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Adam Lambert won over any doubters with his reverent take on Queen classics at last night's Seattle show.
st.news/2tfect2 Review: Queen and Adam Lambert are the champions of KeyArena
Lambert wins over any doubters with his reverent take on Queen classics at Seattle show.
Itâs not often artists gets to live their own dream and keep someone elseâs alive at the same time, so it was refreshing to see Adam Lambert and Queen attack the opportunity with zeal Saturday night at sold-out KeyArena.
Queen only has two original members left, guitarist Brian May and Roger Taylor, and it was these two pillars of rock history that most of the older crowd was there to see. The band opened with a thundering snippet of âWe Will Rock You,â and used a blistering May guitar solo to transition smoothly into âHammer to Fall,â reassuring the audience early and often that yeah, at 69 years old heâs still got it.
The partnership between Lambert and Queen has been going strong for five years, and the former âAmerican Idolâ runner-upâs elastic, laser-beam of a voice is a natural fit to fill the sonic void left by Freddie Mercury. While no one can ever truly replace the legendary, pioneering frontman, Lambert is good enough that it introduces an uncomfortable notion: were Mercury still alive and with the band, he would be 71 and it is unlikely theyâd sound as vital as they do in their current form.
That thought was on no oneâs mind as Lambert tore through a parade of hits including âAnother One Bites the Dust,â off 1980âs âThe Game,â and âFat Bottom Girls,â which had the crowd roaring the lyrics in a raucous singalong.
After whipping the crowd up, Lambert used a moment to catch his breath and acknowledge that he would never try to replace Mercury.
âIâm a fan just like you guys,â he said in a speech that would be lip service if not for the obvious care Lambert has for Queenâs catalog. That love was evident throughout the evening but was especially prominent on âUnder Pressure,â which they dedicated to David Bowie, who contributed vocals to the 1982 hit.
With Taylor playing a second set of drums on the large catwalk that cut through the arena floor, Lambert circled the drums and locked eyes with Taylor as they sang the duet. It was as intimate a moment as you can have playing rock music in an arena filled with thousands of people and showed the reverence Lambert has for his sexagenarian tourmates.
To no oneâs surprise, Queen closed out the main portion of the show with two of their greatest hits, âRadio Ga Gaâ and âBohemian Rhapsody.â As theatrical as much of Queenâs music is, âBohemian Rhapsodyâ takes it to another level and in the wrong hands, it could end up seeming like parody or even karaoke but that was never a fear with Lambert, who won had won over any doubters by nightâs end.
The band came back out for a few more, including âWe Will Rock Youâ and âWe Are the Champions.â It was a triumphant way to end the evening.