Elegy For A Killer Queen

I don’t usually go in for nostalgia-circuit tours, especially when the original front man has walked off in a huff, or in this case, died tragically years ago.

But when The Last Boy Scout called up and asked me if I wanted to go see Queen with Paul Rodgers with him, it was hard to say no. For one thing, in the five years we’ve lived on Christmas Island, this guy is the one person I’ve met with whom I’ve pursued a friendship, in spite of our political differences, which are all-encompassing.

And for the other thing, considering Queen’s amazing depth and breadth of material, they would have to work overtime to turn in a lousy show. I’ve never gone to a “nostalgia tour” before, partly because songs bring up memories of the context you first heard them in, and it’s not for nothing that I’ve expunged most of the 1970s and 80s from my memory core.

But Queen’s catalogue transcends the era that birthed them. Their songwriting craft, coupled with Freddie Mercury’s outsized talent and persona – Queen stands apart from their period peers. I was stoked and definitely ready to rock.

The ride to the mainland was fun. Both TLBS and myself are recent dads, and any excuse to get out of the house for a few hours with a fellow adult is to be embraced. We had some catching up to do, too, and only skipped across the surface of the subject of politics.

Parking was a breeze, and once inside the giant corporate-branded venue, I asked the lady in the blue polyester jacket who was showing us our seats at the very back of the hall, “Is there a refund policy in the event that Queen fails to rock us?” She assured me that we would indeed be rocked, and she did not lie to us.

Anyhow, I didn’t start this post with the intention of reviewing the show. If you grew up in the 70s/early 80s and this tour comes to a town near you, you will find your ticket well worth the $60-$100 it sets you back, even if it’s your first ‘nostalgia’ show. Although in one sense these guys are coasting on their catalogue, they still deliver the genuine article, an honest-to-God arena rock show, and Paul Rodgers (formerly of Bad Company) was a much abler fill-in for the late, great Freddie Mercury than I had expected.

But the thing is, as rocking as the show was, I also found it increasingly bittersweet, beginning with “Love of My Life” which guitarist Brian May performed solo acoustic at the lip of the vanity-ramp, next to a symbolic empty stool. He started it by saying “I shouldn’t be singing this – Freddie Mercury should.” And although he did a fine job of it, you know, he was right. Freddie Mercury’s absence hung over that tune, and the whole show, like a funeral shroud.

When they closed the regular set with Bohemian Rhapsody, the first 2/3 of the song were sung by Freddie, images of whom were broadcast on the giant screens flanking the stage, and for me, it was almost more than I could bear. Granted, I’ve been running on severe sleep-deprivation since The Man Cub was born and just this week began emerging from a pretty serious long-running (we’ll call it a) funk, so I was fairly emotionally delicate going in. Mea culpa.

But as great as the material, performance and presentation were… and no offense to Brian May or Roger Taylor at all… Queen for me really was always all about Freddie Mercury. And if he hadn’t died so damned young (roughly the same age I am now), Queen wouldn’t be mounting a ‘nostalgia’ tour today. I'm convinced that they, like the Stones and Rush, would have remained a commercially viable, creatively productive presence on the music scene, still writing and recording albums of new material to support their road trips. Freddie’s well of talent was a long way from tapped out when he was taken from us.

Does this post have a point? It turns out, not really. It did for a while, then Word crashed and took my last few paragraphs with it as I was pasting into my blog. And I always work really hard at ending these things well. What a pisser.

In a way I guess, it’s appropriate to the subject. This post, like Freddie Mercury’s life, is missing its final act. And unfortunately, that's the vibe I came away with from the show last night: What a fucking pisser. Great concert, but it just made me think, "Man, how awesome would it have been to have just seen a new Freddie Mercury performance tonight??"

...But that's just me, I'm a glass-half-empty kind of guy and I've worn myself out looking for a happy, or I'd even settle for clever, way to end this. So I will let the considerably more upbeat Freddie Mercury have the last word. This is the final song on the last Queen album produced during Freddie's life and was written by him. I suppose it's how he wanted us to remember him, and I guess I could at least give it a try.

Princes of the Universe

Here we are. Born to be kings.
We're the princes of the universe.
Here we belong. Fighting to survive.
In a world with the darkest powers.

And here we are. We're the princes of the universe.

Here we belong. Fighting for survival.
I am immortal. I have inside me blood of kings.
I have no rival. No man can be my equal.
Take me to the future of your world.

Born to be kings. Princes of the universe.
Fighting and free. Got your world in my hand.
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand.
We were born to be princes of the universe.

Here we are. Born to be kings. We're the princes of
the universe. Here we belong. Born to be kings.
Princes of the universe. Fighting and free.

Got the world in my hands. I'm here for your love.
And I'll make my stand.

We were born to be princes of the universe.