Ipswich Regent – 21/01/2023
Here at Stoakes Media, we never normally watch or review ‘tribute bands’, not because I think they’re bad or I don’t like cover songs, long time listeners of my Radio TFSC show ‘Stoakes Media Live’ will know I love cover songs, I even put out a charity covers album over lockdown, but the opportunity has never really presented itself. So, when the opportunity did present itself to me last weekend to see the Queen Extravaganza in Ipswich, (I was down south buying a guitar, but that’s another story) well I jumped at the chance.
Queen are one of those bands I grew up with, my Mum and Dad were both huge Queen fans, there is something about Queen’s music that just speaks to me. Are they the ultimate rock band? Perhaps! They certainly had arguably the best frontman in the history of music and Brian May built his own guitar and still rocks pretty hard with it to this day.
The Queen Extravaganza isn’t just any Queen tribute, these musicians have been hand picked by Brian May and Roger Taylor. There were no costumes, it wasn’t Freddie Mercury lookalikes ‘acting’ and doing the Freddie moves, no, tonight was just about the music!
And let me tell you, musically the band were well and truly on point. Drummer George Farrah had ‘that’ drum sound. Bass player François-Olivier Doyon, who has been with the band since they started was exceptional and did a great job of the Bowie bit in Under Pressure. The rhythm section is completed by MD and keys player Darren Reeves.
They say that guitar tone is in the fingers and ever guitarist has their own sound, but after watching guitarist Nick Radcliffe the other night, I’m not so sure. He was so incredibly close to Brian May’s sound, if not identical. Absolutely amazing, if I closed my eyes, I was listening to the real thing. Every solo was on point, every subtlety and nuance was included – he was out of this world.
The show was completed by two vocalists, Alirio Neto and Gareth Taylor. Aliro opened the show and the pair took it in turns with the singing. I wonder why the producers felt the need to have two singers, because both were incredible and easily capable of singing all the Queen catalogue!
Gareth’s vocals were amazing and he had more the ‘Freddie vocal character’, if you close your eyes, you could be in a room with Freddie and Alirio had a more rocky voice, very similar ranges, but a different vocal quality. I absolutely loved Alirio’s rendition of ‘The Show Must Go On’, it gave me chills and Gareth’s ‘It’s a Kinda Magic’ was simply magical.
Where the pair excelled was when they duetted. ‘I want it All’ was especially powerful and certainly a highlight of the night. The band played every song you would expect to hear, they didn’t leave anything out and even included one of the Freddie solo songs that Queen have been playing recently with Adam Lambert.
I absolutely loved the Queen Extravaganza – I sang along all the way through and had a fantastic time. I’ve seen Queen with Adam Lambert and I enjoyed this just as much. What a fantastic night and if you are a Queen fan, definitely a show not to miss!
