Live Review: Queen & Adam Lambert

There’s separate Adam Lambert merch available tonight and, by show’s end, all in attendance can appreciate why. Inside the arena, überfans squeal as they arrive at their designated seats and proximity to the action is fully realised.

We’re left to admire the protruding curved catwalk section of Queen’s custom-built stage as their advertised starting time comes and goes.

Close to half an hour later, the gigantic Queen logo curtain drops and Adam Lambert announces, Now I’m Here. It’s immediately apparent Adam Lambert is up to the task – his larynx and presence will both do nicely, thank you. Brian May is so distinctive a guitarist you’d be able to identify him with your eyes shut, even if he wasn’t playing a Queen song. His choice of footwear, white trainers, is baffling though; they do come in black now, you know! The clarity and scale of visuals on the giant disc behind the performers is next level.

A couple of ladies in the stands have made a sign that reads (in small letters) “We Love Queen + (in massive, fairylit letters) ADAM!” Did the band not want to find someone a little less young and hot as replacement singer? It’s all a bit JD Fortune fronting INXS post-Michael Hutchence, but, in the case of Lambert, you can’t imagine anyone else on the planet right now that could fill Freddie Mercury’s shoes so spectacularly. Lambert prowls up there and you never feel nervous he’ll miss a note. When Fat Bottomed Girls kicks in there are smiles on dials throughout the stadium. May races down the catwalk for a guitar solo and live footage from his ‘guitar cam’ is broadcast on the screens. Everything Lambert wears, we want, particularly the black leather jacket sleeves with shoulders covered in perilously spiky gold studs that are fastened behind his back with a buckle – a rock’n’roll shrug of sorts.

A burgundy chaise longue is placed on the head of the ‘catwalk penis’ for Lambert to recline on. He performs Killer Queen while fanning himself with a folding, gold hand-held fan. “We all miss Freddie Mercury!” Lambert acknowledges. During Somebody To Love, the crowd roars when Lambert effortlessly leaps up into his head voice and then shimmies his shoulders – shameless peacocking. May brings his axe to orgasm (I Want It All) and then commences Love Of My Life solo, perched on a stool. He encourages us to take over the singing (this evening’s audience is a bit timid), but when (archival footage of) Freddie Mercury appears onscreen to close out the song we collectively swallow lumps down throats. This is also a reminder that Lambert doesn’t come close to Mercury’s majesty.

May introduces us to his “selfie stick” and then makes a short video of the crowd. When he announces a folk song is to come, it’s time for a toilet break. Drummer Roger Taylor’s son Rufus takes over on the kit, freeing up his dad to sing A Kind Of Magic (which he wrote). Mercury’s voice is still fresh in our memories, making comparisons unfavourable. Another toilet/smoke break opportunity arises during the bass solo. Roger Taylor’s drum solo on a mini-kit placed on the stage at the end of the catwalk is not to be missed. In yet another fabulous get-up, Lambert returns to the stage to duet with Taylor on Under Pressure (during which Taylor sings Bowie’s parts). It’s difficult to hear this track without harking back to the Vanilla Ice copyright infringement. Who Wants To Live Forever takes on added gravitas since Mercury’s passing. Taylor in his casual, all-white ensemble resembles Anthony Hopkins wearing his PJs.

What follows is a section that should be labelled ‘Brian’s Jizzfest’. Taylor Jnr actually spends a little too much time behind the kit; surely one song is adequate. And then there’s Lambert’s endless call-and-response section – even he admits to “vocally masturbating”. All three aforementioned sections could be replaced by an intermission since momentum is officially lost. Among those seated sidestage (apparently these “Look Now I’m On Here On Stage” VIP upgrade tickets went for over $1,000!) a fan wearing a yellow suit with impressive Mercury-inspired mo’ holds a rose out for Lambert. During Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Lambert actually throws in a “cray cray”!

And now for Bohemian Rhapsody. Lambert nails the opening. Mercury takes over from beyond the grave onscreen, which further raises the bar. Then May is illuminated onstage at the end of the catwalk sporting a metallic gold cloak, with Beyoncé fan on high violently blowing back his long grey locks for guitar solo number one. A segment of the song’s video clip takes over (the bit where silhouettes of the four band members’ heads circle around each other: “I see a little sillhouetto of a man...”) Then back to the outstanding Lambert. During the rockin’ instrumental breakdown, we may just have rocked out as much as Wayne and Garth!

Although the crowd insists on an encore, we simultaneously wonder how Queen + Adam Lambert could possibly top their main set closer. They do their darnedest with We Will Rock You, Lambert resplendent in leopard skin suit with added rhinestones, gold platforms and a bejewelled crown. We Are The Champions plays out, gold confetti explodes from cannons and now they’re just showing off. As they take their final bows, God Save The Queen is an appropriate choice of outro tape. And it’s ridiculous to think Lambert is an American Idol runner-up: America’s equivalent of Shannon Noll.