What Do You Think Are The Most Underrated/Overrated Queen Gigs (Debate)?

on my way up wrote: How can anyone say that Queen's performance at Live Aid is overrated????????

Almost all other artists were nervous and made stupid mistakes: bad setlists, stupid choice of songs etc. probably due to nervousness and nothing putting enough thought into their performance...

And then there were Queen... They put a lot of thought in their show and managed to make the maximum impact. Once again they showed they were a very very clever band. That setlist was just brilliant! (as always, I wonder why so many people do not take notice of Queen's talent to put together a great setlist...)

And of course, that performance is the ultimate FM-moment. While all other performing artists were visibly nervous, FM came on, claimed the stage and put on a show like no-one will ever do again. Veni vidi vici!

The ease with which Freddie sang and the ease with which Freddie dazzled the audience - while the ENTIRE world was watching - is simply unbelievable... His charisma that day (always actually) ... wow...

There are numerous classis FM moments during that show. I totally adore the look on his face after his vocal play "Yes, I've got them in the palm of my hands".

By that time the band is bursting with energy and Freddie's level of confidence is huge. They then play a gutsy HTF, with BM doing some brilliant guitarwork. How can anyone complain about that "mistake" at the end?? It's minor and doesn't take away from the impact of the performance.

it's great to see that freddie could hold the audience until the very last moments of WATC... By the way, that version of WATC is so stunning. FM had guts like no other, I'd say. It's one of the things I admire about him: no fear, just going for it.

That performance is simply the perfect example of the performing genius of Queen and FM especially...

---------------------------------------------------------------

It was 1:40 PM Eastern Standard Time in the US when Queen played.

Everyone now looks back and says "Queen's golden hour" when the biggest music markets (the US and Canada) ignored them pretty much. Having listened to many Queen shows, I think there were better performances personally than Live Aid.

Hamburg and Kassel 1982 are very underrated.

Underrated: Vancouver 1978

One of the best Jazz gigs by Queen, in my opinion.

Rick wrote: Underrated: Vancouver 1978

One of the best Jazz gigs by Queen, in my opinion.
I agree. My personal Jazz 1978 favourite!

Underrated ..... 9/7/1984! Seriously!

Overrated - Hyde Park 76

I really hope QP will prove otherwise with Hyde Park.

It will blow us away I think.

Rick wrote: I really hope QP will prove otherwise with Hyde Park.

It will blow us away I think.

==========================

At this point, any release will make me happy! Hammersmith 1975 + Hyde Park would be wonderful!

Rick wrote: Underrated: Vancouver 1978

One of the best Jazz gigs by Queen, in my opinion.
=====================

Under my own admission, I think I've underrated the Jazz Tour too much (mostly due to the bad Japan gigs). There's alot of 1978 gigs that I've been enjoying recently (The New York gigs, Montreal, Chicago, Vancouver, Oakland, etc).

Musically they are wonderful, and Freddie's performances (considering his vocal shape), are quite nice (his creative phrasing and note choices on the winter 1978 gigs are nice)!

Two gigs that don't recieve much love (and they didn't on the HS debate!) are the two Viennas from 1982! They have wonderful music/vocal moments and some top versions of songs!

After months of this topic being dead, it's time to revive it:

Underrated gigs:

1. Nagoya 1985 (5/13/1985): Probably the most surprising gig on the Works Tour! Freddie is daring enough to hit key notes (that he drops on 5/11 and Osaka), and sounds good overall! The band performances are also excellent!

2. Munich 1986 (6/29/1986): Much better gig than the previous night, and the gig shows how effective Freddie can sing/deliver songs when he doesn't have full access to his range! Great versions of "Another One Bites The Dust" (superb bass playing by John), and "Friends Will Be Friends" (best version on the entire Magic Tour)! The "Keep Yourself Alive" improv is also nice!

3. Manchester (7/16/1986): Really nice performance from all 4 members!

4. Frejus (7/30/1986): Tons of surprising moments from Freddie!

5. Montreal (12/1/1978): One of my favorite shows on the Jazz Tour. Yeah, Freddie isn't in the best voice--but at least he tries, and does his best with his voice. Only downside to this gig is the Brighton Rock section.

Overrated gigs:

1. Milwaukee (3/7/1975): Freddie's weakest gig on the Sheer Heart Attack tour--he sounds very unstable throughout the show.

2. Rock In Rio (1/12/1985 and 1/19/1985). Great atmosphere, but there's many sloppy musical moments throughout both shows. Freddie doesn't sound too great on the second show, and some renditions of songs don't sound good (either lackluster phrasing by Freddie, or bad vocal harmonies).

3. Glasgow (12/1/1979): The weakest show out of the 4 known recordings for the Crazy Tour: There's more sloppy moments from the band members on this show than any other Crazy Tour show.

4. New York (7/28/1982). A handful of songs sound very rushed, and Freddie goes for notes he can't hit (like attempting to hit the B4s on Action This Day, or the Bb4s on Somebody To Love), and makes rushed/awkward phrasing throughout the songs. That's one of the reasons why I'm not fond of the North American Hot Space shows.

[QUOTE]

[b]NOTWMEDDLE wrote: [/b] The performance of Radio Ga Ga on Rio was more energized and I preferred the harmonies on "You had your time, you had the power" with Freddie singing low and Roger singing the high parts. Also I Want to Break Free on Rio was superb. What I saw of the opening pyro salvo on Tear it Up, what better way to start your performance (walking on to Machines). I do know most WAtCs on the live albums (sans Montreal, Live at the Bowl and Live Magic) were "magically fixed" to appear he hit that high B flat in the chorus when Fred sang it lower!.[/QUOTE]
Rio's Radio Ga Ga is awful. Live Aid's pisses all over it (both technically and musically).