Queensrÿche  landed the support slot on Judas Priest’s 50th anniversary tour but they themselves were one year shy of their own 40th anniversary. 

Somehow it is fitting that they started off their set with the very song that started it all “Queen Of The Ryche."  Right off the bat, the band came out will all guns a-blazin’ and performed a near perfect rendition of this early classic.  Todd La Torre has been at the mic stand for almost a decade and he has certainly made his mark with not only some phenomenal records but also on the live stage.  His performance throughout the show is spot on, and he sings the older classics like they should be without putting a lot of his own touches.  The fans want to hear the originals played like they remember them and Queensrÿche gives them just that and more. 

They continued to stick to the older catalogue by playing “En Force," “NM156”,and the title track off of The Warning.  As with the previous song, these were performed with all the passion of a young band and not one that is almost four decades into their career.  Later in the set they also performed “Take Hold Of The Flame” from that same record which saw the most entries into the set list. 

Like previous tours, they stuck to the earlier records as I’m sure many fans want to hear the classics.  Songs like “Empire," “Operation: Mindcrime”  and “Screaming In Digital” got the most crowd reaction but I was happy to see that even new tracks like “In Extremis” and “Behind The Walls” got a great reception. 

I’m sure that I may be one of the few long-time fans of the band that would like to see more newer material performed but given that this was a support slot, they were limited to the amount of tunes they could perform.  Having limited time gives the band a shorter span to capture the audience, so I’m sure they opted to give the audience what they wanted and rolled out the classics.  They ended their set with slightly extended “Eyes Of A Stranger” where La Torre introduced the band and they added in “Anarchy-X” at the end to finish off the evening.

The band currently consists of original members Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson who held down the fort since the beginning.  As mentioned earlier, La Torre has been vocalist for quite some time and each time I see him perform, I’m amazed at how well his voice has help up.  Those songs are not easy to sing but he manages to be consistently great each time I catch the band. 

The two newest members are Casey Grillo and returning guitarist Mike Stone.  I have seen Queensrÿche over 20 times throughout the years, and I have to admit that this line-up is one of the strongest I have seen.  They play like a well-oiled machine yet there is still a sense spontaneity in their performance.  The band will be going out on their own headlining tour in 2023, and I for one recommend that you catch them in a city near you.  Based on their performance at this recent show, they still have plenty of life and music to share.