Todd is awful live IMO, hes a butcher, he has zero stage presence and comes off as an amateur, the whole band is off now with no Scott even , they dont practice much and they play a limited set of "songs they all feel comfy with" its all screens and gimmicks now to cover for the horrid sound, I think the whole band honestly is terrible and is certainly NOT the quality of the "real QR" ( whatever real QR is ? LOL ) . I agree with you at the latter stage of Geoff and QR career its not really that important and all opinion as its kinda over for each.
when I go to a show I kinda want to have mystery ...will it be good? will there be drama? what will the songs sound like? I dont want a stale set of ""cover music" and honestly NU Ryche is horrible to my ears, I dislike VERY MUCH Todd's voice and each song is terrible live, the growling, the chanting, the horrible stage show, the whole sound is off . I much rather go see if Geoff is going to have a good night? and Ive always enjoyed him with or without QR, its not like his vocals are as bad as Coverdales ? LOL
thanks for the post and discussion, sorry if I ramble
I think this is unfair. I haven't been a supporter of QR's current singer for a few years now, and I've never been fond of how he sings the stuff from Empire and Promised Land (his voice is too thin and lacks the same type of character that made those songs powerful to my ear). But to call him "awful live," a "butcher," and an "amateur" is ridiculous, and a bit much.
I've seen him (La Torre) front QR eight times, including the first two Seattle shows as "Rising West" in 2012. I've been literally standing next to him in the dressing room, where he effortlessly, without warming up, goofing around, sang some of the highest notes in the QR catalog. The bottom line is, the man can flat out sing, and sing well. He's just more different than Tate than most people (including me) at the outset realized. Tate commanded the audience with his really powerful voice, and this intense stage presence he once had. Back in the 80s and 90s, you were captivated by him. La Torre isn't that kind of singer/frontman. La Torre prefers to run around, swing his hair around, scream, growl, and hit high notes like a European metal singer, etc. He doesn't have that same kind of commanding presence Tate had back in the day. La Torre's a metal guy, Tate is a cerebral, progressive rock guy who once had an operatic voice. Very different headspaces, and it shows in their performances (classic Tate vs. current La Torre).
It's a whole different vibe, and their voices and approaches to singing may sound similar at times, but are clearly different. La Torre's head voice is nowhere near as powerful as Tate's was back in the day. Sure, La Torre can hit a note, but while it is high, it doesn't have the same powerful resonance that Tate did doing the same note back in the 80s. Overall, Tate just has a more powerful voice. La Torre can't help that. His voice is how it is. He's not a clone. He can't be. He does the best he can to be himself as a singer and frontman, but still stay a bit loyal to what people remember. It's not an easy job following a legend whose voice, when in its prime, was compared to all time tenor vocalists.
Look, I'm not really a fan of La Torre any longer at all, so for people who know me, the above might seem strange coming from me, but IMO, insulting La Torre the way you have seems like less of an opinion, and more like mud-slinging. That's not for me to decide, that's bosk's job. But as an observation, if you want people to take you seriously, you may want to consider being a little more thoughtful in expressing your opinion.
>>>>>>>>>>>Going back to the upcoming Empire 30th tour, I'm interested to see who comprises Tate's band. I really hope he changes things up, and has enough $$$ coming in from promoters that he can bring in a couple of different people. His band now is OK, but I'd really like to see him pull in some guys from QR's past. This may sound funny, but I'd actually really dig Tate asking Kelly Gray and Mike Stone to play guitar instead of the current guys (although that Irish dude he has stage left is really good). I also think Bruno Sa, who toured with Tate last year, should absolutely do the keyboards. He can also sing (as can Stone and Gray) and that would really help with the vocals.
The drummer situation just sucks. Honestly, I wish whatever ails Scott (Tate has alluded to him being in a "dark place," which often is synonymous with dependency issues) could be overcome. I think Tate, Rockenfield, Gray, Stone, Sa, and a good bass player could make this a really special tour. Then again, you have to have the $$$ to pay these guys and make it worth it for them. And since I don't know what kind of guarantees Tate is getting from promoters, my guess is, a lineup like that is probably not going to be a reality.
It will, however, be nice to hear some other songs again, like One and Only, Hand on Heart, Anybody Listening, Resistance, Chemical Youth, Surgical Strike, etc. I'm a little scared to hear "Neue Regel" and "Screaming in Digital" performed though, and "Anybody Listening." Those are three of my personal favorites and I just hope they can be delivered well live.
*edited to fix a sentence*
Topic: Geoff Tate's "Operation: Mindcrime" (not Queensryche) (Read 149510 times)
