Geoff Tate - London Review

I seem to have started so many reviews of late by saying that I am not long back from yet another trip to London. More than ever, this year has seen me spending a lot of time in London. This is no bad thing of course, but I do prefer a bit more variety when it comes to my travel plans. Beggars cannot be choosers when it comes to gigs, however, and this past weekend I was back in the capital, only a week after last getting home, for two excellent shows. I will talk about the 'big event', which was Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium, in my next review - but up first I will instead talk about Saturday night's excitement in Islington, where former Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate and his band rolled into town to bring Queensrÿche's 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime to life for one of the last times. This is what he is alleging, anyway. In truth, I am not sure that I truly believe that Tate will leave Operation: Mindcrime behind fully, as it has basically been his only trump card since the Queensrÿche split drama well over a decade ago now, but he has been saying that he is going to stop performing it live in full - with this tour something of a final chapter. The rest of the UK shows actually took place earlier in the year, but for some reason the London date ended up being something of a one-off - seemingly placed at the end of a week where some fans paid to holiday with Tate in Cornwall. I remember that being advertised, and it seemed a very strange concept - but Tate has always seemed like quite a strange guy, at least in more recent years. I am not sure that he was ever really a metalhead, and he comes across more like a Ricky Gervais character these days, but he was once considered one of the greats - even if his star has somewhat fallen over the years. I only saw him once with Queensrÿche, which was back in 2011 at a festival, but I also saw him as a solo artist in 2023 in Wolverhampton - where he, unsurprisingly, played Operation: Mindcrime in full. I went to that 2023 show with quite low expectations and ended up having a really good time. Tate's voice, which was not faring well towards the end of his time in Queensrÿche and during those early solo years, sounded much stronger than it had for quite a while - and he also seemed, just generally, to have calmed down quite a bit. Some of those interviews he did in the wake of the Queensrÿche split are embarrassing reads now, and I feel like he probably realises that. He has upped his game in recent times, then, so I was pleased to see him deliver a strong performance of what is likely my all-time favourite album a few years ago - and put all of that silliness behind him. I was not exactly desperate to see him again, but I knew that I likely would should a suitable opportunity arise. Given the existing Bon Jovi plans this past weekend, then, it seemed silly not to go up to London for the whole weekend and take in Tate's London show at the same time - especially if the show does indeed end up being the last full performance of Operation: Mindcrime in the UK. I was staying out in Walthamstow for the first night of my trip, but that was fairly convenient for Tate's show in Islington. I had not been to the Islington Assembly Hall for a while. I was supposed to, ironically, see Queensrÿche there back in June - but I opted not to travel on the day due to the red and amber weather warnings which were in place, and the separate warnings being put out by the train companies about the likelihood of significant disruption due to the high temperatures. I really regret this decision, as everything would have likely been fine, but, in some form of symmetry, I still managed to get something of a Queensrÿche live fix this year.

I was also looking forward to seeing former Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin open the show, presumably doing an acoustic set, but he was conspicuous by his absence. I am not sure why he was no longer on the bill, although I had not been keeping up with Martin's post-Mr. Big career, but in his place the large and growing crowd were treated to just over half an hour or so from the London-based modern metal act Help!. From what the band said on stage, they are only around six months old - and this show was their biggest to date. I do not know how they ended up on this bill, as they were really not a good fit at all style-wise, but I ended up somewhat enjoying them - and they certainly received a warm, if not exactly rapturous, reception. Help! certainly ticked a lot of the modern metalcore-esque boxes - including quite dry riffs, a fairly liberal use of synths, and a mix of clean and harsh vocals. Vocally, though, there was much more of a focus on a clean delivery - which perhaps helped the band to stand out from the crowd. They were not as heavy as most metalcore-esque acts, then, and there were certainly some strong alternative rock vibes at times, especially during their less heavy numbers. There were plenty of riffs, though, even if they were all of a type and started to roll into one after a while, and a few songs had some quite potent breakdown sections with punchy drumming. For a band that have not been around for a long time, though, I was impressed by how tight and competent they already sound. Some bands take a long time to properly gel, but Help! seemed like quite a professional act already - and they seemingly also have quite a lot of material amassed in quite a short space of time. It is always nice to see a band early on in their journey - and many of the Islington crowd on Saturday certainly seemed to agree. When the band started their first song, I felt that they were going to have a hard time winning anyone over - but the reception was warm and the band seemed to be having a lot of fun, even if they knew they were likely the 'wrong' band for the bill. They did their job well and professionally, though, and I can see that, within the correct scene, Help! will likely go down well.

The changeover itself was quite quick, but the opening to the show seemed a little strange - insofar as someone on stage flashed to signal the show could start, and the ambient music stopped, but nothing really happened for another five or so minutes. A roadie was still putting out setlists during this time, but soon some choral music got underway - which morphed into the classic I Remember Now intro of Operation: Mindcrime. As was the case in 2023, the bulk of the show was taken up by the full album performance. The album came first, followed by a handful of other songs - and then a two-song encore. The setlist was almost identical to that 2023 show, too, but I had largely expected that - and it was great hearing the great album performed live once more. The two guitarists in Tate's backing band were the same as last time - but the rest of the band was different. The on-stage crew was rounded out to a six-piece this time, with keyboard player Clodagh McCarthy the sixth member. In truth, she barely seemed to play the keyboards - and she was largely there to act as a harmony vocalist, as well as to sing the duet parts during Suite Sister Mary. She did play the keyboards during the opening Anarchy-X, though, whilst the two guitarists laid down some impressive leads - before Tate made his grand entrance during Revolution Calling. Tate impressed in 2023, and he sounded strong again on Saturday. I did not think that his overall performance was quite as good this time, but that was possibly down to him being slightly low in the mix at times. In general, though, he still sounded good - and it is clear that he still lives every word of Operation: Mindcrime. He certainly does not do anything by half - and he gave his all on stage, whilst the band faithfully re-created the album. This was very much a by-the-book rendition. There were no deviations or additions, as Queensrÿche did on their Mindcrime at the Moore live release, with the album being played straight - with all the samples and spoken word sections included. The guitar solos were note-perfect, with both Amaury Altmayer (guitar/vocals) and James Brown (guitar/vocals) standing out - helping to bring the classic songs to life. One thing that was better than the 2023 show, though, was the crowd. The Wolverhampton crowd three years ago was certainly decent - but the Islington Assembly Hall was very busy on Saturday, and the volume of the crowd's singing was loud. All of the obvious sing-a-long bits were shouted back at the band with real power, so the atmosphere was excellent throughout. It is hard to pick out standout moments of the album suite itself, as everything flowed so well, but Revolution Calling really set the tone thanks to the crowd's reaction - and the aforementioned Suite Sister Mary was an epic centrepiece. Some of the slower moments showcased Tate's limitations, as he did mumble a little - but letting rip allowed him to show his remaining power. A few big high notes were still hit, too, with tracks like The Needle Lies and the anthemic Breaking the Silence good examples of what he can still do. Eyes of a Stranger perfectly wrapped up the main bulk of the set - which then allowed Tate to try some other things. The one difference between this show and the 2023 one was the inclusion of The Answer from the newly-released Operation: Mindcrime III, which was a good addition to the set, but otherwise the rest of what followed were hits. Empire and Take Hold of the Flame were highlights - with the latter bringing the main set to a close. Following a step off the stage, Tate took the opportunity to talk to the crowd for a bit before introducing the ballad Silent Lucidity - whilst the heavy Queen of the Reich, to round things off, showed off his still-impressive range. The setlist was:

I Remember Now [Queensrÿche material]
Anarchy-X [Queensrÿche material]
Revolution Calling [Queensrÿche material]
Operation: Mindcrime [Queensrÿche material]
Speak [Queensrÿche material]
Spreading the Disease [Queensrÿche material]
The Mission [Queensrÿche material]
Suite Sister Mary [Queensrÿche material]
The Needle Lies [Queensrÿche material]
Electric Requiem [Queensrÿche material]
Breaking the Silence [Queensrÿche material]
I Don't Believe in Love [Queensrÿche material]
Waiting for 22 [Queensrÿche material]
My Empty Room [Queensrÿche material]
Eyes of a Stranger [Queensrÿche material]/Anarchy-X [Queensrÿche material]
The Answer
Empire [Queensrÿche material]
Jet City Woman [Queensrÿche material]
Take Hold of the Flame [Queensrÿche material]
-

Silent Lucidity [Queensrÿche material]
Queen of the Reich [Queensrÿche material]

If Saturday night ends up being the last time that I see Operation: Mindcrime being performed live, then I am glad that I got to experience it one more time. That 2023 show was great, and to build on that this past weekend gives me more positive Tate memories which, a few years ago, I did not think that I would have. It was great to see the venue packed out on a Saturday night, too, showing that there are still plenty of people out there who want to experience great music like this live.