Skinpress Demo Rss

CONCERT REVIEW: Queen + Adam Lambert, Chicago, August 9, 2019 (UPDATED!)

Filed Under () by broddybounce on Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Posted at : Wednesday, August 14, 2019

The Chicago Sun-Times waited until after the weekend to review last Friday's (Aug. 9th) Queen + Adam Lambert concert at the United Center in Chicago.

UPDATE (8/14/19):  And antiMusic.com just added a wonderful review of the Chicago show, as well.

Chicago Sun-Times:
Queen earns its bows, curtain calls at United Center

credit: Santiago Covarrubias / For the Sun-Times
"With Adam Lambert handling the vocals with aplomb, the rockers offer priceless mementoes (sic) of the band’s glory days." (sub-headline)
 "With his sequined military coats, gold brocade suits and charmingly flamboyant stage presence Friday night, Lambert was a living homage to Mercury, without trying to overstep him."
"A huge bounty of praise is also due to Lambert, who handled the vocal acrobatics and emotional pull of each number while steering the rest of the group into high harmonies. Lambert was playful, pulling a move from Rob Halford’s playbook by riding a bedecked motorbike onto the stage for 'Bicycle Race,' and also heartfelt, pulling off one of the biggest tearjerker moments with the crescendo of 'Who Wants To Live Forever.'"



~𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞~


antiMusic.com:
Queen + Adam Lambert Pure Majesty Live In Chicago


"When I wrote about Queen + Adam Lambert after their 2014 concert, I said the show was 'pure majesty,' but I had no way to prophesize five years into the future when the band would still be touring and playing to the most zealous crowds of their career. Having seen all three American tours in the last five years, Friday night's stop in Chicago was the brashest and most powerful of the three. ... The crowd engagement far exceeded the previous tours and Queen + Adam Lambert was light years ahead of their classic rock counterparts. ... There was an amplified concentration to the show, with a groundswell of roars and emotions coming from the crowd pushing the band to new bold heights."
"Adam Lambert was in top form ... there was a burgeoning coolness to this latest tour. He knows these songs well enough to allow him to reach to the furthest extent of the audience to bond the fan with the band.  On 'Killer Queen,' Lambert was in his element sitting on Spike Edney's piano with an eye-winking flamboyancy no other living performer could pull off.  Lambert announced early in the show how no one could ever replace Freddie Mercury, but what Lambert has been able to do is be the perfect foil for Taylor and May to keep these songs alive.  Lambert slid in perfectly on nearly every song and on some, he left the crowd speechless.  'Who Wants To Live Forever' featured Lambert casting a spell none of the 17,000 in attendance wanted to end. It may not be Queen's most popular song, but it is living proof Lambert is able to keep this legacy alive."

ANTIMUSIC.COM CHICAGO REVIEW


7 comments:

Nanbert said...

Another good review....well earned, of course.

Sunflower said...

Nice review, only I didn't see Vegas type theatrics. Lol

broddybounce said...

I agree, Sunflower! Unless she (critic Selena Fragassi) is referring to the moment I pointed out in the other post when Adam dances to Brian's solo during "Hammer To Fall" -- although that was at the NY show, not sure if he did the same in Chicago. But that was simply Adam doing an obvious camp tribute and being humorous, for one moment.

I think she is taking one particular moment that triggered something in her about Vegas, and then applied that thought to the entire "first half," as she put it. But, to say the entire first half was Vegas show theatrics? Uhhhh...no.

Nanbert said...

Well, that entrance wan't exactly low key...and Adam doesn't just stand still and sing...nor does Brian just stand in one place and play. But what the critic doesn't seem to understand is THAT'S QUEEN AND ADAM LAMBERT...camp, flashy, outrageous, dramatic, theatrical, funny, serious, irreverent....all occuring in the midst of some of the finest music and musicianship on the planet....THAT's QUEEN AND ADAM LAMBERT! There's NO OTHER BAND like them!

broddybounce said...

Agreed, Nanbert! What the three of them have built together over these years is absolutely incredible! I think some (skeptical, critical, et al) people need to sit back and think about this -- it's an amazing feat what they did -- and it's an AMAZING thing that Brian and Roger chose to believe the truth about Adam's deep well of talent and put TRUST into him that he would THRIVE. And, boy oh boy, did their bets PAY OFF! They are in ecstasy creatively -- and their bank accounts ain't doing too bad either, I'm sure.

And in watching and listening through all these videos ... these are songs written by all four of the original band members, and here is this amazing artist they found that BREATHES new life into the ENTIRE catalog! He can do the booming rock, he can do the danceable tracks, he can do the ballads, he can do the operatic, he can do the humorous, he can sing high, he can sing low, he can do all the vibrato, etc etc etc -- and he can do the fashion and the showmanship and the comedic. I really truly do believe that Freddie is in heaven (in more ways than one) that Adam is singing HIS works, interpreting them so beautifully, and keeping his band ALIVE!

Nanbert said...

broddybounce....so true! And that remark about Adam..."...an eye-winking flamboyancy no other living performer could pull off." How many times have one of us said that!

But one has to wonder what Adam would have been like now without Queen. Where else could he have completely unfurled his wings and followed his instincts as he has done with Brian and Roger bolstering his courage.... and providing the camaraderie and musical brilliance as the perfect setting for Adam's growth.

Jean Renard said...

I will have to proclaim that the review of Anthony Kuzminski is absolutely the most beautifully written body of work that I have ever read, when it comes down to reviews. His brilliant use of the English language to convey the majesty of the QAL concert is pure gold! Wow, when I read a review written by a professional with Anthony's sheer talent, which he displays with his command of the English language, I get shivers down my spine, (pardon the pun). Since I spend hundreds of hours editing "papers", my heart sings when I experience the true beauty of people who are trained artists with the English language. It has become more rare in this day and age to command our beautiful language with the pen. Great job, Anthony! What a talent you are in your chosen field! Jean Renard