Queen + Adam Lambert at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul MN (2023-10-28)

Still a Royal Wonder to behold–

After a four-year hiatus, The Queen + Adam Lambert Rhapsody Tour featuring original members- guitarist Sir Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor made a stop in downtown St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center, for a pair of capacity weekend shows.

The 135-minute career-spanning set didn’t have (and didn’t need) an opening act and was mostly packed with familiar radio hits and anthems that most in the audience had no problem in singing along to. A few deep cuts thrilled the most passionate fans and the state-of-the-art stage design, effects, and set pieces, all made for a visually thrilling and musically fulfilling evening.

With almost six decades of legacy to draw from, the show’s feel toed the line between a modern, glitzy high-powered Vegas-esque tribute, and a heartfelt continuation of preserving the memory of its massive song catalog and their departed lead singer that so strongly defined their musical persona.

The Tour is actually a continuation of a pre-pandemic trek, embarked upon following the success of the recent film biopic, but the setlist and staging has since been re-thought, after the tour resumed. What hasn’t changed is the expert guitar work of May, Taylor’s somewhat ageless drumming, and the soaring vocals and cheeky demeanor of Lambert, reveling in the bombast, his numerous costume changes, and songs that perfectly showcase his vocal range.

Beginning with a “Radio Ga Ga” medley and emerging from an on-screen dystopian robot environment (where all had the face of the machines on the Freas painted cover of “News of the World”), the setlist was hit after hit, after hit, to the crowd’s delight. Taylor would assume the lead vocals for the somewhat goofy “I’m in Love with My Car” and Glambert’s two-wheeler coming up from the stage for “Bicycle Race” was actually a shiny, large, tricked-out motorcycle.

Halfway through the main set and following the pleasing vocal harmonies of “Somebody to Love” (with the audience signing along to finish), the show turned very emotional as the video version of the late Freddie Mercury appeared, to lend a hand, err, voice on “Love of My Life."

The second stage that jutted into the audience was an active area, with May often walking out during his extended guitar parts and during a mid-set of slower, acoustic songs where those near the back, got a closer view of the trio.

Both May and Taylor logged solo time during the set, long enough to showcase their individual talents, but not too long as to overstay their welcome, but it is when the trio (and their formidable backing band, anchored by longtime keyboardist Spike Edney) is together, was the time when their “kind of magic” really happens.

The vocal gymnastics of the operatic monster hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” (with some taped, but vintage backing vocals) would end the main set, and Mercury would make a return appearance to have the audience mimic his call outs, and to make sure the crowd was ready for the encore.

The encore of the anthems that have become a constant on the playlists of sporting venues around the world, seemed very appropriate to hear live and to end the evening with; both as an emphatic punctuation mark, and a way to leave the audience cheering and singing along even as they left the venue. As their Rhapsody Tour continues, it’s clear we’re all still so enraptured, over Queen + Adam Lambert.

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