Queen + Adam Lambert grief climax in Vancouver: 6/28/2014

Well.

Whatever I expected, the June 28 outing to Vancouver to see the Queen concert exceeded expectations.

 

On the skytrain to the show, my sister and I joked about a 1970s’ Martin Sheen movie – during his crazy youth out of control movie phase where he plays a hoodlum who terrorizes the working classers on a monorail car until Beau Bridges, a soldier with a cast finally beats the crap of the hoodlum pair.

 

It’s hard for me to decide whether it was the pedophile middle class guy after Jodie Foster in The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane or the Crazy on the Run kiddnapper of Linda Blair (I think it was here, there’s another actress of the same era I confuse her with) in any event, she’s a run away who falls in love with Crazy on the Run who picks her up hitchhiking. an interesting stockholm syndrome – both a contextual paranoia and dijointed from socieity.

 

What is it that is so attractive about the villians that even Disney is on the bandwagon with Malificiant, following on Wicked and the whole Dr Horrible, Megamind, Despicable Me lovable villians.

 

Well all know the only really loveable villain is RHPS’ Frankenfurter. and by lovable I mean fuckable, regardless of your orientation.

the sublimity of seduction, explains a lot, eh?

 

Anyway, that’s leading me to Freddie Mercury.

 

 

I didn’t know that Queen + Adam Lambert meant Brian May and Rodger Taylor’s Memorial Tribute to Freddie with Adam as the pretty bauble sidekick being more Elvis than Freddie and imprinting no sense of Adam as a performer.

 

Cue that Marky Mark movie where he gets from garage to replacement frontman only to be baubled himself movie. 

 

but, I am getting ahead of myself.

We are on the skytrain.

 

I gave up my single seat to an elderly woman.

Her daughter was a bit older than me and the granddaughter was about the same age as my niece.  The three of them were going to see Maleficent.

After the elderly woman was seated, a man stood up and offered his seat to me.

 

I declined, saying that I can only sit facing the direction of travel.

 

He didn’t know what to do and kept standing for a long time, the elderly woman offered to take his seat so I could sit again.

 

A comedy of Canadian manners to be sure, eh?

 

I ended up thanking the man for calling me “Miss” and said I was going to be sitting at the concert, so standing now was better for me.

 

Anyway, the concert was theatrically sound, with colour lasers and a disco ball.

 

Adam had several costume changes and he’s not the twinkie I vaugely recall him being, but a handsome, chiselled god of sexuality that transcends gender – Elvis had it, Freddie, George Micheal and Adam.

My impression  of Adam was actually more of a Butch George Micheals with a dash of Elvis, but being the most famous fag in the world, he didn’t need to impersonate Freddie, who was the first and last one, eh?

 

Adam did an amazing set piece on a red antique couch as a fusspot Tony Randal Fag.

 

they owned the mostly Queen fans from the opening, but Fat Bottom Girls transformed the theatrical show into a concert.

 

it was the “how’d you like the new boy?” crack by Brian May and then dismissing Adam to costume for his next appearance while Brian then combined astrophysics with rock n roll and Brian did the drum off with his son.

 

I wondered the whole concert why there was no mention of John Deacon and it wasn’t until I read the tour book this morning that I realized he wasn’t there in the shadows. He wasn’t there.

 

I was moved when they showed the first Freddie video clip – and the only John appearances where in the endless archive they included.

 

I don’t know if it’s the standard at a certain career level to incorporate a retrospective- I remember that the Cher tour was structured very well and incorporating that multimedia.

 

speaking of which, the costume big moment for me was Brian May in the gold version of his iconic white 70’s shirt.

 

I didn’t realize this was the Brian and Rodger Memorial Tour for Freddie with Adam as the meatbod stand in instead of doing a hologram.

it is really different to see a band when they are on their rise or towards their peak

 

then, sometimes they become novelty acts or self parodies or nostalgia tours

 

rarely, bands remain vital and productive, recreating and continuously creating

 

 

this was not really a good bye tour or a memorial

 

it felt like

 

the Me Too Tour

 

showcase us

 

what we couldn’t do

when Freddie was around

 

 

 

I remember seeing Brian May in the early 90s and when he did his solo, there was a moment where he seemed confused that Freddie hadn’t taken over.

 

This time, there were a lot of authentic and genuine moments

 

Brian and Rodger aren’t playing at rock stars or a rock star roll

 

they were the rock stars in the arena

 

and Adam is as much a fan of theirs as anyone else in the room was

 

it would have nice, if Adam had gotten a solo to show what being him means as a rock star at the peak of his power and showmanship

 

otherwise

 

it was a spectacular spectical

 

 

I can’t think of a better way to have celebrated the anniversary of Stonewall.

 

New York.

 

ironically, fleet week 1979 brought AIDs to America

and new york

 

is where he probably contracted it