Saw Queen + Adam Lambert last night.
Seeing what is left of Queen was a bucket list item. Consider it marked. That's about all.
Van Halen was pretty disappointing when I saw them live for the first time a few years ago. This wasn't far behind.
I've seen a lot of "legacy" bands over the last few years. Some have been sketchy with obviously eroded talent. Others seemed as sharp as they were in their youth. Queen's Brian May (guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums), the surviving original pair, fell somewhere inbetween. The guitar work was often muddly and the drum sets weren't spectacular.
The biggest problem is Lambert. He can sing a little but he's not -- even by his own admission -- Freddie Mercury. He shouldn't be. He should, remember, though that I came to see Queen, not the Adam Lambert show with some old guys playing backup. Oh, he was sufficiently reverent noting several times that he was fortunate to be on the same stage with them. Damn right he was. I'm glad they played a good bit of obscure stuff because his vocal work on what are considered classics was Karaoke-level at times. I thought it very telling that they used videos of Mercury to hit the most important parts of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Lambert's over-the top gayness, constant parading around and vamping was just too much. He was very out of place in dress (which he changed a dozen times) and demeanor.
Take a big dose of David Lee Roth, mix in some George Michael, add a pinch or two of Paul Stanley for starters. Combine that with the moves of Pee Wee Herman. Inject swishy almost drag queen gayness to the point of caricature. Then deduct 85% of the talent, leaving only the empty husk of Michael-ish looks, Herman's dancing and Divine's aura. That was Lambert.
I get that Queen (May and Taylor) wants to keep touring. I get that the talent-bereft Lambert wants to be on stage. This just wasn't the best pairing. I know Mercury was gay, but he wasn't gay like Lambert acts. Being flamboyantly gay just isn't enough to belong at the front of one of rock's iconic bands. And -- in my opinion -- Lambert brings little else.
So I saw it. Glad I did. Would not waste a dollar on it again.
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