Aug. 16, 2018Geoff Tate Celebrates 30 Years of Operation: Mindcrime in Sacramento (Concert Review)
By Brian Heaton
From the onset of "Anarchy-X," you could tell the backing band was taking liberties with the music. Throughout the night, the songs just felt slightly off, as some of the group attempted to stay faithful to the notes on the album, while others clearly lacked the accuracy and feel needed to replicate Operation: Mindcrime’s complex chord structures and rhythmic patterns. In the band's defense, a looser approach to playing Queensryche music was well received last year, when Tate played on March 19, 2017, at the Goldfield Trading Post. But that was an acoustic tour featuring re-arrangements of Queensryche deep cuts and classics -- not Operation: Mindcrime.
Vocally, Tate was a walking paradox during last night's show. After getting warmed up in "Revolution Calling," the heralded front man’s voice sounded strong all the way through "The Needle Lies." Playing up to a Wednesday night crowd of about 200, Tate hit (and held) a note in the stratosphere entering the solo of that song that resonated clear back to the 1980s. Unfortunately, however, his consistency faltered the rest of the set, which in combination with the uneven level of playing behind him, dragged down the performance.
Dressed in a black gown and blonde wig, the younger Tate sang well. Emily’s softer voice didn’t quite capture the commanding and iconic performance of original singer Pamela Moore, but she delivered a good rendition of Mary’s part in the story.
After closing Operation: Mindcrime with the signature hit "Eyes of a Stranger," (which featured a welcome return of the "Anarchy-X" reprise that closed performances of the album for years), the 90-minute set concluded with a four-song encore of "Best I Can," the award-winning "Silent Lucidity," "Empire," and "Jet City Woman," all from Queensryche’s 1990 blockbuster, Empire.
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