Question: What is better than a legendary singer performing a legendary record from start to finish?  The answer is “nothing.”  That’s right,

Geoff Tate is back for another round of touring, but this time he is performing Operation: Mindcrime from start to finish for the last time.  I recently read an interview that he will be releasing a third chapter to the saga so maybe the thinking is to put the first part (as a whole) aside to make room for the new one.  Either way, if you were looking to catch the whole Operation: Mindcrime disc performed in its entirety, then get yourself to one of his many shows.

The stage was adorned with an Operation: Mindcrime backdrop, letting you know right away what to expect as far as material.  The band seemed to be the same one I saw on last year’s tour, and, like last time, Tate’s voice sounded amazing.  Seriously, it has not sounded this good on latter tours with Queensrÿche, so whatever he is doing (or not doing), is working.  The whole record was recreated down to all the between song sound effects and bridge songs.  All of it sounded great but tracks like "The Mission,” "Breaking the Silence" and "I Don't Believe in Love" stood out as having an extra sense of urgency in the performance. 

The band even went the extra mile and brought along Irish songstress Clodagh McCarthy (who was part of the opening act Fire & Water) to play the part of Sister Mary.  She did a phenomenal job of matching Pamela Moore’s emotional and powerful vocal delivery.  The whole story was brought to life just like we remembered it, and they left nothing out from the original telling.  Once that part of the show was over, Tate and company continued the party with a number of tunes from follow-up Operation: Mindcrime II.  We didn’t get that whole album but we did get the highlights, and they were performed with the same passion as the first part of the show.  The tracks they chose to perform went in order as they did on the record.  Starting with “I'm American,” they skipped to the latter half of the record with "The Chase,” "Murderer?" and "If I Could Change It All".  During “The Chase,” one of the guitarists took on the role of Dr. X and sang the parts that were originally recorded by Ronnie James Dio.  He did a great job, as well, recreating that iconic part for the Houston audience.

During the small batch of Operation: Mindcrime II tunes, they squeezed in “Jet City Woman” and after that, they launched into a powerful rendition of “Empire.” Before ending the show with “Silent Lucidity,” they revisited Operation: Mindcrime II again with "A Junkie's Blues.” Not wanting to disappoint the enthusiastic Houston crowd, the band returned for an encore of “Take Hold of the Flame.” Honestly, it doesn’t get any better than that when it comes to anthemic prog metal. 

After a concert like that, I’m reminded of my first statement “What’s better than a legendary singer performing a legendary record?” and the answer remains “nothing.” I will miss seeing Operation: Mindcrime performed in its entirety, but this concert showed that Geoff Tate has plenty to say and I, for one, am looking forward it.  Catch this tour because if you don’t, you will be missing out on a fantastic live band blazing through legendary material.