Report by Ada Jet Krimpen aan den IJssel woman Goudriaan

As always I left in a very good mood to see a band playing live. That night it was not just any band but QUEENSRYCHE. They were back in Holland playing at De Boerderij in Zoetermeer. It's a very cozy room with a capacity for only 750 people, has two bars and a balcony from one side to another. Because the venue was sold out so quickly there was an extra show booked for the next day in Zwolle. Luckily this time there was no supporting act; it is Thursday and most people have to get up very early the next day.

It seemed that QUEENSRYCHE played only songs from three of their albums in this tour. They switched the songs of these albums every night. So, if you want to hear the entire albums you have to see 2 shows at a row. Kicking off with the Rage For Order album the band opened with Neue Regel, and this night we were treated on The Whisper, Screaming In Digital and I Dream In Infrared. Everybody was singing along with Walk In the Shadows. The last song of this section was the beautiful I Will Remember.

Parker Lundgren, member of Geoff Tate's solo band and his son in law, has officially joined QUEENSRYCHE as the new touring guitarist. Most of the guitar parts were played by Michael but Parker really played his ass off. It's not fair to compare him with Geoff, Michael, Ed and Scott because they have been playing together for about 28 years and they are like a well oiled machine. I don't know Parker's age but I'm sure that back in 1981 he was still in liquid form.

From his looks I would place him in a band like PAPA ROACH but, hey, to be honest he stood tall and is a welcome addition to the band. And he got a great sense of humor. Everybody who caught his guitar pick in Germany know what I am talking about (check PS).

The second section was the new album American Soldier, starting with the song Sliver. Then Geoff started to talk about the inspiration for making this album, assuming that everybody knows that Geoff talked to a lot of veterans from several wars. It's an album with personal stories and full of emotion. Geoff's father fought in Vietnam and returned expecting that people would treat him normal but instead they called him names. He never talked about it...until recently. The result was Killer. Geoff sung some parts with his eyes closed and because he stood about 50 centimeters before me I could see the goose skin on his arms. American Soldier is a very intense album but, knowing this...it gave me also goose skin.

The second touring member is Jason Ames who played keyboards and tambourine. He also has a good sense of humor because for the first time in my life I saw a tambourine flying over the stage. If I Were King was a beautiful duet between Geoff and Jason accomplished by Geoff playing the saxophone. Man Down! and A Dead Man's Words completed this section. An intense section!

The third section concerned the mighty album Empire. The band treated on 6 songs and although it was very hot the temperature did rise even more with Jet City Woman and Silent Lucidity.

Geoff's vocals were not that extremely high as we are used to, but were strong and full of emotion. After the show Scott came on stage to throw his drumsticks to the crowd. It's nice to see that he really likes kids because at front there were 2 young boys and he gave each one a drumstick and shook hands. Later the band came back for only one extra song, Empire, and then it was really over.

Overwhelmed many people stayed in De Boerderij to chat with each other and share the experience. Before the show I looked a few times at the guy behind the mixing table and then it hit me. That's Kelly Gray and because he changed his hairstyle (it's about 3 millimeter long now) I had to look a few times before I recognized him. After the show we talked a while; a very sympathetic guy. He also played some guitar parts on American Soldier and he gave the show a good sound. Later that night I got home to get a few hours sleep before my 3 alarm clocks would ring after a very short night.
P.S.: Parker's guitar pick said: Dude, I am totally nailing Geoff Tate's daughter...

(photos by Ada Jet Krimpen aan den IJssel woman Goudriaan)

QUEENSRYCHE