Geoff Tate at the Arcada Theatre (11/11/2021)

I’ve sure been getting my fair share of post-pandemic Queensrÿche. After seeing them in Milwaukee this past September, and St. Charles last month, last night found me returning to the Arcada Theatre, this time for an evening with the band’s original singer and conceptual mastermind, Geoff Tate. As most (if not all) of you know, it’s been close to a decade since Tate and his former band parted ways in a split that was anything but amicable. What ensued was an ugly, lengthy legal battle, which resulted in his former bandmates winning the Queensrÿche name and Tate winning exclusive rights to perform their magnum opus, Operation: Mindcrime. And that’s exactly what Tate did, for years. I caught one of the “last” Mindcrime shows for the foreseeable future a couple years ago and was floored. However, after performing this album thousands of times over, Tate knew it was time to give it a rest. Besides, Queensrÿche had other masterpiece albums to focus on, like Rage for Order and Empire, both of which were performed in full last night.

For a Queensrÿche diehard such as myself, this show was like being in heaven. Many of these songs hadn’t been performed live in decades. Some had never been performed live at all! The one thought that lingered in my head leading up to this show is how Tate was going to handle it. Aside from the sheer length of it (Rage for Order is 45 minutes, Empire is a little over an hour), this material is no walk in the park to sing, especially Rage for Order. Now can Tate hit every last scream exactly like he did in 1986? No, but expecting such from a guy who’s been doing this for 40 years is unreasonable. That said, I’m thoroughly impressed by the way he’s adjusted his voice with age. Instead of pushing it to the absolute limits and reaching out of his vocal range, Tate stays in his lane, which these days is traditionally a key lower than the original recording. His power and emotion remains intact as ever, and there’s no denying from the moment he opens his mouth, that’s Geoff Tate singing.

The evening began with Rage for Order. Tate essentially reaffirmed what I’ve said many times about this album: The world wasn’t ready for it in 1986 and they’re still not ready for it now. Ready or not, Tate and his band blazed through the album effortlessly. Personal highlights included “London”, “Surgical Strike”, and the breathtaking “Neue Regel”. I didn’t even try to singalong with this nearly impossible to sing suite. I just stood in awe taking in all the sounds: The pulsating drums, the bizarre synthesizers, the aggressive guitars, and Tate’s voice building up from a whisper (“Reach for a new horizon…”) to a scream (“NEUE REGEL IS HEEEERRREEEEEE!!!”).

After Rage for Order, Tate and company took a much needed intermission before returning to the stage to the opening synths of “Best I Can”. By the way the crowd screamed in unison, you would’ve thought they were all transported back to the Rosemont Horizon (now known as the Allstate Arena) circa 1991 when Queensrÿche initially toured behind the album. Although it was one of my favorites in junior high, I hadn’t listened to Empire in quite some time and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to rediscover it. Compared to their past output, Empire is much more polished and streamlined. It’s essentially Queensrÿche attempting a pop metal album, and succeeding beyond their wildest dreams. I don’t care how “trve” or “kvlt” you are. There’s no denying the hooks and melodies on “Jet City Woman”, “Another Rainy Night (Without You)”, and “Hand on Heart”, just to name a few. Even though the Arcada holds roughly 900, Tate and his band made the arena intended Empire sound as big and anthemic as ever.

Rounding it all out was an encore that consisted of “Last Time in Paris” (a B side from the Empire era), a nod to the band’s early power metal days with “Take Hold of the Flame”, and of course, “Eyes of a Stranger”. Tate knew as well as anyone that there was no way he could leave the building without performing at least one Mindcrime song. 25 songs and two and a half hours later, a smile graced the face of every raging Rÿcher in attendance. I sure hope Tate tours this show as long as he did Mindcrime. I’ll be sure to attend every area performance.

Setlist

Rage for Order

• “Walk in the Shadows”
• “I Dream in Infrared”
• “The Whisper”
• “Gonna Get Close to You” (Dabello cover)
• “The Killing Words”
• “Surgical Strike”
• “Neue Regel”
• “Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)”
• “London”
• “Screaming in Digital”
• “I Will Remember”

Intermission

Empire

• “Best I Can”
• “The Thin Line”
• “Jet City Woman”
• “Della Brown”
• “Another Rainy Night (Without You)”
• “Empire”
• “Resistance”
• “Silent Lucidity”
• “Hand on Heart”
• “One and Only?”
• “Anybody Listening”

Encore

• “Last Time in Paris”
• “Take Hold of the Flame”
• “Eyes of a Stranger”