Live review: Geoff Tate – Rockland, Sala 15/2-20

7/10

First of all I must admit that the songs are great…..on both albums. That’s what we get, two albums in it’s entirety performed on a small stage at the superb place Rockland in Sala. On stage we meet a quite happy Geoff Tate who first of all take us on a journey through the album “Rage For Order” and after a break which is about fifteen minutes, the 30 year old album “Empire” bursts out of the speakers. The evening is set for ten out of ten but somewhere on the way it appears that the highest rate is far, far away this evening in Sala.

Geoff Tate himself is extremely happy the entire evening but in the first set of songs from “Rage For Order” the sound isn’t always that great but when I get the chance to see songs like “Walk In The Shadows”, “Surgical Strike” and “I Will Remember” live it doesn’t matter, it’s just amazing songs from an amazing album. During the break me and my friend Mattias take a few steps back in the crowd and when the band get back on that stage with the absolutely brilliant “Best I Can” the sound is much better. When I stood there it comes to my mind that “Empire” also is a damn good album and the crowd woke up when “”Jet City Woman”, “Empire” and “Silent Lucidity” were performed on that stage.

And why is he only giving the performance seven out of ten after all those nice words? Well maybe I’m old but the band that back up Geoff isn’t that much to write home about. Good musicians of course but so extremely boring that an evening with my mother and her friends would be an great experience (sorry mom). Scott Moughton is good though and he really fits on that stage when he plays that guitar but the rest, oh my god. The other guitar player James Brown looks like a shy ten year old boy who never will leave the safe place home with his mother. Every time he take a step on that stage I believe that he would apologize to us in the audience. The bass player Jack Ross is looking so extremely bored that I think to myself that he would rather be somewhere else at that time, the expression on his face is like he’s just taking a shit and ate it afterwards. Sorry guys but you can definitely do better than that.

Last but not least, “Best I Can” is one of the best songs Queensryche ever made and Rockland is a great venue for live music.

Who: Geoff Tate
Where: Rockland, Sala
When: 15/2-20
Rate: 7/10
Stand out song: Best I Can