Queensryche's passion rocks the Moore Theatre

Thursday, October 7, 2004

By BILL WHITE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

In 1988, "operation: mindcrime" was a wake-up call to a narcoleptic society on the edge of a totalitarian abyss. Queensryche's concept album had its first live performance since the early 1990s Tuesday night at the Moore Theatre.

MUSIC REVIEW

QUEENSRYCHE

WHERE: Moore Theatre

WHEN: Tuesday night

It would be a stretch to call it a fully staged production, but Geoff Tate and his band were fully committed. More an oratorio than a rock opera, the narrative had elements of "The Wall" and "Quadrophenia," as well as thematic borrowings from the films "The Parallax View" and "The Manchurian Candidate."

The band, including founding members Michael Wilson (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), and Scott Rockenfeld (guitar), was augmented by Mike Stone (guitar) and Igor Delassandra (keyboards), who also conducted a small string section on selected tunes. Local singer Pamela Moore sang the part of Sister Mary, and actor Christian Sorenson played Nikki, the heroin-addled angel of death controlled by subliminal telephone messages.

Sorenson's contribution was superfluous, as Tate proved fully capable of playing the part himself. One of rock's great frontmen, Tate knows his way around a stage as well as any actor, and is acutely aware of how he comes across to the audience. At one point, Sorenson crossed the stage with a bouquet of flowers, looking like a stand-in for Adam Sandler, while Tate spread himself across a chair, completely wiped out, looking like the real Nikki.

Production values were little more than the common effects of arena rock shows: smoke and thunder, film clips and video feeds. Band members looked great in black leather, and the dual guitar solos were both mesmerizing and precise. It was Tate's anguished howl against the state of the world that held the sometimes obscure narrative together.

Moore was a fitting complement, both visually and aurally, and the highlight of the show was their duet on "Suite Sister Mary."

A greatest hits set opened the show, beginning with "Whisper" from "Rage for Order," and finishing with "Silent Lucidity," Seattle's answer to "Stairway to Heaven." "Sing it as loud and as hard as you want," Tate advised the crowd, which had been relentlessly noisy through the set and would remain so until the end of the night. It had been a classic night for Seattle rock 'n' roll, with hometown heroes kicking off a tour as ambitious as it is passionate.

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