Okay, so yes, I went to the Almost Queen show in Montclair over the weekend. Some of you may already know that, since I posted a review of the opening act for this show, Elton vs. Billy, just yesterday.
Well today, it feels like it is time to review the main act: Almost Queen.
Over the years, I have gone to hundreds of concerts and shows. Yet among the bands I never saw in any capacity - have not even seen any of the former members in concert - is Queen. No, I never went to see the "new" version of Queen, who went on tour a few years ago with Paul Rodgers. Hell, I had never so much as seen a Queen cover band.
That changed with this concert.
So while I cannot compare this with an actual show by Queen, the feeling that I had was that this was as close to the experience of seeing an actual live performance by the legendary band as you probably can get these days.
The setlist started with a recorded song that actually was not by Queen. It was called "Almost" and was an original to this band. That said, it was clearly heavily influenced in style by Queen and so had that feel of a Queen song.
The band came out next, ripping into an awesome version of "One Vision," with "Brian May" coming out for the opening guitar chords. Then "Freddie Mercury" came out.
Now here's the thing: it really looked like Freddie Mercury. Granted, my seats were not really close. Yet these were not just guys performing the music. "Freddie Mercury" looked like the late great singer of Queen, and "Brian May" also looked a bit like the real deal. And the sound quality was excellent. This guy sounded like Freddie Mercury, both while singing and speaking to the audience. He even had the trademark physical moves of the legendary Queen singer, and of course dressed like him. That included him coming out with a crown and royal robe towards the end of the show. And "Brian May" really did shred the guitar. All four musicians on stage were extremely talented and legitimately sounded like a major arena rock act. No mistakes, and they all showed their obvious talents consistently throughout the night.
Throughout the night, we were graced with excellent, first-rate performances of classic Queen tracks, including Tie Your Mother Down, Queen Killer, Radio Gaga, Hammer to Fall, Somebody to Love, Another One Bites the Dust, Pressure, Keep Yourself Alive, Fat Bottom Girls, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
During the encore, they performed some of the most iconic Queen tunes. It started with, of course, Bohemian Rhapsody, and then they closed the show out with We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions. It was at that point that "Freddie" came back on stage wearing the royal crown and robe, while "God Save the Queen" was playing. Again, it felt like it lent this show the feel of actually seeing what a Queen show would probably have looked and felt like.
You can see the attached video that I took, which was joined in progress during Bohemian Rhapsody, because my phone was acting up. Sorry, but there really was nothing that I could do about that.
Again, an excellent night of Queen music, which included interaction and imagery which helps to convince you that, indeed, this is as close as you can really get to seeing a "Queen" show these days, in the 21st century.
If you are a fan of Queen, or just enjoy a night of classic rock, you might really want to check this band out. A fun evening, highly recommended.
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