Operation : Mindcrime

External factors shouldn’t really play a part in how much a gig can be enjoyed, but MAN was I weary as I headed down to the Waterfront Studio for an evening of flagrant nostalgia. First act to try and lift me from my slumber were Till Death Do Us Part, an alt-rock act featuring Emily Tate on lead vocals, daughter of Geoff Tate who was the reason we were all in attendance. Their brand of symphonic metal really isn’t my bag at all, and a late start, combined with a few technical issues, meant they were only able to play four songs. They went down well enough, and Emily certainly gave her all, but any band is going to struggle playing at 7.40 in the evening as the crowd were still filing in.
Next up was Irish singer-songwriter Mark Daly. Initially Mark seemed something of an anomaly, sandwiched as he was between two unashamedly metal acts, but his music had an air of early 90s about it, reminding me of the mellower side of Pearl Jam. This, combined with his confident manner and amusing between song patter meant that he won over the majority of the crowd. It’s hard to know what audience he is aiming for, but here he did his cause no harm at all.
By now I still hadn’t heard anything that had justified the effort of heading out on a dank December night, so all my hopes were pinned on Operation: Mindcrime. Back in the early 80s Queensryche emerged from Seattle, plying a progressive brand of metal, which quickly separated them from the glam and thrash bands which dominated the era. Their second album Rage For Order was my personal pick, but it was the release of their third album Operation: Mindcrime which really took them into the big league. A concept album, this was about as classy as metal got in 1988; great vocals, superb musicianship and a sleek contemporary production helped the band tap into the mainstream, and deservedly so. As is so often the case though, decades later the band fell out and lead singer Geoff Tate was unceremoniously sacked, which is how come he finds himself celebrating the 30thanniversary of the album whilst using it as the band name as well.
The Studio was packed, and as the lights went down I immediately felt myself perk up. I may have played the album only occasionally over the past three decades, but I was instantly transported back. I’ve seen several acts play albums in full, and sometimes the flow of the set can feel a bit forced, here though, because it’s a concept album, everything felt much more natural. The band of course were great – close your eyes and you could have been watching Queensryche back in their heyday, so the success of the night depended on Geoff Tate, and whether his powerful voice was still intact. Happily, it was. He still had the range, and he has learned to use his voice to cover any issues that age may have brought. Even during moments where lesser songs off the album were played, I still found myself completely in the zone. Geoff’s daughter Emily reappeared as the character Sister Mary which added an air of theatricality, and by the time we reached album’s end with the classic Eyes Of A Stranger the recreation of a much loved album had been a complete success. The encore contained four songs off their most commercially successful release Empire, including their mega hit Silent Lucidity, and it was a great way to round out the set, even though it’s an album I’m not familiar with.
I went along feeling less than enthusiastic, and slightly concerned that the evening was going to feel a bit sad, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Geoff did his legacy justice and looking round the Studio at my fellow middle-aged men and women having an absolute blast gave me a warm glow. I’m glad I made the effort to go along, Geoff and his band were clearly enjoying themselves, and the least I could do was to do the same.