Simon RushworthGeoff Tate @Newcastle Riverside, October 11 2024
Earlier this month Geoff Tate announced Operation Mindcrime: The Final Chapter — an extensive run of shows across the US in 2025.
The tour will reportedly see the former Queensrÿche frontman perform the band’s definitive concept album in its entirety for the final time.
And who knows whether the UK will be afforded the same luxury as one of the finest classic rock singers of a generation bids farewell to a legendary record once and for all?
If not — and despite Tate’s longstanding love affair with British audiences there are no guarantees — then shows like these are essential viewing.
There’s nothing quite like hearing the architect of that record’s defining anthems run through its highlights in near note perfect harmony.
Tate, unlike so many peers, has retained a certain star quality thanks to his charismatic delivery and ageless, powerful pipes.
And another memorable trip to Tyneside reminded the masses that Mindcrime’s multiple highlights will never sound quite the same once the voice of ‘classic’ Queensrÿche hangs up his mic.
A 16-song set sought to span Tate’s time with the band from the mid 80s through to 2003’s Tribe.
But the German-born singer knows all too well that it’s Mindcrime and Empire that chime most with the broadest spectrum of the band’s loyal fans.
Consequently, Queensrÿche’s commercial heavy hitters paced a stellar night.
Opener Empire set the tone with Tate taking no time at all to slot into familiar rock star mode — traversing the tight Riverside stage like a true master of his trade.
Passion, belief and pin sharp attention to detail have always defined a true titan of the classic rock genre.
And as Tate swaggered through I Don’t Believe In Love, Jet City Woman and the sublime Silent Lucidity, it barely seemed believable that he turned 65 earlier this year.
Clearly inspired by the metal coming out of the UK in the late 70s and early 80s it’s no coincidence that the Rÿche’s early work had more in common with Priest and Maiden than the band’s early 90s chart-busting pop rock.
Here, the NWOBHM-styled riffs came thick and fast on Take Hold Of The Flame and the fabulously retro Queen Of The Reich.
And yet it’s clear Tate was always much more than a metal-by-numbers screamer.
As he nears the end of a truly glorious career, it’s time to appreciate a special singer who underlined a longstanding commitment to his craft by revealing he’d spent just 12 days in his own bed during the past 12 months.
Tate’s a one off and a classic rock treasure. The King of the Reich.
Images by Adam Kennedy