling Freddie Mercury’s shoes is tough, but Adam Lambert put Brisbane at ease | REVIEW
REVIEW: Queen and Adam Lambert
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Thursday, February 13, 2020
It takes quite a spectacle to cut through two hours of unrelenting rain, but for the most part, this singularly spectacular British rock band handled the task with aplomb.
Led by American singer Adam Lambert and comprising half of the classic line-up of Queen, the group turned in a wholehearted performance that did justice to a recording legacy that ended far too soon, with the death of singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury in 1991.
Adam Lambert’s brief to fill Mercury’s shoes is one that would make lesser singers quaver, yet just a few songs into a 29-strong setlist, he put the audience at ease by reframing his role in proceedings.
“I’m just like you: I’m a Freddie Mercury fan — only I’m dry,” said Lambert, who soon proved himself a charismatic and engaging frontman whose theatrical presence demanded constant attention from the audience.
This group’s unlikely rise to the top of the pops was dramatised in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and the success of that film triggered a fresh wave of Queen fanaticism the world over. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor saw the good business sense in keeping that train rolling, and here we are: the Australian leg of The Rhapsody Tour includes seven stadium shows, and the production is far from feeble, with a battery of bright screens behind the performers and a series of large moving parts that began with the raising of a giant crown.
Worth the wet wait! #Queen #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/OENvqGSUSN
— Anne O'Keeffe (@Anne_OKeeffe) February 13, 2020
Taylor is a fine drummer, and what he lacks in flair he more than makes up for in dependency. Backed by a percussionist, bassist and keyboardist, this quartet was in the pocket for the entire show, leaving May to noodle high up the fretboard to his heart’s content while Lambert’s remarkable instrument effortlessly delivered melody after classic melody.
Near the end, May’s tendency to excess reached stratospheric heights when he sucked all the energy out of the soaked stadium by taking a tedious solo turn. You’ve probably heard some boring guitar solos in your life, but perhaps none quite so dull as one performed by a wild-haired man on a high platform surrounded by a model solar system. Its only success was in making five minutes feel like five hours, a skill which drew a weird sort of admiration in the midst of an otherwise up-tempo show.
The moment we all came for arrived just before the encore, and it was about as thrilling and fulfilling as anyone could have hoped. Bohemian Rhapsody remains a unicorn of a song; it was simply made to be sung by tens of thousands of people. With Lambert bathed in purple light and smoke, he guided the crowd through some of the most memorable verses in rock ‘n’ roll history as scenes from the iconic music video played on the big screens.
It’s still a tricky, layered creation that could just as easily collapse under the weight of pomp and excess, but the band did exactly what was needed while the stadium turned into the Southern Hemisphere’s largest karaoke bar for six or so minutes. The encore bracket consisted yet more massive singalongs in We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, and it became hard to imagine a casual fan of the band — or a viewer of the 2018 film — walking away less than impressed.
At two hours and 15 minutes, it was a bloated show that could have easily cut some fat. But minimalism has never been Queen’s forte, and such complaints are churlish given that this could well be the last go-around for the two surviving members: May is 72 and Taylor is 70, yet commendably, neither man seems capable of phoning it in.
The Rhapsody Tour, then, highlights what Queen has always been: a good band with a handful of truly great songs.
The Rhapsody Tour continues in Sydney on Saturday, followed by Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast.