Author: Jernej Vene
Location: Vienna/Austria
Concert date: 12.04.2005
Attendance: 12
Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Freddie Mercury hit their peak in the late ’70s and early ’80s. In Freddie’s day Queen racked up 37 hits, and another 13 after his death. They even played Hala Tivoli in Ljubljana on 7.2.1979. Vienna’s Stadthalle recently played host to the gentlemen who make up Queen today, and the place was packed with a crowd spanning several generations. These days the core of the band is guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, backed up by a crew of seasoned musicians.
This year’s tour is the first in nineteen years, and in place of the late Freddie Mercury, the lead vocals on some songs are handled by rock legend Paul Rodgers, the singer of Free, Bad Company and The Firm. In the years since Freddie’s death in November 1991 there’s been plenty of speculation about who would step into his shoes. After George Michael, Michael Hutchence and Robbie Williams, Paul Rodgers joined the list last year. What I like is that he didn’t try to copy Freddie or get anywhere near his style, but stayed true to his own take on the rock show. With his outstanding voice he breathed new life into the tried-and-tested classics, plus just two songs from his own career (Can’t get enough of your love and All right now). We were supposed to get five, and Queen did play that many at earlier shows on this tour, but sadly we only got two. Rodgers’ energetic performance didn’t include Freddie’s high notes, but he still got the hall on its feet and proved he’s a great singer. The musical spectacle peaked with the legendary Bohemian Rhapsody, where Freddie sang the first part from the big video screen. The hall went wild, and when that velvet voice of the late singer rang out again, the emotions just flooded the place. Rodgers picked up the second part, and at the end Freddie and Paul traded lines one by one before the final shared chorus. On Radio Ga Ga, Roger Taylor joined Rodgers for a duet, and Brian May did the same on These Are The Days Of Our Lives. Brian May kicked off the acoustic part of the show with the words: “It’s been a very long time since I was here, it’s a miracle. Freddie’s spirit is still alive.” To loud cheers he then sang ’39 and Love Of My Life. Drummer Taylor’s voice is definitely showing its age. On some songs he struggled, to put it mildly, but people were happy enough that Queen showed up in Vienna at all. Taylor is just lucky to be a founding member of Queen and to get to step up as lead singer, though with a bit of self-criticism he could easily give that up and leave the job to Rodgers. Technically the show was very solid, from the lighting to the sound, so we got a decent rock concert. Bassist John Deacon, who withdrew from the music world, didn’t take part in the tour across Europe. He was replaced by Danny Miranda, who plucked strings in Blue Oyster Cult a few years back. For backing vocals and second guitar they picked Jamie Moses, who has worked with Paul Young and Bob Geldof. On keyboards Spike Edney added his part to the whole, a regular on their tours since Freddie’s days. We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions were the last two songs they played. They said their goodbyes with a recording of the British anthem God Save The Queen.
Jernej Vene
Setlist
01. Intro: It’s A Beautiful Day Ross Robertson / DJ Koma 2005 techno mix [tape] 02. Intro: Lose Yourself [tape – Eminem] 03. Intro: Reachin’ Out (Paul on vocals + Spike keyboards only) 04. Tie Your Mother Down (Paul on vocals) 05. I Want To Break Free (Paul on vocals) 06. Fat Bottomed Girls (Paul on vocals) 07. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Paul on vocals + guitar) 08. Say It’s Not True (Roger on vocals) 09. ’39 (Brian on vocals & guitar) 10. Love Of My Life (Brian on vocals & guitar) 11. Hammer To Fall slow/fast (Brian and Roger on vocals) 12. Let There Be Drums 13. I’m In Love With My Car (Roger on vocals and drums!) 14. Guitar solo 15. Last Horizon 16. These Are The Days Of Our Lives (Roger on vocals) 17. Radio Ga Ga (Roger and Paul on vocals) 18. Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love (Paul on vocals) 19. A Kind Of Magic (Paul on vocals) 20. I Want It All (Paul on vocals) 21. Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie and Paul on vocals) 22. The Show Must Go On (Paul on vocals) 23. All Right Now (Paul on vocals) 24. We Will Rock You (Paul on vocals) 25. We Are The Champions (Paul on vocals) 26. God Save The Queen
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