Queen + Adam Lambert – Concert Review (Charlotte, NC – August 23, 2019)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

On a dark stormy night in August, Queen + Adam Lambert came riding in to town for the very last show of their Rhapsody Tour.  Yes, Charlotte, NC was able to bid farewell to this legend of a band who has seen a massive resurgence thanks in large part to the movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and in small part due to the current singer Adam Lambert.

There is no exciting story to tell leading up to the show except the Rain Gods were nice to my daughter and I by not raining on us.  We got in to the Spectrum Center and about 5 minutes later the skies opened up.  People were coming in dripping wet, but no one cared because everyone was there to have a good time and listening to everyone’s favorite band, Queen.

When we finally arrive to our seats after a long line at the merch table and a long line at the bathroom and a short line at the refreshment stand to grab a couple of $5 waters (each), we were greeted to this…

IMG_0930

A giant crown wrapping the stage.  It looked so real and like it was made out of metal.  Impressive.  Even more impressive was the fact it was a giant TV screen.  The graphics, detail, clarity, hell everything about it was impressive.  It looked 3D without the glasses…amazing.

Queen came on a few minutes later and the band played for over 2 hours and over 28 songs and it was everything I hoped it would be.

IMG_0943

The track list was exactly what you expected and since I have never seen Queen before with or without Adam Lambert or Freddie for that matter it was exactly what I wanted to hear.  They played all the hits and even some that were not hits.  Check it out…

Setlist:

  1. Innuendo – opening music before they appeared
  2. Now I’m Here
  3. Seven Seas of Rhye
  4. Keep Yourself Alive
  5. Hammer to Fall
  6. Killer Queen
  7. Don’t Stop Me Now
  8. Somebody to Love
  9. In the Lap of the Gods…Revisited
  10. I’m In Love With My Car
  11. Bicycle Race
  12. Another One Bites the Dust
  13. I Want It All
  14. Love of My Life
  15. ’39
  16. Doing All Right
  17. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
  18. Under Pressure
  19. Dragon Attack
  20. I Want to Break Free
  21. You Take My Breath Away (tape and brief)
  22. Who Wants to Live Forever
  23. Guitar Solo
  24. Tie Your Mother Down
  25. The Show Must Go On
  26. Fat Bottomed Girls
  27. Radio Ga Ga
  28. Bohemian Rhapsody
  29. Ay-Oh (video of Freddie Mercury)
  30. We Will Rock You
  31. We Are the Champions
  32. God Save the Queen (on tape as they bowed and waved goodbye
  33. Heroes (Bowie cover – also on tape as you left the arena)

IMG_0948

With so many songs, I will stick to the highlights for me.  First one being Adam Lambert and especially on “Killer Queen”.  Adam might be the only person that comes close to matching Freddie’s flamboyance and theatrical abilities as well as the voice. Say what you will about no one can replace Freddie, and they can’t.  But Adam did not disappoint.  On this song, Adam was a flaming queen in every sense of the word and he played it to the nines.  He even admitted during the song he was a “queen”. It was very memorable.

IMG_0950

Another cool moment was when Roger Taylor got hit moment in the sun when he sang “I’m In Love With My Car” which was awesome and sad.  The sad part was that a ton of people took a bathroom break and people sat down as the average Joe doesn’t know it, but for me it was really cool. Roger sounded great.

IMG_0956

Right after that song, the band went in to “Bicycle Race” and Adam rose from the end of the stage in the middle of the arena on a motorcycle.  He pumped and gyrated all over that thing and the crowd loved every minute.

IMG_0961

The next highlight for me was with Brian May.  He came out to where that motorcycle was (it was gone by this point) with a stool and a mic and sang “Love of My Life” and “39”. On “Love of My Life”, Freddie Mercury appeared on screen and finished up the song.  It was a cool tribute for Freddie, which they celebrated him all night.

IMG_0969

 

The band played “Under Pressure” with Adam taking Freddie’s parts (obviously) and Roger Taylor taking  David Bowie’s and it gave me goosebumps.  This is one of my favorite Queen songs, if not the favorite and to see if played live was a thrill for me even if it wasn’t David or Freddie…it was still Brian on guitar and Roger on drums though.

IMG_0973

The next cool thing was the Brian May guitar solo.  He rose from the stage on a giant space rock as the background on the stage turned in to the solar system.  It was visually stunning and the picture I have does it NO justice.  It was so original and one of the coolest things of the evening.  The video screen use was none like I have never seen and just Wow!!  You had to see it to believe it.

IMG_0988

After that you knew you were getting close to the end and the band’s energy went up with “Tie Your Mother Down”, “The Show Must Go On” and then “Fat Bottom Girls” which the harmonies on that one from the band were stellar.  The crowd was going nuts and sing as loud as the band like they did most of the night (not use to that – well, I normally sing along the whole show, but the entire audience doing it was cool).

IMG_0965

“Radio Ga Ga” was another favorite and then came “Bohemian Rhapsody”.  The crowd again goes bat-shit crazy.  Adam Lambert nails the song and the cool thing was the homage they paid to Freddie and the band of old with scenes  from the music video for the song.  At some point, the song was on tape with Freddie actually singing.  I have to admit, I didn’t care and thought it was cool

IMG_0997

And that was the end of the show…well, there was still the encore.  The encore came with a video screen dropping down on the stage and out comes Freddie Mercury doing “Ay-Oh” to the crowd and we did not disappoint and gave it back to him and then some.  Another fantastic tribute to Freddie.

IMG_1001

And of course they ended with the one-two punch of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”.  There is no other way to end the show.  The confetti went flying and the crowd enjoyed every second and so did the band.  It was an extremely well put together, well performed, well sang and all around terrific show.

IMG_1009

IMG_1014

The back-up band was sensational as well. Brian introduced them all and they got a few seconds to stand-out with a quick solo.  There was another drummer…sorry, percussionist, to assist Roger.  Not do, assist and enhance the drum sound.  The bass player got a few moments in the sun with “Another One Bites the Dust” as well and the keyboard player has actually been with the band since around 1984/85 so he basically is a member of the band.

The show was incredible and Adam Lambert is such a great singer and performer which the role of Queen lead singer requires.  People who complain have never seen him live. The man can sing.  He hit notes that were stunning and for this to be the last night of the tour and he still had his voices speaks volumes!!  Brian can still play a hell of a guitar and he put in some miles walking out on the long runway and back so many times…probably for each guitar solo.  Roger still has it and the man can sing as well and my daughter even commented on how well he sang (same with Brian).  It was a magical evening and one I won’t forget for a long time.  I will leave you with some more pictures…

IMG_0990

The robot from New of the World looked so real. It was 3D like as well and practically popped out of the screen. Coolest thing on screen the whole night.

IMG_1003

Disco Ball…

IMG_0981

The pretty colors…oooooh….

IMG_0983

IMG_0979

And the concert ticket…

IMG_1016

And the shirt…(my daughter got the same one in Purple)

And that is all.  I hope you enjoyed the review. I know I enjoyed the show!!

43 thoughts on “Queen + Adam Lambert – Concert Review (Charlotte, NC – August 23, 2019)”

  1. Wow 31 songs that’s amazing! Standard arena sets including encore is usually 19 songs. Two bands on my bucket list for both next tours are Queen and King’s X. I have to fly into major cities for shows since I live in a rural state that very few bands come through. What a great show, good for you and your daughter. Looks like that 20 bucks I flipped to the rain Gods was worth it 😂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the help on the rain Gods…much appreciated.
      I was amazed at how long they played. 28 songs they actually played and then some taped performances at the beginning and end. It was pretty awesome. I have never seen King’s X, that would be a good one. Good luck.

      Like

      Reply

    2. King’s X puts on a great live show. I’ve seen them several times, starting with the Gretchen tour. Hoping with the new album, they’ll expand their tour nationwide. I haven’t seen them in 10 years. Would be great to see them again.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  3. Sounds like an awesome night out with your daughter John!
    A buddy of mine from work caught this show in St Paul and loved it as well!
    Great setlist as I like the fact that they had Dragon Attack in there as well! An over the top production but one that is well worth it!
    Queen knows how to do it properly that’s for sure. People need to relax about Lambert. He shows up do the job and everyone leaves happy that’s what it’s about!

    We were out at T-bones camp this past weekend and on Saturday night we watched Bohemian Rhapsody on his makeshift big screen outside which was cool as a few people we were with haven’t seen the movie yet! It was neat to watch as at the end of it we went back and rewatched the Live Aid portion and cranked it a second time through!

    Thanks for sharing this with us. Going to send this to Tbone and a Deaner through Facebook!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. They played a ton of stuff. It was great. And yes, people need to get over the whole the Adam/Freddie thing. It is as bad as Ace & Peter not being in Kiss. It is stupid. Man, Adam can sing and he does exactly what he is paid to do.
      Your weekend sounds nice. That would be great way to spend it watching that movie. Thanks for sharing it. I hope they enjoy it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Oh yeah our friends loved it as a couple of them had not seen it!
        I suggested to Tbone we could always watch The Dirt instead of haha.​
        Too many kids were around and that was my smart ass remark for the weekend!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. The Dirt was pretty…graphic to say the least. When the squirting scene happened at the beginning, first I looked to make sure my kids weren’t around and second I thought this was going to be interesting to say the least.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  5. I knew they were coming to Boston for a long time before they came. And I really, really thought about it, back and forth, back and forth. But given that there is only so much money it was either this show or the Stones. And so, Sonny Boy and I went to see Keef, Mick, and the boys. No regrets, But, excellent review. Next time for sure.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Just a little clarification … Queen + Adam Lambert (QAL) have been selling out arenas (and a Las Vegas Residency) since 2012 … 6 or 7 years before Bohemian Rhapsody (the film) dropped … so I wouldn’t say the film was a “large” part of the popularity of the current Rhapsody Tour … I’m sure it brought in some new fans, but they were “doing all right” before.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. That’s an impressive set! Glad you had a great time at the show. 🙂 I saw them live some years back and you’re right – Adam CAN sing. I don’t think anyone can replace Freddie, but this man gives a hundred and one percent. And the video tribute where everyone sings along, is just beautiful!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Say their names! Spike Edney keyboards, Tyler Warren percussion, Neil Fairclough bass guitar. Spike joined in ’85, Neil has been touring since 2011, and Tyler for many years was percussionist in Queen Extravaganza, the hand picked (Taylor & May) Queen tribute band that tours the world.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Pingback: Friday New Releases – September 27th – 2loud2oldmusic

  12. I watched them in South Korea and it was phenomenal! No wonder they’re still the greatest band today. Their concert was by far the best concert I’ve ever attended. Sad to know that they don’t sing any Bowie nor Led Zeppelin’s songs in South Korea. I really want to hear them playing Whole Lotta Love so badly!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Maybe on the next tour they will. I still think back to that show as it was that good. I keep an eye out to see if they ever come back, I will be there again. Thanks for commenting.

      Like

      Reply
  13. Pingback: ‘The Show Must Go On: The Queen & Adam Lambert Story’ – Documentary Review – 2 Loud 2 Old Music

  14. Wow…what a stage show. They pulled out all of the stops for this tour. The space rock looks super cool and I love the robot from News of the World. I remember seeing that robot on the album in 3rd or 4th grade.
    I will go if they ever tour again…great review.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. First of all, HOW DARE THOSE PEOPLE NOT CARE FOR “I’M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR”!!!! Roger gives it his all on that song and the least they could do is show him some respect. The technology is insane; Freddie would’ve loved it for sure. Brian playing in outer space, that must’ve been so cool for him! I’m glad you and your daughter had a good time at the gig, sounded amazing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Oh it came with a DVD? Lucky! I’m tempted to buy it, but I’m trying to save money for the real thing. I know it’ll never happen, but I think it’d be cool if Roger performed “Drowse” from ‘A Day at the Races.’

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  16. Pingback: Queen + Adam Lambert – ‘Live Around the World’ – Album Review – 2 Loud 2 Old Music
  17. Pingback: My Top 10 Concerts of All Time – 2 Loud 2 Old Music
  18. Pingback: 10 Underrated Songs From Bands I Like – Lana Teramae | Me, Myself and Time

Leave a comment