Queensrÿche Holds The Flame In Snowy Denver [Review + Photos]

February 9, 2025 Jason Bullinger

 

 

Progressive rock giants Queensrÿche, with the rock never stops attitude, delivered an engaging musical exhibition Friday night at the Ogden Theatre in snowy Denver. “The Verdict” 2020 Headline Tour has been underway for a month joined by special guests John 5 and The Creatures and Eve To Adam.

After a quick set from New York’s Eve To Adam, John 5 and The Creatures took the stage entering through the side stage prop that reminded you of your kids blowup jump castles decorated with ghosts and horror imagery. John 5 is quite the accomplished solo artist as he has released eleven solo albums and played guitar for many respected artists such as David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie. This tour he is supporting his latest solo album ‘Invasion’ which was released last year. He flashed his incredible talent on new songs “Crank It-Living With Ghosts”, “Zoinks”, and “I Am John 5”. My favorite part of his set was when he ran off a brilliant medley of songs from infulential artists such as “Limelight” (Rush), “Fly By Night” (Rush), “Thunder Kiss ’65’ (Zombie), ” The Beautiful People” (Manson), “Spoonman” (Soundgarden), “Dr. Feelgood”, “Unchained” (Van Halen) ,”I’m Broken”, “Walk”.

After an animated “Verdict” video intro, Queensrÿche wasted no time hitting fans with a pummel of classics “Prophecy”, “Operation: Mindcrime”, and “Walk In The Shadows”. Vocalist Todd La Torre paused after and told the crowd, “I don’t know how you do it?” “I’m from Florida, fuck this shit” referring to the snow outside. If you have ever seen QR live show, the visual is as important as the music. The stage production is simple but beautifully designed as four narrow vertical LED panels are positioned symmetrically on stage. These screens project images, animations, triryche logos and other media that tie in visually with the songs.

QR in recent years has refocused on celebrating classic material live. The song “Resistance” from 1990 ‘Empire’ and the epic “No Sanctuary” from 1984 ‘The Warming’ have favorably been added into the set. This is the first tour I have seen with drummer Casey Grillo stepping in for Scott Rockenfield. Casey fits in magnificently with original members Eddie Jackson (bass) and Michael Wilton (guitar). It is not hard to notice the chemistry the band has developed onstage for almost this past decade. QR continues to release new music and garnished universal rave reviews for their latest “The Verdict” released last year. The new songs “Man the Machine”, “Bent” and “Dark Reverie” fit remarkably alongside other classic QR songs.

Believe it or not I have seen Queensrÿche on almost every album tour cycle. They sound even better today and continue to masterfully honor the past while pushing forward creatively with their best music in decades.

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