Live Evolution VHS Review

I don't really know what the fuck the problem with shipping on the Live Evolution DVD is, but I wish that they would get it figured out, and soon. For the meantime I acquired a copy of the VHS. Not too long ago, I found TeleVoid on DVD, and to tell you the truth, it blew me out of the water. I was very impressed with the TeleVoid VHS when it was released in 1998, and was simply astounded by the DVD when I got it a few weeks ago. So in this case getting the Live Evolution VHS first isn't completely a bad thing. . .

For being a VHS, I am amazed at the picture quality, and for some reason, the band sounds even better on the video than on the CD. Maybe it's mixed differently, or just seeing it in action brought out the better sound for me. The band performs the songs with passion and intensity throughout the video, but perhaps the attraction for me is looking for my friends and I in the crowd. We have many, many scenes, two of my best are right at the beginning before the show, on in line where my shirt sleeve is pulled up and I am pointing at my tattoo and screaming at the top of my lungs for god knows what reason. It seemed on the day of the show, July 27, the cameras were as big as stars as the band. My friend Pat and I have another scene at the very beginning where the door opens and we are the first ones in. Very cool. I was surprised at the clarity of the cinematography. Even in the grainy realm of VHS, Pat, Joe and I were easily able to pick ourselves and other notable people at the show out of the crowd at any given moment. Good lord, I can't wait for the DVD, where I can actually zoom in on the crowd at points and look at some of the finer moments during the show that maybe the camera was able to pick out of the crowd. Until I get the DVD, I'll never know.
9 out of 10

Live Evolution is the culmination of the last 20 years of Queensryche's career, a comprehensive look at the past, present, and future of one of Seattle's most enduring bands. There are so many great things to say about Live Evolution, the double CD set released September 25. I have held off two weeks before reviewing it, so that I might give it a couple of listens, and so that I could gather the thoughts and opinions of several regulars of the Queensryche message board. With that in mind, I will begin reviewing the live album.
Live Evolution is broken down into Suites, or sections which takes music from different albums and places them together. I think that this gives the album a really solid feel to it. Unlike other live albums, where there is no rhyme or reason to the setlist, Live Evolution depicts some of the conceptual ideas that the band is infamous for. The album's first disc opens with the EP/Warning/Rage Suite, with a blistering version of one of my favorites, NM-156. Kelly Gray's playing really has a gritty darkness and emotion to it, something that the band seems to be benefitting from in live performance. The band covers classic material here, everything from well known songs like Walk in the Shadows, Take Hold of the Flame, and Queen of the Reich to lesser known material like London and Screaming in Digital.
Next the disc moves into the Mindcrime Suite. I would have to say that musically, this is where the band shows its strength, and most notably the highlight of this is when Pamela Moore joins Geoff Tate on stage for Opeation:Mindcrime's high point, Suite Sister Mary. This is by far one of the best parts of the disc, as Tate and Moore trade off stunning vocal parts. On the first disc, The band sounds great, the music is heavy, accurate and intense. The rhythm section of Scott Rockenfield and Eddie Jackson really shines. However, I get really tired of people saying how bad Geoff Tate sounds. I challenge those people to put out the quality of music Queensryche has and then perform it for 20 years. I get tired of people saying that Kelly Gray really sucks, the truth is he could play all the songs the way DeGarmo did, but I applaud him for going out on that limb to re-create the songs in his own style. The live sound really makes the Mindcrime Suite rock with a newly determined intensity.
The second disc opens with the Promised Land/Empire Suite and the one/two punch of I Am I/Damaged. There are really nice recreations of Silent Lucidity, Another Rainy Night and particularly, Jet City Woman. I have never heard the songs from Empire performed with the passion that the have on Live Evolution. The Disc rounds it off with the HITNF/Q2K Suite. Vocally, this is some of Geoff's best work on the live set. I think that this is because the more recent songs don't have the higher expectations of the older material and is more in tune with the way Geoff performs nowadays. Liquid Sky is dead on accurate, and The Right Side of My Mind is about as infectious as I have ever heard it. The DVD review will be coming soon, and I expect that it will be as every bit as entertaining and visually spectacular as the music itself is.
All in all I give it a 9 out of 10.

Queensryche Rocks Seattle!!!!

Upcoming Shows

On July 27th and 28th, Queensryche performed two live shows that would be showcased on the upcoming Evolution Double CD and DVD. The material perfomed at these shows covered each album in Queensryche's past. The following is a review of what transpired the night of Friday, July 27th, 2001.

Friday, July 27th, 2001, The Moore Theatre, Seattle Washington

This couldn't have been one hotter show for Queensryche. The band was in top form and it seemed to me like they reached into my head and picked out the setlist. After an opening by Seattle natives, Second Coming, Queensryche took the stage, opening their set with a blistering version of NM-156, a fan classic from their 2nd album, "The Warning". Other early tunes in the setlist included The Lady Wore Black, Roads to Madness, Walk in the Shadows, and the cult favorite Screaming in Digital. These songs were all expertly performed, and primed the audience for what was to come.

The crowd was pumped by Queensryche's music, but the camera crews that were there to record the performance for the band's upcoming double live CD and DVD just seemed to add to the energy of the crowd. The crowd seemed to play right into the cameras, as if they were as big as stars as Queensryche themselves.

The band began the 2nd half of their setlist, with the brutal one/two punch of I am I and Damaged, then eased on into Empire, Jet City Woman, Another Rainy Night, and Silent Lucidity. These were all crowd pleasers, but the real treat was on it's way.

The band returned to the stage and began it's retooled version of Revolution Calling and continued on with Spreading the Disease and The Mission. Then the band broke into their classic, Suite Sister Mary, the crowd went nuts. Their excitement only heightened when Pamela Moore took the stage and reprised her role as Sister Mary, trading vocal parts with Geoff Tate as if she had been doing so for years. They finised up the Mindcrime set with I Don't Believe In Love, My Empty Room, and Eyes of a Stranger. The audience was most definitely listening.

The band returned for their encore performances of Queen of the Reich, the song for which the band created it's name, and Take Hold of the Flame. Anyone in attendance would disagree that this show was lacking in any way, it was certainly a night to remember, particularly for me.

After the show, I went back stage to meet the band. I greeted each of them and told them how good they were on stage, however this time was different. Pamela Moore was there too, and for the first time, I got to meet her.

Certainly for me, It was a night that I would never forget.

I may also include a map to an upcoming show.