***Review and photos by Blair Burch***
OPENING ACT: James Keegan
Thursday night I headed to the The Danforth Music Hall to take in GEOFF TATE performing the classic album Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety during his Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter tour. Now, maybe before I get into that I should introduce myself. I’m Blair, retired musician turned photographer and blogger voice for the Toronto metal underground. Over the last couple months you’ve gotten to know me here as the guy behind the camera supporting Gustavo as he reviews shows. For this outing I went on my own, camera in hand, to take in a night from one of my musical heroes and to share my own thoughts on the night. I can’t state enough how much Mindcrime means to me personally. It easily sits in my personal top 5 all-time most influential albums, and solidly secured Tate’s spot on my Mount Rushmore of metal vocalists. So to say I was having a bit of a fanboy moment while sitting in the photo pit would be an understatement. This was a true bucketlist outing, and to be clear from the start, it delivered everything I hoped it would.
The night was opened up by Irish Folk/Pop artist JAMES KEEGAN. This young man at the ripe old age of 22 has already spent 2 years on the road with Geoff Tate, clearly getting the sort of career launch that most can only dream of. He was brilliant. It seemed a strange fit having an acoustic artist open the night, but the crowd responded well… most of it anyway. There were a few hecklers, which James handled masterfully. When someone kept yelling “where are you from”, his off-the-cuff “didn’t the accent and green shirt give you a hint” had everyone laughing. For the record he’s from County Cork in the south of Ireland. He could also have been a comedian the way he worked the room. His set was 6 songs long, 5 of which were supported by a band that included 2 members of Tate’s lineup and a drummer that was used as a punchline during introductions as the only non-European person on the stage. This gave him the big sound this audience expected from an opener at a show like this. To me though, the standout moment was his closer Santiago. The band left the stage. He walked away from the mic and unplugged his guitar. He performed it with the raw acoustics of the room carrying his voice and filled the space on his own. Powerful moment to close the set.
Setlist
Crazy Love
Out til Late
Take Me Away
Run (Snow Patrol cover)
Feeling Grey
Santiago
Band members
James Keegan – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
James Brown – guitar
Jack Ross – bass
Colin Frecknall – drums
The show began with the band, minus GEOFF TATE, coming out to play through Anarchy-X before the man himself would join for Revolution Calling. In that moment he instantly owned the room. His presence on stage was massive, and pulled the crowd to their feet with a thunderous ovation. Mindcrime would play out in front of us for the next hour. The man’s vocal power is still unmistakable at 67 years old. This is a masterclass in how to handle difficult material as your voice changes with time. We all hung on his every word and gesture.
The band he assembled was perfect. Not just in musical chops, because clearly he’d hire people with chops, but as complete performers. These folks were charismatic and engaging in their own way. They truly helped carry a show that didn’t rely on big stage sets or massive light shows. This performance felt massive because the people performing it made it larger than life. They worked with each other, they fist-bumped fans, they were clearly having a blast playing music that they likely grew up with too. Clodagh McCarthy joining at points in the evening in the role of Sister Mary was powerful. This lady has some serious pipes, and held her spot on stage like a Shakespearean actor.
He could have sent the crowd home happy with the Mindcrime performance, but that was far from the end of this 1 hour and 45 minute marathon set. When the last notes of Eyes of a Stranger faded, he’d then pivot to material from his recent solo release, Operation: Mindcrime III, and some greatest hits cuts from the Queensrÿche run. We’d see more ‘Sister Mary’ here, and if anything her performance during Do You Still Believe? during the encore was more poignant than during the core Mindcrime set. The night would end with Queen of the Reich and one last thunderous ovation. The band then took time to shake hands and such with everyone down front in a true show of class at the end of this powerful performance.
Setlist
Part 1: Operation: Mindcrime
I Remember Now
Anarchy-X
Revolution Calling
Operation: Mindcrime
Speak
Spreading the Disease
The Mission
Suite Sister Mary
The Needle Lies
Electric Requiem
Breaking the Silence
I Don’t Believe in Love
Waiting for 22
My Empty Room
Eyes of a Stranger
Part 2: Retrospective
The Answer
Empire
Jet City Woman
Take Hold of the Flame
Encore:
Do You Still Believe?
Silent Lucidity
Queen of the Reich
Band members
Geoff Tate – lead vocals
Dario Parente – lead guitar
James Brown – lead & rhythm guitar
Jack Ross – bass
Bruno Sa – lead keyboards, synthesizers
Clodagh McCarthy – keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead vocals as “Sister Mary”
Robert “Baker” – drums
