For the last 2 and half years and playing to 66 countries, the Geoff Tate tour is currently winding down (this is the last show of the current leg). He is currently performing the landmark album ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ in its entirety. The show is billed as “Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter.” This will be the last time you will see the album performed in its entirety. The show has been sold out for months. Arriving at the West Herr Rivera Théâtre, you can feel the sense of anticipation filling the air as people walked into the venue. Tate handpicked his band from all over the world. His 6-piece band hailed from France, Italy, Australia, Ireland and the USA.
The band took to the stage at 8:30pm sharp. The Geoff Tate band played the entire ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ album in sequential order. There was very little said in between songs as Tate and his band let the music do the talking. The background musicians were superb. Guitarist James Brown gave off Chris DeGarmo vibes with his playing and his look. Clodagh McCarthy who played keyboards and sang background vocals, played and sang (with Tate) on “Suite Sister Mary.” “Electric Requiem” closed with a thunderous end and “Breaking the Silence” had everyone jumping in unison to finish the song out. For “The Chase,” Brown handled the co-lead vocals. What should be really highlighted throughout the set was Tate’s voice. He still has range and power and delivered with high intensity throughout the set. They closed the Operation Mindcrime set with my favorite Queensryche song in “Eyes of a Stranger.” The rest of the set were a mix of various tracks including some of Tate’s former band (Queensryche) biggest hits (Jet City Woman and Silent Lucidity). The band returned for an encore and they went back to the beginning of the Queensryche catalog for both “Take Hold the Flame” and “Queen of the Reich.”
Overall, it was a great set of true musicianship by all the players on stage. It truly felt that almost you were actually listening to the the actual albums it was that good sonically. Kudos must be given to Geoff Tate for putting together a heck of band and a heck of show!
Setlist:
Anarchy-X (Queensryche song)
Revolution Calling (Queensryche song)
Operation: Mindcrime (Queensryche song)
Speak (Queensryche song)
Spreading the Disease (Queensryche song)
The mission (Queensryche song)
Suite Sister Mary (Queensryche song)
The Needle Lies (Queensryche song)
Electric Requiem (Queensryche song)
Breaking the Silence (Queensryche song)
I Don’t Believe in Love (Queensryche song)
Waiting for 22 (Queensryche song)
My Empty Room (Queensryche song)
Eyes of a Stranger (Queensryche song)
I’m American (Queensryche song)
The Chase (Queensryche song)
If I Could Change It All (Queensryche song)
Empire (Queensryche song)
Jet City Woman (Queensryche song)
Silent Lucidity (Queensryche song)
Encore:
Take Hold the Flame (Queensryche song)
Queen of the Reich (Queensryche song)
We would like to thank David Fillenwarth from the Riviera Theatre and Boyd H. Crews from Geoff Tate Management for the credentials to review the show.
