Saturday, 27 April 2024

Queensryche At Théâtre Beanfield

No need for a DeLorean, all that was needed to go back in time was a ticket to the sold-out Queensryche show down at the Théâtre Beanfield this past Saturday night.  Once inside the historic old building, you are instantly transported to the early days of entertainment in Montreal, as some of the murals that date back to the 1920s still decorate the walls.  A quick adjustment of the time circuits had us speeding through time at 88mph, or 142km/h Canadian, to 1984.  A time when the North American heavy metal scene was beginning to explode, denim and leather were the fashion de jour and it was also the year that two Queensryche released their debut album, The Warning.  An album that is still heralded to this day as one of the most important to be released so early in the genres history.  During this tour, headlined by Queensryche, they celebrate that moment in time as they play that entire album in full, as well as their self-titled EP which was released the year before.  Their set opened with the four songs from the Queensryche EP before the air raid sirens began to wail and we were off to the races.  Queensryche already has a long standing relationship with the city.  It was here that former singer Geoff Tate came up with the idea behind what is possibly one of the greatest concept albums of all time, Operation: Mindrime, and the band was not about to let down a sold out room full of their fans.  They were spot on from the moment that singer Todd LaTorre hit the stage adorned in his Montreal Canadiens jersey.  LaTorre’s vocals are very true to the original versions and with original guitarist Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson on bass, there was never any doubt that the music would be spot on.  Which it was.  Queensryche’s most recent album was 2022’s Digital Noise Alliance, though you won’t be hearing any of those songs on this tour.  The joints may be a little more sore and the hair might be a little more grey, if any remains at all.  But, for a few hours, it was 1984 all over again, and nobody would have minded if the Flux Capacitor had broken and left us there for the rest of time.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/3200sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm, the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm and the third photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 800 at 70mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took while Queensryche were on stage.

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 2000 at 61mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 2000 at 47mm
f/3.2, 1/4000sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 2000 at 55mm
f/3.2, 1/4000sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 2000 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 2000 at 35mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 800 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 800 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 800 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 53mm
f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm

If you'd like to find out more about Queensryche and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  A big thank you to Stephanie Shoulders of Unchained Management, Chip Ruggieri of Chipster PR & Consulting as well as Christopher Gonda of V13 Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  As always, it very much appreciated.  You can also see some photographs of Armored Saint, who opened the evening, by following the link.  If you’re a fan of music from this time, or just wanting to experience it first hand for yourself, be sure to drop in when Queensryche bring their show to your town.

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