Did we just open a time capsule?
Last week, the Rolling Stones dropped a new album. Next week, the Beatles will release their final single. This weekend, Queen, the biggest British rock band to emerge in the 1970s, is playing two nights to capacity crowds at Xcel Energy Center.
Hail Brittania! Long live Queen! Oops, it’s King Charles III now.
I do know that it took a younger American vocalist, “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert, to save Queen. And it took a pair of films — 1992’s “Wayne’s World” and 2018’s biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” — to ensure that Queen has an enduring afterlife following the 1991 death of revered lead singer Freddie Mercury.
With Lambert as frontman for a decade now and counting, Queen + Adam Lambert, as they are billed, put on a predictably bombastic, mostly fantastic and delightfully nostalgic show Friday night at Xcel Energy Center.
The curved video screens over and behind the stage, the flickering laser lights and other special effects were a feast for the eyes. So were Lambert’s gloriously garish outfits — from a silver breast plate with cape all the way to his pure white with gold bejeweled toreador jacket, each more sparkly than the last and all with Elton John-worthy platform boots.
While there was an abundance of flash and glam, the real spectacle of Queen’s 130-minute concert was the multi-layered, meticulously orchestrated music, arguably the most ornate, theatrical and rangy in rock. Prog, metal, pop, rock, balladry, opera, choral singing, all mixed together into a blend that has arguably improved over time for the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, who were more loved in Europe than in the States — that is until “Wayne’s World” established Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as a smash sing-along 17 years after its initial release.
To be sure, Mercury, who died of AIDS at age 45, is missed. There is no replacement. Lambert, 41, brings a credible voice, worthy panache and, most importantly, the right attitude. On Friday, he was respectful to the legacy, deferential to the two Queen original members, and humble to a fault. He regularly ceded the spotlight to guitarist Brian May, clearly the favorite of the 14,000 fans and, despite Lambert’s shimmering wardrobe, he didn’t really demand the attention with his moves, as he does with his own shows.
On Friday, Lambert seemed more comfortable on the rockers than he did in St. Paul in 2019, the first year of Q + AL’s current Rhapsody Tour. Of course, he owned the big ballads with his freakishly rangy voice and his Mercury-rising high notes. He showed out a few times, notably on the Broadway-like showstopper “Don’t Stop Me Now” and camping it up on a gleaming motorcycle for “Bicycle Race.”
However, this show belonged to Sir Brian May, 76, who earned a PhD in astrophysics during Queen’s downtime in 2007. (Formed in 1970, Queen broke up after Mercury’s death and then May and founding drummer Roger Taylor, now 74, teamed with Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers in the ’00s for tours before hooking up with Lambert.)
A versatile player, May often took to the runway for guitar passages. While he obviously relishes his power chords and speedy runs, he sometimes seemed more repetitive than expressive. His 11-minute electric guitar journey late in the concert felt more performative than emotional. However, his solo acoustic reading of “Love of My Life,” dedicated to people we’ve lost, felt poignant, especially with a video of Mercury appearing at the end.
Unlike the Stones and Beatles, Queen had no new tunes to add to their substantial catalog. While unspooling a generous 27 selections, the group performed all the expected gems as well as a few deep tracks including 1984’s “Is This the World We Created” (a first for Lambert during his five Queen tours). Originally about world hunger, the song has perhaps transformed into a commentary about climate change, as paper leaves rained onto the crowd.
Q + AL reimagined a few tunes such as “Tie Your Mother Down,” which started with a twangy stomp instead of the usual mock metal groove before turning into one of the night’s highlights, thanks to a fired-up Lambert.
The emotional high point was the pre-encore finale “Bohemian Rhapsody,” complete with audio and visual clips from its original video. Then Queen finished the night in an American hockey arena with the sing-along jock jams “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” sandwiched around “Radio Ga Ga” (yes, the song that inspired Stephani Germanotta’s stage name).
At show’s end, Queen’s guests musicians — keyboardist Spike Edney, bassist Neil Fairclough and percussionist Tyler Warren — took a curtain call together. Then Lambert took a separate bow, followed by May and Taylor sharing the final acknowledgment. As it should be.