Queensrÿche

The Chrome Showroom and Sante Fe Casino presents Queensrÿche.

Geoff Tate and his new band brought Queensrÿche to life at the Chrome in Vegas, and the house was packed, rowdy and full of fans. In light of the Queensrÿche war of the moniker, this crowd was team Tate and the operatic vocalist kicked off the long set of Operation Mindcrime songs with “Anarchy X”. The touring band with Tate is a line up of legends in their own right, with brothers Robert and Rudy Sarzo (guitar and bass respectively), guitarist /producer Kelly Gray, keyboardist Randy Gane and drummer Simon Wright. The talent and experience in that line up made for a spectacular show, and Queensrÿche played through the entire Operation cd, in order, with guest backing vocals from Nina Noir on “Suite Sister Mary”. Tate made a powerful force on stage, and vocally in the pocket for a solid set with some solos and antics thrown in. After taking a short hiatus the group returned for a long encore of Queensrÿche classics that included the monster hit “Silent Lucidity”, “I’m American”, “Best I Can”, “Jet City Woman”, a cover of Sabbath’s “Neon Knights” and ending the night with “Empire”.

The rivalry over Tate’s new Queensrÿche vs the Todd La Torre group with the other remaining founding members may be causing some riffs in the fan loyalties, but there is no mistaking Tate’s vocals as a pivotal driving force behind the sound of classic Queensrÿche and the hits from prior releases. Time will tell who sticks to the moniker and where the music from both versions will take us, but it looks like both bands have new music in the works.