Adam Lambert 24/7 News

If there were any lingering uncertainties as to whether Lambert has fully inhabited his role as the voice of Queen, they were dispelled nine tunes into the show when he sashayed down the catwalk, which was shaped like the neck of a guitar, and climbed atop a pink bicycle strewn with roses to perform the sinuous, R&B-inflected “Bicycle Race,” luxuriating in the moment like a cat lounging in a patch of sunlight. This number was bookended by a pair of showstoppers: a locomotive “Don’t Stop Me Now,” which registered as a master class in vocal harmonies, and a libidinous “Get Down, Make Love,” where Lambert engaged in a sort vocal striptease, letting his words linger on his tongue as if savoring their taste.

Shortly thereafter, as the band segued into “Somebody to Love,” May found himself at the lip of the stage with Lambert. Shoulder to shoulder, the two strutted down the catwalk together, right next to each other, like we had just seen May and Mercury. It was a moment that encapsulated the spirit of the evening, a hint of the familiar blossoming into something new.