Geoff Tate's "Operation: Mindcrime" (not Queensryche)

[bosk1]

Regarding backing tracks:

I remember when they never used them, and it was just Chris and Ed.

Eh...I'm pretty sure they used backing tracks as far back as the Building Empires tour at the very least.  I think they've used backing tracks to varying degrees for a LONG time now.

[EPICVIEW]

Good for Geoff.   He loves to perform,  what I did see I thought was pretty darn good and IMO gives the QR experience and emotion

[Mebert78]

Video footage of Geoff performing Rage and empire in their entireties: https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/watch-geoff-tate-perform-queensryches-entire-rage-for-order-and-empire-albums-in-norway/

[Samsara]

Regarding backing tracks:

I remember when they never used them, and it was just Chris and Ed.

Eh...I'm pretty sure they used backing tracks as far back as the Building Empires tour at the very least.  I think they've used backing tracks to varying degrees for a LONG time now.

Uh, yeah. I was talking historically, back in the 80s, when they replicated all that Rage stuff live.

[bosk1]

Oh, OK.  I thought you were just talking in general. 

[bosk1]

Video footage of Geoff performing Rage and empire in their entireties: https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/watch-geoff-tate-perform-queensryches-entire-rage-for-order-and-empire-albums-in-norway/

Listened to the Rage set.  General thoughts:  I had low expectations of Tate going in, just from experience and seeing him drastically decline through the years.  He sounded really shaky on Walk in the Shadows, but got better as he went on and sounded better than expected through most of the first part of the Rage set.  But from London on was actually worse than expected.  The backing band is okay.  I liked the more modern guitar tone for everything except the solos.  It is kind of similar to the problem when Stone joined Queensryche.  For the backing riffs and chords, his tone added a nice "updated" feeling.  But for leads, his tone was just too thin and shrill, and did not feel well-suited for the material.  Similar thing going on here.

I will check out the Empire set as well, but am sort of "pre-cringing" at the thought of the vocals. 

[Mebert78]

I listened to "Best I Can," which in my opinion was okay vocally, and I skipped ahead to the start of "Anybody Listening," which Geoff butchered badly.  That's at 58:00.  I'll check out a little more tonight though.

On an unrelated note, I thought Tate's band was called Operation Mindcrime or Geoff Tate's Operation Mindcrime.  Is he no longer using that?  Looks like the tour poster on Blabbermouth and the stage banners just say "Geoff Tate."  Maybe he just did that to avoid confusion since he's performing Rage and Empire, and not Mindcrime this time.

[Samsara]

Last Time in Paris sounded good. A good chunk of Rage sounded good too. I didn't listen to the Empire stuff other than a few seconds.

[cramx3]

Video footage of Geoff performing Rage and empire in their entireties: https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/watch-geoff-tate-perform-queensryches-entire-rage-for-order-and-empire-albums-in-norway/

Damn, not a big turn out.  Looked like more people went to the NJ show I saw last year.  Also, interested in seeing how many show up for QR next week when I see them, I think it will help having a legit opener though.

Also, I can't tell from the video since I so far havent seen a clear shot, but it does not look like Felix from Avantasia is on the drums for this tour.

[jjrock88]

Everything I listened to on the Rage part sounded pretty good to me.

[Stadler]

Last Time in Paris sounded good. A good chunk of Rage sounded good too. I didn't listen to the Empire stuff other than a few seconds.

Strong contender for my favorite QR song.  That alone is enough to get me to go. 

[EPICVIEW]

I finally watched some youtubes of Geoff and his OMC band doing the whole Rage and Empire sets and I thought it was really quite good, almost shockingly good!! for 61 or 62 Geoff is amazing and it was a very long show and set.  I was about to give up on Geoff but wow he sounded great and the show was very satisfying to an old QR fan like me. I actually really liked his band and the energy and the more metal sound at times, at times I was shocked how little I missed the old qr guys it really made me understand that Geoff is QR period  as of today

[bosk1]

For me, it was an interesting listening experience.  As I mentioned above, he was all over the place.  There were times when he was at or far below my VERY low expectations for him.  But there were also plenty where he pleasantly exceeded them and sounded like what I would only hope a Geoff Tate of his age would sound like.  I can't overlook the bad (takes me right back to how he pretty much single-handedly ruined some of the latter QR albums, including the unforgivably bad performance on American Soldier, which could otherwise have been one of my favorite albums from them).  But I can definitely give him props for the good, which was at times VERY good.

[EPICVIEW]

For me, it was an interesting listening experience.  As I mentioned above, he was all over the place.  There were times when he was at or far below my VERY low expectations for him.  But there were also plenty where he pleasantly exceeded them and sounded like what I would only hope a Geoff Tate of his age would sound like.  I can't overlook the bad (takes me right back to how he pretty much single-handedly ruined some of the latter QR albums, including the unforgivably bad performance on American Soldier, which could otherwise have been one of my favorite albums from them).  But I can definitely give him props for the good, which was at times VERY good.

I agree Boss.If I was to hold it to the old late 80s early 90s performances Id find lots of faults if I was the type to look for faults at a live show , but in 2020 this was truly amazing and Id tell all younger people if they want to experience the old Rage and Empire feel to go see this show, I found his band very good and I think Geoff has found backing singers that he connects with , he hasnt had that since Chris left. the audience it appeared loved the show

[Samsara]

I think the key thing is a person's ability and desire to evolve with the band, the members' ages, and their playing/singing ability. It took me a bit, but I've accepted that Tate simply will not sound like I remember back in his prime. The damage done to his voice is what it is. There's no going back. So if you can accept that and still get enjoyment out of what he CAN do, then you focus on that.

It's the same with Queensryche's evolution with the original lineup. Some people just liked the metal years of the 80s. And I get that. And after that, they checked out. Totally understandable. But as the band evolved, I evolved with it, and continued to appreciate it. Not everyone could. TAC, who is a great guy, and has great taste in tunes, generally checked out after Empire, because PL went down a path he didn't dig. And I get it.

So applying the same to what exists now with Tate, and separately, Queensryche, really helps. If you get some enjoyment out of something, embrace that, and don't dwell too long on what the performance ISN'T. Lord knows I have my nitpicks of both Tate and QR these days from a live perspective. Certain things not sounding good to me, etc. But those songs are, after all this time, just as much "ours" as fans as they are the band's. And if you love those songs, and have the ability and desire to overlook some limitations in how they are now performed, then you can find enjoyment in it. And if you can't, then obviously just don't buy a ticket. Took me waaaaayyyy too long to get to that in my mind, which is a shame.

I'm looking forward to Tate when he gets to my area in the fall. No, it won't be vintage 1991 Tate, and no it won't be 2005 Tate when he was upping his game when sharing the stage with Halford. But Tate will have his moments, and his band will improve, and it will be fun to see all of Rage and Empire performed live, along with Last Time in Paris (which I've never seen live by any incarnation of the band).

[bosk1]

Unless I'm misremembering, I saw Last Time in Paris when I saw them in Portland on the Take Cover tour.

[Lowdz]

I stuck around a little longer than Tim, I made it to Hear In The Now Frontier. I didn’t enjoy that one and I kept trying with subsequent releases but they just kept getting worse. Not even the return of Chris helped - and he was responsible for HITNF anyway.

I have my ticket for Tate’s show soon. I’ve enjoyed the last two times seeing him and the band are very good. I could do without Tate”s daughter’s boyfriend- he seems a bit of a clever shit.

I almost didn’t go to that first show because I blame him for the death of my once favourite band, and the videos I’d seen of him in recent years were shockingly bad, but I’m glad I did

[cramx3]

Is Tate's daughter's band still opening for this round of touring?

Got to say, I'm not a fan of that.  It's certainly nice of the father and seems reasonable from a father to support his daughter every way possible, but similar to Steve Harris having his kids open for him, it really sucks from a fan perspective.  Those bands didn't earn those opening slots and their music proves it.  One thing QR has over them, bringing a legit opener in John 5.  I bet there's more people for QR this weekend than there were for GT last summer at the same venue and having solid support is one reason.

[Grappler]

I'm looking forward to Tate when he gets to my area in the fall. No, it won't be vintage 1991 Tate, and no it won't be 2005 Tate when he was upping his game when sharing the stage with Halford. But Tate will have his moments, and his band will improve, and it will be fun to see all of Rage and Empire performed live, along with Last Time in Paris (which I've never seen live by any incarnation of the band).

Did you see the Mindcrime I theatrical tour in early 2005?  The first set was greatest hits and they played Last Time in Paris in that set.  I saw that tour twice.

[Lowdz]

Just watching the RFO set. Jeez, they are murdering the solos 😳.
They’ve lost a guitarist since I saw them in the summer, and a keyboard player too iirc.

[Samsara]

Did you see the Mindcrime I theatrical tour in early 2005?  The first set was greatest hits and they played Last Time in Paris in that set.  I saw that tour twice.

Yep, I did. According to setlist.fm then, I did in fact see the song performed. After almost 40 times seeing these guys, many of the performances blur together, except for the original band and a handful of gigs afterward.

[Samsara]

Tate played my hometown over the weekend and I had a bunch of friends at the show.

One of them, my buddy Adam, took this of "The Thin Line" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXCoWfXvOKU

It sounds pretty damn good. The band is improving, quickly. That sounded pretty tight. Tate has background vocals piped in, as you can clearly hear them. But Tate's lead singing is pretty good too. I really enjoyed that. And nice seeing the sax return. For those that don't know, the demo of "The Thin Line" featured Tate on sax. So its always cool to see him pull it out and play some of that.

Looks like the show is a solid two hours, and the venues over the weekend (both on Long Island and in New England) were completely sold out. Really cool to see. Looking forward to seeing this tour when dates are announced by me. I haven't seen Tate or Queensryche in multiple shows on the same tour for seven years. I may have to see Tate back-to-back if this is the quality we're getting.

[Mebert78]

Tate definitely sounded good at the Long Island show.  The band sounded tight too.  I was impressed.  They even added nice little touches to the performance, like the band collectively pausing after the instrumental section of "Surgical Strike" and Tate saying to the crowd "Can you believe that?!" before they continued with the rest of the song a moment later.  And there was good intersection between the band members on stage -- you could tell they were having fun.  Overall, it was very enjoyable.   Crowd was much bigger than I expected too.  Here's my video of the end of "Anybody Listening?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik3ADCL7OVc

[Samsara]

Tate definitely sounded good at the Long Island show.  The band sounded tight too.  I was impressed.  They even added nice little touches to the performance, like the band collectively pausing after the instrumental section of "Surgical Strike" and Tate saying to the crowd "Can you believe that?!" before they continued with the rest of the song a moment later.  And there was good intersection between the band members on stage -- you could tell they were having fun.  Overall, it was very enjoyable.   Crowd was much bigger than I expected too.  Here's my video of the end of "Anybody Listening?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik3ADCL7OVc

Mike,

That sounded pretty damn good! 

[?]

I listened to "Best I Can," which in my opinion was okay vocally, and I skipped ahead to the start of "Anybody Listening," which Geoff butchered badly.  That's at 58:00.  I'll check out a little more tonight though.

On an unrelated note, I thought Tate's band was called Operation Mindcrime or Geoff Tate's Operation Mindcrime.  Is he no longer using that?  Looks like the tour poster on Blabbermouth and the stage banners just say "Geoff Tate."  Maybe he just did that to avoid confusion since he's performing Rage and Empire, and not Mindcrime this time.

Yeah, the show over here was simply billed as Geoff Tate. I think either O:MC was buried after the trilogy was done or he didn't want to use the name for these RFO/Empire dates to create confusion as to what he was going to play.

[Samsara]

Help me out folks. Geoff Tate's opening note. At first I wanted to say "NO, that's not live." then the end, and the subsequent choruses, I thought it was absolutely live.

I checked out this from May 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyGQyM3Q7QU

And this from May 9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ug6bNJs-I

>>>>>He's bending over every time...which he used to do back in the early 83 EP years. But nowadays...I mean, is that opening note really live, or is there some technology that allows him to trigger something?

I want to believe he sounds like this now, but...if it really is real, damn. Not bad, Geoff. Not bad.

[DoctorAction]

I think they're different each time, so yeah! Impressive.

I'd be amazed if he was trying to get away with, what? Mining to a tape in a club setting? Just can't see that either working or being something he'd do.

[wolfking]

Help me out folks. Geoff Tate's opening note. At first I wanted to say "NO, that's not live." then the end, and the subsequent choruses, I thought it was absolutely live.

I checked out this from May 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyGQyM3Q7QU

And this from May 9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ug6bNJs-I

>>>>>He's bending over every time...which he used to do back in the early 83 EP years. But nowadays...I mean, is that opening note really live, or is there some technology that allows him to trigger something?

I want to believe he sounds like this now, but...if it really is real, damn. Not bad, Geoff. Not bad.

First one seems live, second one does not if you ask me. 

[The Realm]

I saw Geoff perform live earlier this year. The gig was amazing, I loved it. He sang great and was extremely humble (for Geoff). Queen of the Reich was the last song, played as the second song encore after Eyes of a Stranger. It appeared to have been played impromptu because the crowd were going crazy. ie It wasn't played at other gigs at the time. I genuinely believed he was singing the whole time and he really did do a great job.
 

[T-ski]

If it’s truly live, good for him.

Geoff’s singing is much more impressive than the hacks playing behind him. Good grief, the band is bad.

[abydos]

I think both seem live. He sings the rest of the song in a consistent with that note sound, IMO. Although that bend is really awkward, shouldn't that make it harder to hit high notes like that? Regardless, the rest of the song sounds much better than last time I was checking him out with that whole cabaret shit and Ryche (around the time of Rising West).

[cramx3]

Help me out folks. Geoff Tate's opening note. At first I wanted to say "NO, that's not live." then the end, and the subsequent choruses, I thought it was absolutely live.

I checked out this from May 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyGQyM3Q7QU

And this from May 9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ug6bNJs-I

>>>>>He's bending over every time...which he used to do back in the early 83 EP years. But nowadays...I mean, is that opening note really live, or is there some technology that allows him to trigger something?

I want to believe he sounds like this now, but...if it really is real, damn. Not bad, Geoff. Not bad.

First one seems live, second one does not if you ask me.

Second one sounds a bit more fake but I think thats just the audio from the phone being poor.  Seems live to me both times.

I'm pretty sure one could trigger this to fake it, but I'm not sure there's a point to doing that at all if he's going to sing everything else live.  The bend doesn't seem to be an issue to me because he's still facing the crowd.  If he turned around it might make it a bit more questionable.

You know what sucks though?  I hate how that it's so common for live bands to "fake it" with backing tracks and other tricks that it makes you question who really is live.  Every single concert I go to I'm constantly trying to figure out if there's backing tracks and what not these days.

[jjrock88]

Both sound completely live to me and Geoff is sounding really good.

[Samsara]

I'm glad the consensus is that it is live. Wow. Good stuff.

As for Geoff bending over, that's actually how he did that note in early '83 on their first tour with Quiet Riot.

[jjrock88]

I saw the Motley Crue highlights from the stadium tour which clearly had backing tapes.  I'm not sure of the venues that Geoff is playing, but if they recommended backing tapes for him, that would be a major eye roller.  If the scream sounded good and Geoff sounded poor after that I might think that was possibly true, but Geoff really sounds good on all of the clips Ive watched.