The Queen Extravaganza 2013 - Review

[Wilton Said...]

Warning, Spoilers Below...

My wife and I saw the Toronto show of Queen Extravaganza a few nights ago at The Sony Center. For anyone not familiar with the band, it's basically a Queen Tribute band put together by Roger Tayler ex drummer of Queen. We saw the band in Toronto in the summer of 2012 at the smaller Queen Elizabeth Theater and it was great. There were 3 different singers which alternated songs, the set list had a great mix of hits (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Another One Bites the Dust) and deeper cuts such as You Take my Breath Away, Lap of the Gods (1 and 2), March of the Black Queen. I knew that the Sony Center concert had cut down on the lead vocals and would feature mainly Marc Martel on vocals.

Over all the show was great and extremely well received by the audience. However I couldn't help thinking that they would've done better in a smaller venue, especially since the show was only a 3rd full. In fact, they were offering free upgrades for seats closer to the stage. Needless to say, my wife and I jumped at the chance to move from our balcony seats to floor seats.

My main complaints was that the show was much shorter then I would've expected. While the summer show had two full one hour sets, this show had a 40 min set, and then an hour set. As a result, less songs were played and there was an emphasis on the hits. I talked to Keyboardist/Musical Director Brandon Ethridge after the show and he mentioned that promoters wanted a shorter show and more hits. He himself seemed a little disappointed at this. Nevertheless there were some highlights such as "The Show Must Go On" which sounded HUGE and Powerful. Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon was nice and whimsical. Radio Ga Ga was fantastic, especially with the crowd participation. (I can't stand the studio version, but this live version rocks).

So again, a really great show if you're a casual Queen or Rock fan, but die hards may be disappointed at the lack of deeper tracks.

Wilton

[80s were ok]

die hards may be disappointed at the lack of deeper tracks.

Wilton

or actual members of Queen!

[Wilton Said...]

or actual members of Queen!

I don't think they will. The band was amazing and Marc's vocals were spot on.

[ForeverAutumn]

Thanks for the review. I wanted to go to this show but couldn't make it...hopefully I can see them the next time they're here. I love the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. It's an excellent venue in spite of it's lack of nearby bars to hang out at. I imagine it would have been a great show there over the Sony Centre (although the Sony is a better location).

[Scott Bails]

or actual members of Queen!

Anyone going to this expecting to see members of Queen isn't paying attention.

[kayfabe58]

I like the past... and tribute bands can be better than the originals at recreating the songs, but They didn;t create them. Queen can only be cheapened by a tribute act...TMB are purists at least. but are still not the creators of the music.
I saw Queen 5 times in their 70's prime and they were mediocre to decent at best(very far from perfect or well arranged)-but they were still the band who wrote and recorded the songs

[Wilton Said...]

I like the past... and tribute bands can be better than the originals at recreating the songs, but They didn;t create them. Queen can only be cheapened by a tribute act...TMB are purists at least. but are still not the creators of the music.
I saw Queen 5 times in their 70's prime and they were mediocre to decent at best(very far from perfect or well arranged)-but they were still the band who wrote and recorded the songs

To each their own. My opinion is that over all, the Queen Extravaganza was and is better then the Queen and Paul Rogers show I saw, and that had two original members plus a solid touring member.

[80s were ok]

To each their own. My opinion is that over all, the Queen Extravaganza was and is better then the Queen and Paul Rogers show I saw, and that had two original members plus a solid touring member.

I'm sorry but as good as the show you saw may have been...not buying that you'd rather see them than Brian May, and Roger Taylor along with Paul Rodgers. I'm glad you enjoyed the show but lets not get crazy here.

[Wilton Said...]

I'm sorry but as good as the show you saw may have been...not buying that you'd rather see them than Brian May, and Roger Taylor along with Paul Rodgers. I'm glad you enjoyed the show but lets not get crazy here.

I'm quite happy to enjoy the music no matter who plays it as long as it's played well. It seems like others are more interested in who plays the material.

Wilton

[2 Sheds]

Some people worship their heroes because of what they did / created years or even decades ago. Some of us get more (and usually cheaper) enjoyment from watching an energetic performance of great music by very talented musicians. They may not be creative, but many tribute acts have performed some songs far more times than the original artists, and some play better/tighter than the originals.

[JKUtica]

I saw QE in Verona NY a week ago. I thought Marc Martel did a great job on vocals, I was less impressed with Jennifer Espinosa as a lead singer, but mostly because the female voice just didn't "fit" the songs for me. The drummer was fighting a cold and fever, so he might not have been at his peak vocally, but still did well on the couple of songs he sang.

The venue was a casino showroom, so it was pretty much sold out. And the only thing they skipped (as shows at this casino are notably shorter than other venues) was the intermission! So it was a straight almost two hour show. I would definitely go again.

[MudShark22]

Crazy is Paul Rogers even singing one Queen song! His voice and Queen tunes are not 'tasty' at all.

[paythesnuka]

I'm sorry but as good as the show you saw may have been...not buying that you'd rather see them than Brian May, and Roger Taylor along with Paul Rodgers. I'm glad you enjoyed the show but lets not get crazy here.

What's the point of arguing against someone's opinion? Do you really think after your post he's going to say: Oh yeah, you are right, what was I thinking in expressing my opinion?

[80s were ok]

What's the point of arguing against someone's opinion? Do you really think after your post he's going to say: Oh yeah, you are right, what was I thinking in expressing my opinion?

True. I guess it's one of those things - someone saying they would rather see a tribute act instead of the real musicians - it's like a "DOES NOT COMPUTE" type of thing.

[Wilton Said...]

True. I guess it's one of those things - someone saying they would rather see a tribute act instead of the real musicians - it's like a "DOES NOT COMPUTE" type of thing.

The Queen Extravaganza band ARE real musicians. But if what you mean is that you'd like to see the musicians that either wrote or arranged the original music, then you'd be out of luck with any band which has had a high turn over of members during their recording career. Even when Jon Anderson was in Yes, were you happy to hear Rick Wakeman and Alan White play songs off of the yes album? After all they weren't on the original recording. If you're a fan of Iron Maiden then you're really out of luck when they play anything from the 1st album as only two of the six played on it. Genesis must be really difficult, especially when they played Peter Gabriel material as only two out of 5 members played their respective instruments on the original recording.

Don't get me wrong, I know what you're saying, you'd rather see as close to original members of a band play the material. With Queen, that would be fantastic, but that won't happen as Freddie's dead and john Decan isn't interested in performing anymore. The Queen and Paul Rogers show was interesting, but this Queen Extravaganza will be the closest one will ever come to hearing the music of Queen played love with any sort of authenticity. And that's good enough for me.

Wilton

[Missreclusive]

The Queen Extravaganza band ARE real musicians. But if what you mean is that you'd like to see the musicians that either wrote or arranged the original music, then you'd be out of luck with any band which has had a high turn over of members during their recording career. Even when Jon Anderson was in Yes, were you happy to hear Rick Wakeman and Alan White play songs off of the yes album? After all they weren't on the original recording. If you're a fan of Iron Maiden then you're really out of luck when they play anything from the 1st album as only two of the six played on it. Genesis must be really difficult, especially when they played Peter Gabriel material as only two out of 5 members played their respective instruments on the original recording.

Don't get me wrong, I know what you're saying, you'd rather see as close to original members of a band play the material. With Queen, that would be fantastic, but that won't happen as Freddie's dead and john Decan isn't interested in performing anymore. The Queen and Paul Rogers show was interesting, but this Queen Extravaganza will be the closest one will ever come to hearing the music of Queen played love with any sort of authenticity. And that's good enough for me.

Wilton

I completely agree. I saw QE on their first tour and the sound is fairly glorious if you love Queen's music. I would rather see QE than Q+AL or Rogers.....any day!!!!