Every now and then you find an artist who has an album so sensational that you just can’t forget it. And when they can build upon that album to continue their legacy they become legendary. That’s exactly how I envision Queensrÿche. Their album Operation: Mindcrime from 1988 not only was a well written, story-driven phenomena, but it was also musically spectacular and become burned into every Queensrÿche fan. And that was only the beginning for the band. When I heard about their tour coming to The Plaza Live in Orlando, FL to continue support on their most recent album The Verdict, I had to be there. The buzz from friends clearly stated Queensrÿche was still a powerhouse band after all these years and a must-see live. My friends were absolutely correct.
Before we would get to our headliners, were had a different mix of two openers. First was the rock band Eve To Adam. Formed back in 1997 the band has been a solid rock force releasing 5 studio albums and 1 EP. They were no stranger to the Orlando crowd having played at multiple venues in town before and our one day festival Earthday Birthday. The band consisting of Taki Sassaris (vocals), Ilyn Nathaniel (bass), Jeff Raines (drums), and Ronny Gutierrez (guitar) came out to the stage hard and heavy with no stopping them. They played a short group of songs that included “No Easy Way Out” and “Immortal” and the crowd was loving them.
Before the band wrapped their set, they brought up two representatives from 2vetsoam “On A Mission”. The organization works with helping raise awareness for veteran suicide and PTSD they also work to help veterans suffering from PTSD and homelessness. The group brought up a veteran named James who they explained finally got his hair cut, came out to a concert, and is starting to live his actual life. It’s awesome to see Eve To Adam working with an organization like this to help our veterans in need. You can find music and merch for Eve to Adam on their official website HERE.
Next up was John 5 and The Creatures. John 5 is best known for his work as Rob Zombie’s guitarist but has a very active solo career touring and in songwriting. He’s also written for various artists such as Motley Crue, Steve Perry, and Ricky Martin as well as performing guitars for Marilyn Manson. His discography of 11 albums is quite impressive. His most recent album Invasion released on July 31, 2019 to rave reviews from the media. Singles such as “Zoinks!” and “I Am John 5” grabbed the epitome of this album and the musical genius of John 5 and The Creatures. The band consists of John 5 (guitar), Ian Ross (bass), and Logan Miles Nix (drums).
The turnaround between Eve To Adam and John 5 and The Creatures was probably one of the quickest set changes I’ve ever seen. With inflatables on stage giving it a very fun house type feel, John 5 and The Creatures hit the stage and immediately started “Crank It – Living With Ghosts”. The fans looked a little uncertain as to what they were hearing but those who knew John 5 were all into it as he ripped through these transcendental guitar riffs. It’s 6 plus minutes of guitar solo, bass and drum mixed in, and some almost EDM like catch-phrase (“Crank it!”) tracks. And this was just the start. Moving on to “Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell” from his 2014 album Careful With That Axe. The band delivered a high energy, fast-paced song, to the fans. I’m amazed on how John 5 moves so quickly through his notes sometimes while shaking his head throwing off makeup dust and other times drooling large strings of saliva on stage. Needless to say, those who never seen him before were probably very confused by the playful antics. They followed that up with “Zoinks!” from Invasion which has a great rhythm and blues feel. The video for the single has a little adult Scooby-Doo like story to it which is a must-see.
Half-way through their performance, John 5 finally spoke to the crowd asking if they were having a good time. And he swore he would get everyone that was in the balcony on their feet before the end of their set. Things really started getting fun as balloons were thrown out into the crowd like beach balls to bat around the venue. When one made it back to the stage, John 5 would pop it with his guitar, which raised a cheer from the crowd. Seeing the reaction, he kept popping them until they were all gone. John 5 brought out his light up mouthpiece during the performance and his gorgeous lit up guitar that has individual small bright light bulbs throughout the entire guitar. It is an amazing piece of craftsmanship. When they performed “I Am John 5” from Invasion, three crew members came out on stage. Two of them were wearing outfits making it appear they were held by aliens while the third was dressed like a robot. The robot hung around John 5 every time the vocal track said “I am John 5”. They were going to perform “Cactus Flower” but the guitar for the song wasn’t cooperating. But, the piece that really hooked crowd was the instrumental medley at the end. Ian and Logan started off the bass and drum pieces to Rush’s “Limelight” and I nearly cried. And when John 5 brought in the guitar it was instrumental perfection. The transitioned it into Rush’s “Fly By Night” and the medley kept going. Everything from Rob Zombie to Nirvana to Marilyn Manson to Soundgarden to Pantera to Motley Crue the music just kept going and going! By the time they wrapped up, the entire balcony was on their feet and the entire venue applauded, cheered, and screamed in approval. What an amazing performance from John 5 and The Creatures that night.
You can find their music and merch HERE. Their setlist that night was:
- Crank It – Living With Ghosts
- Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell
- Zoinks!
- Hell Haw I.G.R.
- Howdy
- Season of the Witch
- First Victim
- The Black Grass Plague
- I Am John 5
- Catcus Flower – not performed but was on the setlist
- Limelight / Fly by Night / Thunder Kiss ’65 / The Beautiful People / Spoonman / Dr. Feelgood / Unchained / I’m Broken / Walk/and more
Finally, onto our headliners Queensrÿche. The band’s roots go all the way back to the late 1970s where a few members met in Washington state. After a few years of working with other bands, they had formed together originally known as The Mob. The band recorded a 4 song demo that started to get shopped around. They soon learned the name The Mob was not available so they ended up using Queensrÿche after their single “Queen of the Reich”. The band was signed with EMI and released The Warning in 1984 and Rage for Order in 1987. While both albums did well for the band, neither had commercial success. It wasn’t until 1988 with Operation: Mindcrime where the band truly became renowned. With a phenomenal story and genius musical writing, the album was certified Platinum and received numerous accolades from the media. The single “I Don’t Believe in Love” was nominated for a Grammy. Their follow up Empire from 1990 sold over 3 million albums and had a #1 single in “Silent Lucidity”. The single was also nominated for a Grammy. The band continued to produce albums until 2012 where the band fired the original lead singer and replaced him with current vocalist Todd La Torre. The band released three albums with Todd as their vocalist including their most current album The Verdict which was released on March 1, 2019 and peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 to very good reviews. Queensrÿche is Todd La Torre (vocals), Michael Wilton (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), Parker Lundgren (guitar), and Casey Grillo (drums).
Queensrÿche decided to go way back in the discography to perform “Prophecy” off their 1983 self-titled EP. A fantastic kick-off to the show. The band was in sync and absolutely sounded amazing. And when they went into “Operation: Mindcrime” the title track from the 1988 album, I was taken back to the day when I saw them open for Def Leppard on the Hysteria tour. Todd was pitch-perfect, Eddie had the bass line down pat, Michael and Parker tore it up on guitar, and Casey thumped away on those drums. Just wow! Keeping the drive alive they went into “Walk in the Shadows” from Rage for Order. Queensrÿche was playing at such a high level I couldn’t wait to hear what the rest of the night was going to be like.
Todd talked to the crowd during the performance explaining to the crowd they were wrapping up in Orlando in support of their album The Verdict and the band would be going for some old catalog tunes and will get to the fan favorites as well. And did they ever pull out some of the older great songs including “Take Hold of the Flame” from The Warning, “Screaming in Digital” from Rage for Order, and “Queen of the Reich” from the 1983 self-titled EP. And when Todd hit those notes in “Queen of the Reich” it was chilling. I literally had goosebumps running up my arm. Todd also asked how many people had not seen or heard Queensrÿche live and there was a surprisingly good amount of new fans there that night.
Their performances of songs from The Verdict sounded stellar. I really enjoyed hearing “Bent”, which had an amazing harmony from Parker and Eddie on backing vocals, “Man the Machine” and “Dark Reverie”, such a beautifully haunting song, played live. And the band also included the favorites of “Silent Lucidity” and one of my personal favorites “Jet City Woman” from their 1990 album Empire. The band did perform an encore that included “No Sanctuary” from The Warning, “Light-years” from The Verdict, “Empire” the self-titled track from the 1990 album, and closed with “Eyes of a Stranger” from Operation: Mindcrime with “Anarchy-X” from the same album used as the outro. If you want to purchase music or merch from Queensrÿche you can find it at their website HERE. The band’s setlist that night was:
- Prophecy
- Operation: Mindcrime
- Walk in the Shadows
- Resistance
- Man the Machine
- Take Hold of the Flame
- Bent
- The Needle Lies
- Dark Reverie
- Breaking the Silence
- Silent Lucidity
- Jet City Woman
- Screaming in Digital
- Queen of the Reich
Encore:
- No Sanctuary
- Light-years
- Empire
- Eyes of a Stranger (with Anarchy-X as the outro)
Overall this was such an amazing concert by all three bands. But, Queensrÿche’s performance filled my heart with amazing music, filled my mind with wonderful memories, and provided some new songs to love. The performance was way beyond my expectations and hopes. I’m looking forward to the next time the come on tour. And, my wife and I are seriously looking at seeing them during their residency in Las Vegas over the summer! And if we make it out there, I absolutely know it will be worth every penny spent.
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