Queensryche

House of Blues, Anaheim

Attending the sold out first show of a two night stand at the HOB Anaheim I was first blown away by the number of people standing out front early waiting to get in. I was then blown away by who was standing in line. Old people. Old normal looking people. Gone were the black shorts with t-shirts, gone were the piercings, gone were the long hair freaks, gone were all traces of anything resembling a foot long goatee. Neatness was abounding as were a plethora of older women looking to capture some of their former glory. Needless to say I was expecting something a little wilder at what was supposed to be a "heavy metal" concert. Behaving like a bunch of stupid drunks (which a lot of the crowd was anyway), and not really getting into the show that much, the crowd put a real damper on the evening for me. Add to the fact that it was sold out, crowded, and thus the irritants were that much closer, and it was no wonder I didn't end up too damn excited about dropping the bucks to see this show.

But that's not Queensryche's fault.

I have to say I never was a never will be a big fan of Queensryche, and I really only went to see them because they were a big metal band once upon a time, but I will admit here that they were really good. In fact they were a lot better than that bummer of a crowd freakin deserved. Sporting some really good talent, with some fine equipment and some of the best sound I've heard to date in the HOB, they really put on a great show. They also made the best use of the video monitors and projection screens spread around the venue that I've seen to date. So it was a 50/50 show for me. It could have been a lot better if there was some energy coming from the audience for these guys to feed off of, but for whatever the reason, the animals in the pit were subdued or sleeping that night. QR puts on a really good show ... if you like their music and don't mind spending more than a few bucks to go see them live, they're worth it. They work hard and evidently put a lot of effort into giving you your money's worth. If you go ... at least show some respect and give them a little something more than just their cut of the price of admission.

You can find Queensryche's homepage here.