Queensryche ~ July 31, 2009 ~ Lockport, N.Y.

Words and Photos by Joe Koch

Lately it seems like I’m seeing a lot of bands that I haven’t seen in 20 years — Judas Priest, Whitesnake, Def Leppard and now Queensryche. All of these bands reached their peak of popularity in the late 1980s. So now when I mention that I’m going to see Queensryche, the most common response is “Oh my god, they’re still around?”

Yes! Many ‘80s bands put out new music, trapped with their rock-anthem clichés. Queensryche’s longevity, however, is due to their songs, which always challenge listeners to think a little deeper.

Last spring, they released American Soldier, an album that was inspired by vocalist Geoff Tate’s father, who finally opened up and talked about his time in the Korean and Vietnam wars. That led Geoff to interview soldiers from all wars and use these stories as the concept for the album.

On July 31, the American Soldier tour landed in Lockport, N.Y.; a free outdoor concert sponsored by Molson. The band’s set was to include songs from three albums — their 1986 release Rage for Order, the 1990’s Empire and American Soldier. They opened the night with five songs from Rage for Order — “Neue Regal,” “The Whisper,” “Screaming in Digital,” “The Killing Words” and “Walk in the Shadows.” They were perfect selections from this album, minus my favorite, “Gonna Get Close to You.”

This primed the crowd for the American Soldier album to come to life as the cover was projected onto the big screen behind the stage. A real American soldier — AJ Fratto appeared on stage, marched to the front and saluted the crowd and then screamed “On your feet!” during the intro to the opening track “Sliver.” Geoff and AJ jumped around the stage like a rap act as they sang “Welcome to the show, I’m gonna tell ya what’s up.” The highlight of this set was the last song, “Home Again. ”It was inspired by a soldier who wrote a letter to his daughter whom he misses very much, and her writing a letter back to him. This track on the album features Geoff’s 12-year-old daughter, Emily, singing. She’s also on tour with the band, singing her part live. The song ended with Geoff twirling Emily across the stage as if they were doing the father/daughter dance at her wedding.

The mood quickly changed as they segued right into the keyboard intro to “Best I Can” from Empire. This ignited the crowd like it was 1990 all over again. When Geoff introduced their radio hit “Silent Lucidity,” he started by telling about a recent interviewer’s question: “Do you ever get bored of playing the same songs over and over?” He responded “Fuck no!” explaining that every night it’s a different crowd and it always brings a different performance. They ended the set with “Jet City Woman” and the title track, “Empire.” I didn’t realize how much I liked these songs until I heard them live 19 years later.

They left the stage to quickly return with the encore of “Take Hold of the Flame.” It’s a song of inspiration and a reminder to never give up on the dream.

“We’ve been a band for 28 years and when we started doing our music the critics told us it will never last. So thanks to the people who believed in us and our music,” said Geoff.

For more info go to: www.queensryche.com