The 3D robot "Frank" busting through the wall is absolutely fantastic but then having either the full or shortened version of the "slow/original" We Will Rock You or Hammer to Fall makes absolutely no sense. Both We Will Rock You (slow) and Hammer to Fall are great songs but belong in different places in the show. As Queen was always fond of saying the opening should "deafen and blind 'em" then the show could follow various ups and downs and moods/tempos. Those two songs don't come close to "deafening and blinding 'em" as show openers.
In 1977 when Queen first toured for the News of the World album the show would open with Freddie on one side of the stage and Brian on the other and they would do a slow version of their parts of We Will Rock You then launch into the fast version with all the smoke and lights etc. Judging from what I've seen of the Youtube videos of that tour that was a disjointed way to open the show. (I wasn't at any of the 1977 shows though as my first Queen concert was on Halloween night 1978 in New Orleans and I saw them a total of 5 times between 1978 and 1982).
Since they are going with the News of the World 40th anniversary theme this tour they should either open with a punch you in the face fast version of We Will Rock You and maybe quickly go into a short version of Sheer Heart Attack (keeping with the NOTW theme and shortened to not give Roger or Brian real heart attacks) or maybe going into Let Me Entertain You or even Jailhouse Rock which they used to play regularly in the '70's, sometimes as the opener or 2nd song.
Brian said that the show opening was going to be the best ever and he's right as far as Frank the 3D robot is concerned but sadly they looked kind of amateurish in Las Vegas when they then went into a shortened version of We Will Rock You (slow) then Hammer to Fall. They can do better than that.
JomaDuckSoup · Member since
You're right. I think this is Brian's thing (and songs) and therefore his babies. But it should definately be more deafening and blinding!
Jimmy Dean · Member since
We Will Rock You (Fast) + Tie Your Mother Down + Stone Cold Crazy... that's how you start the show.
Vali · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Jimmy Dean wrote:[/b]
We Will Rock You (Fast) + Tie Your Mother Down + Stone Cold Crazy... that's how you start the show.[/QUOTE]
BINGO ! this opening plus the confirmed additions of It´s Late, GDML and Spread Your Wings (all of them sounding amazing) would make a fantastic setlist (despite I welcome Bicycle Race, I don´t like at all the way it´s being performed).
Hammer To Fall is a great track to fill any setlist. Play it at #4 or at #15 and it´s always welcome. But it simply doesn´t work as a show opener !!! Can´t understand why Brian thinks it does.
They made the same mistake during the QPR 2008 tour. Back then, they used to open with Surf´s Up School´s Out and it worked pretty well, but changed it for HTF and the opening of the shows turned from cool to cold.
Queenman!! · Member since
Agreed totally....
The setlist is great but the first song makes absolute no impression you gonna see a wild rock show and it's quite a lame start.
Blind and deaf'them for the first couple of minutes Roger and Freddie used to say. Well ... not by this choice
I was hopening we would get "Let me Entertain you" or We will rock you fast at the start. It was rehearsed at the last couple of shows at their previous tour.
No problem moving Hammer to fall after Bo Rhap like Queen used to do at the 1986 tour.
TRS-Romania · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Vali wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]Jimmy Dean wrote:[/b]
We Will Rock You (Fast) + Tie Your Mother Down + Stone Cold Crazy... that's how you start the show.[/QUOTE]
Totally agree!
k-m · Member since
A bit unusual to see QZ members speaking in unison, but I have to agree as well. WWRY (fast) would be particularly fitting to start with since it's the NOTW anniversary year.
GonnaUseMyPrisoners · Member since
"Judging from what I've seen of the Youtube videos..." Well, there's your first problemm, right there. Who made you judge?
When you're in the audience, perhaps someone will give two shits what your opinion is, after you've seen it fail. It's getting rave reviews from fans. Come ON....
Mercury 90 · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Vali wrote:[/b]
They made the same mistake during the QPR 2008 tour. Back then, they used to open with Surf´s Up School´s Out and it worked pretty well, but changed it for HTF and the opening of the shows turned from cool to cold.
[/QUOTE]
You absolutely right!
I was lucky seeing them in Berlin back then, were they started with surf's up.
After they took the Surf's Up Intro and merched it with Hammer To Fall the whole Momentum of that great intro was gone.
Can't believe they do it again. You should think they realise by now, what works as intro and what doesen't.
Half an Intro + Hammer To Fall clearly does not work!
Togg · Member since
Having spent 40 years in a band, I can say the one thing that gets argued about more than anything else is 'what is the opening number going to be?'
You try it each and every way and it totally depends on the audience that night, some want to be teased, and some what to be blown away, each song you play gets a different reaction each night, so basically they will play around a little with this and change is until is feels right to them. You may not like the result but I bet you from there point of view an audience seems just as excited about a slow intro as it does a fast one, you dont even get time to check the audeince in a fast intro anyway...
cmsdrums · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Togg wrote:[/b]
Having spent 40 years in a band, I can say the one thing that gets argued about more than anything else is 'what is the opening number going to be?'
You try it each and every way and it totally depends on the audience that night, some want to be teased, and some what to be blown away, each song you play gets a different reaction each night, so basically they will play around a little with this and change is until is feels right to them. You may not like the result but I bet you from there point of view an audience seems just as excited about a slow intro as it does a fast one, you dont even get time to check the audeince in a fast intro anyway...[/QUOTE]
Bang on sir - what might seem on paper like a greater opening song can change considerably once you're in front of an audience. A fast song doesn't always work and a slow burner can sometimes be magical. The same song can work brilliantly or die a death depending on where it sits in the set, what song it follows, etc etc
dysan · Member since
I'm always up for unusual opening numbers. The snippet idea is a little jarring on this tour, but HTF as the opener proper is cool. SCC I can live with out.
WWRY (F) is the best Queen opener - but I loved the WFT-ness of opening with Jailhouse Rock on the later dates / Crazy Tour.
AlexRocks · Member since
Are you all kidding?! Having the regular "We Will Rock You" open the show is great! Finally doing it differently than having it in its predictable place! THOUGH I must say that the intro version is cool. I still liked it the other way around...maybe they should end the show with "Delilah"?
dysan · Member since
Sparks usually close their live show with This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us (their biggest hit) or at least have it in the last 2 of the night.
I saw them once and they came on and just ripped into it straight away. That was AMAZING.
However it was just the piano intro as a teaser. A shame. That little moment I thought so many things and how brave they were.
Same with Queen opening like this.
Wiley · Member since
Hamner to fall just doesn't work as an opener. Not on paper and not in practice.
The perfect opener for this show, considering the theme, would obviously be WWYR slow teaser, then BOOM! We will rock you FAST.
If Brian is so adamant on only playing his A A/D motif for the opener I think Tear it up and even A Kind of magic -yikes!- would work better than HTF (before you slam me for this sin, I'm thinking about Roger's version from his 1994 shows, hahaha)
