Queensryche in Mexico Por:Andrzej Rattinger ( [email protected])

One average day in 1990 the radio played a song that I'd never heard before. The DJ failed to mention the name of the artist or the title of the tune. Nevertheless, I was hooked.

Ten years later I saw Queensryche live for the first time in my life and I was obviously expecting to listen to that particular song, Silent Lucidity.

Queensryche considered Mexico in their plans once (I remember the dates exactly: Januray 4 and 5, 1991). But it never happened. Rumor has it Chris and Geoff came down to check things out, didn't like the acoustics of the place they were gonna play in, and the show was called off.

So ten years later, the paper runs an ad for "Headbanger's Fest 2001", with Iron Maiden. Underneath the British band's name were two words in much smaller print:

Queensryche

Halford

Extreme excitement. Frightful festiveness. Much madness. Literal lunacy.

The effects an event like this can have over a Queensryche fan (a patient, worthy, loyal fan -even after Q2K) are various. First things first, I got tickets, only to discover that due to the "possibly unhealthy environment" such a massive concert could generate, there were no seats. So buying tickets the first day only proved to be a mistake: prices were lowered the last week before the show.

Then, I needed someone to go with.

(A brief parenthesis must go here. In Mexico, metal and rock are generally associated with the lower economic classes, street gangs and thugs... and in many cases, it just happens to be true, more so than in any other part of the world. Personally, this does not bother me, but it bothers the "metalheads", who see a white guy in their world and basically hate my guts. These are people who have it tough in a third world country, so money is tight. They work hard to get their tickets and work hard to get their CD or cassettes and it's a gievn they don't have a computer at home or at work to log onto the Internet. So they're pretty misinformed about music except what they find out on the street. Therefore, getting someone to go with is not an easy task).

After a long time I found someone who did not even know who Halford was, let alone Queensryche. In fact he had hardly ever heard any Maiden. But he was interested in the experience.

So we're off.

The concert was not as full as I'd expected, but then again, we were all standing, so I can't see if there are gaps to fill. So it looked pretty tight. And at 7 PM sharp, Halford stepped onstage as a slight drizzle fell upon the audience.

Like I said, many people aren't informed, so lots were unaware Halford was going solo. In fact, many stood still for half his set. Until he played some Judas Priest it was like the place was half asleep.

Halford put in a good show. He did half his new CD and a few Priest songs. I'm not too familiar with Priest, Fight or Two, but I do enjoy the new CD, so I enjoyed the show. But to me, it was just an extra hour of waiting for Queensryche.

And then something odd happened. As soon as Halford left the stage the crowd shifted. I moved up front as much as possible, but pretty soon I was another sardine in a can, packed tightly, sweating as the rain strengthened. And I heard people asking: "Who are these guys?"

"Dunno. Think they were famous in the 80's."

"Didn't they play that song that was called something or another?"

"They had a ballad, I think."

"Did they come with Def Leppard?"

"No, no, no. I think it was with L.A. Guns and Slaughter."

As disbelief crept inside me, I prayed and begged the Lord Almighty for the guys to give me Silent Lucidity.

And then Scott took his place. I went wild. I was outta my mind. Then Michael came out. Then Kelly. Then Eddie. And Revolution Calling began, and Geoff, with his black hair growing again, and I was in heaven. I swear, and I'm man enough to admit it, that after ten years of waiting, I cried tears of joy.

The band looked tight. Geoff, Kelly and Eddie wore black coats and slacks. Michael was in a black shiny leather vest and Scott was bare (I think - he was too much in the dark).

(Another brief parenthesis: in Mexico, cameras are not allowed into concerts. Do not ask me why. It's one of those things that can only be blamed on the government, censorship or El Niño. I, however, sneaked one in).

The crowd seemed to enjoy Revolution. They banged their heads. They jumped. They sang. Fortunately, many people did know who the 'Ryche was.

Then the fivesome went into Empire, and there was more shouting. By this point, I'm pretty sure I'd lost my voice. I couldn't hear myself. Yet I still screamed. The performance was fabulous. The audience knew this one, so they chanted and danced and had a good time.

And then Queensryche made a mistake; a terrible, avoidable mistake.

They played something off Q2K.

Once again, misinformed people were not even aware the 'Ryche had a new CD out. And if a live version of Falling Down is any indication, these cold, wet Maiden fans would not enjoy said CD.

As a Ryche fan, I confess I don't love Q2K. And Falling Down is middle ground in the CD, not one of the good ones, not one of the bad ones.

But these people hated whatever it was that came out of the speakers. Instead of the metal sign, they showed the finger. Few people were jumping. Even less were singing. I increased my screams to show support for my band, and people stared at me. Clearly, they weren't enjoying this.

And I was pissed. People were being rude. Hell, they were being downright nasty. Queensryche was booed, insulted and attacked. I was so enraged I would've knocked one of those morons down if it weren't because I knew I'd get killed. And I mean that.

The tense moment did not stop there. Speak began and it helped a little, but not much. I'm telling you, Queensryche was playing incredibly and it had the most unappreciative and undermining crowd I'd ever seen.

I still sang, I still danced, I still jumped, but the audience sucked.

Damaged was next, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I, however, was in awe. The five guys did their best on this song in particular and it was well worth the wait. Geoff even threw himself on the ground and seemed to have fits singing this one. Scott blew me away, Micheal and Kelly hammered away and Eddie was so cool about everything it was as if he was totally unaware of the jackasses below. For me, it was the highlight of the show.

The sixth tune was The Lady Wore Black and some people seemed more appreciative. But it's not a shredder, so these inarticulate dolts were confused as to who Queensryche was trying to satisfy. I, for one, was grateful.

Then came Walk in the Shadows. Many people knew it, but still the Maiden fans were being run-of-the-mill idiots, and the 'Ryche was literally being thrown things at. At this point, a plastic beer glass almost hit Geoff in the head. If it wasn't because he was so into the song he would have noticed.

And perhaps he did. During the solo and in between songs he would walk backstage. Although it wasn't noticeable, I'm pretty sure he was upset. I can only guess he was talking to someone backstage about what they should do. Still, they played on.

At this point Geoff chose to speak to the audience (he had spoken here and there). It went something like this:

"I guess you're all here for the same reason, eh?"

The audience, evidently thinking he was talking about Iron Maiden, bellowed in affirmation.

"You're all here because you wanna listen to some metal, right?"

Actually, I was not there to listen to a genre. I was there to listen to music, but the crowd, illiterate jackasses they proved to be, hollered in approval. Geoff started rambling about how metal was important in his life and in Queensryche's life. He was also thankful for the opportunity to play on the same stage with two of the best singers ever: Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson. He talked about the tour in North America and how important metal was in the music scene and how it had influenced Queensryche along their career.

Then he said: "We're gonna show you how metal began for Queensryche."

And when the first few chords of Queen of the Reich came out of Michael's guitar, someone behind me muttered: "Finally, some metal."

Queen of the Reich was to be the best moment of the show for the people under the rain. But still, the damage was done, and the work Queensryche did to keep the thin thread of attention they held from a bunch of wet halfwits only lasted a few minutes longer. Because as powerful as Queen of the Reich was, Take Hold of the Flame lost the audience again, and this time for good.

It was a high point for me, and I thought that perhaps Queensryche would win the audience over, because they played Take Hold of the Flame almost as intensely as they did with Damaged and The Lady Wore Black. But I was obviously wrong.

Something funny happened then. The introductory voice to The Needle Lies took over the stage, and I was sure that that was what was coming next. But as soon as the laugh was over, the screams and hollers of Eye of the Stranger came blearing out, and Scott, Michael, Eddie and Kelly caught on. They were skipping The Needle Lies. And I knew it then. I just knew it, but I couldn't believe it.

I knew Queensryche had had enough of these buttholes.

They played Eyes of a Stranger with no heart, hardly any energy and I could tell they were tired and quite irritated.

Queensryche said thank you, took a bow and stepped offstage. The lights went up, the crew came in and took Scott's kit away. It was over.

No encore, no Operation: Mindcrime, no I Don't Believe in Love, no Bridge, no Jet City Woman and most definitely, no Silent Lucidity.

And f-ck me, I was pissed. To tell the truth, I still am.

Iron Maiden came out and the people squashed into the stage. They jumped, they yelled, and quite frankly, the band was putting on a great show. But to me, it was over.

After about a dozen songs, I decided I really didn't want to be there anymore. Sure, I missed the giant Eddie the papers were raving about. And I also missed quite a few Iron Maiden tunes. But the truth was I was in a weird state.

On one hand, I had seen Queensryche live. Finally, my favorite band had come to my land and given me the experience of a lifetime. I saw them play some of my favorite songs (I insist, Damaged was awesome). I felt the bass beat inside me, the drum throb in my head. My throat was sore of screaming, I was wet, cold and coming down with a nasty cold. But nothing could keep me from being satisfied.

On the other hand, Queensryche will probably never play here again, and I don't blame them. I mean, for all the excitement and anticipation, all the effort and all the passion they gave to the show, it was probably not a satisfying experience.

The guy who went with me asked to borrow some Queensryche CDs. And after getting my first fix, I know damn well that I just cannot miss the next tour. So all in all, it was for the better.

So what if Halford played an hour to a crowd of imbeciles? So what if Iron Maiden rocked over two hours for a bunch of dimwits? Out of the nine thousand people that were there, at least one enjoyed the forty-five minutes worth of Queensryche.

And I'm sure to do it again. I mean, I gotta hear Silent Lucidity, don't I?

Geoff was charismatic, articulate and very patient with the immaturity of the audience, and he sang his throat off. Michael, who played every solo on every song, was very laid back. He was not trying to show off. Instead, he was focusing on playing and he burnt that guitar down. Scott was... wow. I really can't begin to explain. Scott is one of the best drummer I've ever seen, and he proved it immensely. Eddie was so cool about everything he hopped around and just had a good time. And I tell you, that bass was the biggest-sounding instrument of the whole show. And Kelly, who is no secret to be on the wrong side of many people's affections, had a good time and generally gave a good show. He was the most laid back of them all, and despite rumors he changed lots of Chris's chords, it didn't sound like it to me. I actually liked him.

So that was it for Queensryche in Mexico. For the first and probably last Time. But hey, I got my fix, I got my dream. And I can die a happy man.